The much-anticipated release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives players a nice, relaxing escape from the chaos of today's world. Players are able to hang out with adorable animal friends, hang out on the beaches, and build crafts to help make the island stay more enjoyable, all from the comforts of a player's home.
The newest addition to the Animal Crossing family successfully immerses players even further into the happy-go-lucky realm. Nintendo now gives Animal Crossing players a chance to use design QR codes from previous Animal Crossing titles, use a keyboard to chat with other players, and see information about in-game best friends. These services are all provided to players through NookLink, an in-game system that works with the Nintendo Switch Online app. Luckily, the NookLink app is easy to navigate and hook up, which leaves players to simply play and enjoy the game rather than trying to navigate difficult connection mechanics.
Animal Crossing is a wonderful series that encourages players to explore the environment, interact with NPCs, and just enjoy the bright, sunny island life. While managing an island, players will have to build items to keep islanders happy, harvest resources, and investigate different islands from all over the world. Players are given a wild amount of control, even allowing players to manipulate the environment into a more cohesive island feel.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons are Discovered
The new Animal Crossing: New Horizon’s mobile service, NookLink, is now live and available to players. To make this all better, the NookLink set up is very easy to complete. There are a few things players can do to ensure that linking the game to the NookLink app is as easy and smooth a process as possible.
The first thing players will need to do is, of course, download the Nintendo Switch Online app for their phone. The NookLink app only works through the Nintendo Switch Online app instead of having an app of its own. Double-check the app to ensure that players are logged into the same Nintendo account that the game is attached to as well.
Additionally, be sure that the Switch is connected to the internet. In order for the game to interact with the app, the Switch itself has to be connected to the internet and have a stable connection. This ensures a quick and smooth communication process between the Switch and the smartphone.
Once all these features are checked, go ahead and launch the game. Before entering the Island, players should access the games’ settings. Simple press the (-) button once the game has loaded. Players will know that they’ve reached the settings because Tom Nook will appear and provide the player with a few options. Select the “NookLink settings” option to start hooking up NookLink.
The game will take a moment to prepare access and will autosave to make sure everything is in order. Once the autosave is complete, Tom will let you know that players will now have access to the NookLink on the Nintendo Online app.
To access NookLink from here, simply open the Nintendo Online app on the smartphone being used. Once the app has launched, Animal Crossing: New Horizons will appear under the “Game-Specific Services” section at the bottom of the app. Simply select the game and the NookLink app will launch. Players will be taken into an interface very similar to the in-game phone.
What Each NookLink App Does
Each NookLink app has a different function within the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Once the app is launched, players will be given a variety of options: Passport, Designs, Keyboards, Best Friends, and Settings. Each app will give a little spice to different aspects of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and how players interact with the game.
The Passport section is fairly self-explanatory. It provides the passport information for each player that was provided in the game. It will list the player’s title, Island name, what fruit the island has, and who the islanders who are visiting currently are. Although not necessarily important information, it's sometimes cool to have a picture of your character and all that information handy to show friends and other Animal Crossing island representatives.
Then there’s the Keyboard section, where players are able to communicate with one another. Say that one island visitor does not have headphones to be able to talk to other players with. The keyboard offers these players a chance to communicate with everyone on the island without having to worry about headphones.
The Best Friends section will list the Island Representative’s best friends. This gives players a chance to see if their best friends are online and send messages. Best friends have to be designated in-game and, as of currently, cannot be added through the app. Becoming someone’s best friend is fairly simple, but probably too long for the purposes here.
Designs is a section that allows players to reuse QR codes from previous games. This gives players access to different designs for the character’s outfits and the island. This also gives players a chance to see what other players are creating for the ultimate island experience. Players will be able to share their own work using QR codes as well. This gives players a chance to show their creativity and shine bright in front of all the islanders.
However, it is worth noting that the NookLink app is not necessary to enjoy the game as a whole. If players decide they do not want to download the Nintendo Switch Online app on their phone or are uncomfortable connecting their Switch to their cellphones, that is absolutely fine. The player is not losing out on too much by not using the NookLink app. Instead, NookLink works as a way to help players become further emerged into the game. Sure, these players may not be able to use QR codes from previous games, but half the fun of Animal Crossing: New Horizon is designing everything from the ground up.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now available on Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo Switch Online is now available on iOS and Android systems.