Animal Crossing: New Horizons Hard Mode? Fans are trying to inject fun back into the smash hit

Are you among the millions of Animal Crossing: New Horizons players who are disappointed that Nintendo abandoned one of their most successful titles ever and are looking for ways to make the game fun again? Then you may be interested in trying out a set of self-imposed rules that YouTuber NintenTalk has put together called Hard Mode.

The first, and probably one of the hardest, thing you will have to do in ACNH Hard Mode is to restart your file. Because you can only have one island saved on a Switch console, you are forced to leave behind the many hours you put into the game collecting Bells, Fossils, and everything that makes your island what it is. That can be a tough ask for a lot of people, so be sure you are committed to the idea before you go through with it.

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When it is time to start a new island, choose one of the four given island options. You can reroll this part one time; your second choice is what you are forced to keep. The name of your island must be created with an online island name generator.

After your new island is ready to go, it is time to treat your villagers differently than you usually would. While normally, you would be able to talk any villager that is thinking about leaving your island into staying, anyone who is considering the idea must be let go. If you think you can get around this by not talking to your favorite neighbor, any villager with a thought bubble must be talked to.

Additional rules in this community challenge include limited farm spots, time travel, and the stipulation that turnips you buy can only be sold on your island, making your Bell-piling much slower than you’re probably used to. To incentivize community interaction, there are yard sales that participating players can partake in. Players can barter with each other and walk away with items they had been looking for on their island.

There is quite a bit to look into here, but given how stagnant Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become after it took over the world at the beginning of the pandemic, there are plenty of people very excited to give the game another shot from a new angle.