Nintendo LifeUnlike previous games in the series, Animal Crossing: New Horizons it was very “incomplete” when it was released in March. In a move that has bothered time travelers around the world, Nintendo made the decision to launch annual in-game events through updates throughout the year.
While this had the benefit of keeping the buzz about the game circulating on websites and social media on a monthly basis, it also prevented guides and video creators from rushing into events and spreading out months before their calendar-dictated debut.
But what was your favorite 2020 event at New Horizons? Well, there’s a poll that asks exactly that question at the bottom of the page, but first let’s take a quick recap of all the events – big and small – that took place on desert islands on Switches around the world.
The first after the game’s release on March 20, 2020 was Bunny Day, a twelve-day event where Zipper T. Bunny sent him on an egg hunt. For many players, many eggs arrived too soon after the game’s release. We were still adapting to the pace of things, trying to catch fish and dig up fossils and, half the time, end up with a bloody egg.
To be fair, younger players tended to enjoy hunting eggs, although we were happy to see their backs.
Then, in the last week of April, it was the return of Leif, the sloth, and his bushes for the Nature Day Event – another ‘day’ that lasted almost two weeks. Sandwiched in the middle of that was the May Day Event, which saw the return of the strong villager Rover (ok, ‘return’ can be a little strong – ‘special appearance’ is closer) on the unique May Day maze tour.
The second half of May was occupied by the International Museum Day Event, which instructed you to collect stamps from the museum to collect three plaques related to fish, fossils and insects. They were very good, too, although completing the Seal Rally on other days only yielded identical plates. The walls of our bathroom were full of them.
The entire month of June was busy with the wedding season, and although it was great to photograph the lovebirds Cyrus and Reese on Harv’s island for the first time, 30 days doing essentially the same thing ended our enthusiasm. The four Bug-Offs and Fishing Tournaments spread throughout the year were much less strenuous.
Sunday nights during the month of August were lit up by the fireworks shows that arrived in the July update. You could make custom fireworks to fill the night skies with your custom designs and enter Redd’s giveaway for prizes that are not available anywhere else.
The October Halloween event saw the return of Jack, the Halloween czar, in the fall update that also added new makeup options, costumes and pumpkins. Franklin returned to the series in time for Thanksgiving Turkey Day in November, with Toy Day taking place recently on Christmas Eve.
There are more events to come in the New Year, of course, and March 20, 2021 will mark exactly one year of events. It will be very interesting to see if next year’s reps will be altered in any way – perhaps to offer players who return new rewards or to make adjustments based on last year’s feedback. We would certainly welcome some small equipable item that would automatically stir any egg in the water while we were trying to fish!
So which of the above Animal Crossing: New Horizons annual events was your favorite? Let us know by choosing your two favorites in the poll below (we also added in the seasons of Cherry Blossom, Maple Leaf and Mushroom ‘if you really enjoyed collecting these items for DIY recipe sets):
Tell us below what you liked above your favorite event (or what dulled your least favorite) and tell us what you expect in 2021.