As theAnimal Crossingseries looks to grow followingAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, it could find success by studying some of the indie games the series has inspired. Many of the indie titles in the life-sim genre have expanded upon the mechanics introduced by theAnimal Crossingseries to great effect, and it’s time Nintendo take notice and build upon them in turn for its own franchise. One way the successor toAnimal Crossing: New Horizonscould accomplish is by pulling a page out ofDinkum’s book and introducing underground mining to theAnimal Crossingseries.
Dinkumis an indie life-sim titleset in the Australian outback that combines the town-building features ofAnimal Crossingwith farming-sim and crafting elements similar to games likeStardew ValleyorMy Time at Portia. One area whereDinkumreally excels is in its mining mechanics that allow players to harvest large amounts of resources from an underground mine. With how many indie games in the genre feature some sort of mining system, it seems logical that the nextAnimal Crossingcould put its own spin on the mechanic.
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Animal Crossing Already Has the Perfect Basis for a Mining Mechanic
TheAnimal Crossingseries has never done much with the concept of mining for resources, but it has a lot of elements that could be reworked to flesh out a complete mining system. Prior toAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, the most involved mining-like elements were the ability to dig up fossils from cracks in the ground or hit a rock with a shovel for a chance to earn some gems or Bells. However,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsupped this mechanicby introducing a crafting system that allowed players to obtain iron, clay, stone, or even gold nuggets from hitting rocks. The next entry in the series could take this system a step further.
Rather than limiting players to harvesting materials from rocks on the surface, the nextAnimal Crossinggame should feature the ability to travel underground and give players the tools to mine for resources there. This feature could function similarly to that ofDinkumorStardew Valleywhere delving deeper into the mine yields increasingly greater rewards but also poses increased risks like the threat ofAnimal Crossing’s notorious Tarantulas and Scorpions. As the nextAnimal Crossingtitle is likely to expand upon the crafting system ofNew Horizons, it will need to find a way to make mass quantities of resources more widely available, and letting players mine for minerals would help solve that issue.
Animal Crossingalready has the perfect mascot character for this feature inMr. Resetti, who could use something to do after being largely sidelined inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. Historically, Mr. Resetti was the mole who would appear and berate players who did not properly save their game before turning off the console. However, due toAnimal Crossing: New Horizons' autosave feature, his talents were redirected towards Nook Inc.’s Rescue Service for players who get stuck in order to avoid softlocking their game.
With how littleMr. Resetti appears inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, giving him a new role as head of a mining operation would be the perfect way to give this fan-favorite character some more screen time and could naturally tie into this mechanic. With how solid of a foundation already exists for this feature, it seems quite likely that the nextAnimal Crossinggame will feature a robust system of mining for resources to be used in crafting. Not only would a system like this take the franchise to the next level, but it would also bringAnimal Crossingand the series' indie successors likeDinkumfull circle.
Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis available for Nintendo Switch.
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