Right before the start of summer vacation, I decided to buy a Nintendo Switch to play the one game I’ve been wanting to get my hands on ever since it was released: “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”

I’ve been playing the video game nonstop for the past couple weeks, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, but there are some features I wish the game would include in a new update to make the game more fun and easier to play.

Before I started playing “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” I used to play “Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.”

“Pocket Camp” is a Nintendo game with a similar concept as all other “Animal Crossing” games except it’s equipped for mobile devices.

I enjoyed playing “Pocket Camp” but would often become bored of it because there wasn’t much to do in it. I would install it and uninstall it frequently, unsure of whether it deserved a place on my cell phone’s home screen.

That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to get “New Horizons.” I thought it would be fun to have an “Animal Crossing”game that had more fun activities and opportunities to explore.

But I do find myself missing some of the “Pocket Camp” features (not enough to redownload the app just yet though) and wish they were included in the “New Horizons” version of the game.

For example, I wish that the villagers that visit my island could interact more with the different items I decorate the island with like they could with the items I used to decorate my campgrounds and cabin in “Pocket Camp.”

I love seeing the villagers water the flowers planted everywhere or fish by the river or sit under the shade of a peach tree, but I still wish they could interact with the world around them more.

For example, I currently have a teacup ride on my island, and I always think of how cool it would be to see my villagers spinning around in it.

I know it may seem small, but it’s those little, charming details that make playing “Animal Crossing” fun.

Apart from features that would make the game more fun, I think there are also some features that could be great for facilitating game play.

For one, I wish there was more camera freedom when the player is strolling around their village.

Whenever the player is outside, the game’s camera is fixed, so the player can only move the camera up and down…and not by very much. This fixed camera really limits what the player can see.

Considering all the fun customization options and terraforming, I wish the camera moved 360 degrees, similarly to how it does when the player is inside their home or the home of another villager.

Being able to see the island from every angle would make it much easier for the player to design the island by offering a better view of the area they are currently in.

Also, it would be great to be able to purchase multiple items of the same kind in Able Sisters’ dressing room.

One of my favorite things to do in the game is shop for clothes for the little “Animal Crossing” version of me to wear, so I wish it was a bit easier to do so.

Able Sisters is a clothing shop that offers a wide selection of outfits and accessories for the player to purchase. The shop has a dressing room which the player can use to purchase multiple articles of clothing at a time, but the game limits how much the player can purchase at a time.

For example, if the player sees two pairs of shoes they like, the would have to buy a pair, exit the the dressing room and enter it again just to make a second purchase of shoes.

It can be quite frustrating to have to keep entering and exiting the dressing room over and over again when doing a shopping spree, so it would be helpful if Nintendo’s new update allowed us to purchase multiple items of the same kind in one sitting.

These are just some of the many features that I think would make the “Animal Crossing” experience even more fun than it already is.

Even if Nintendo doesn’t make any major updates to the game, I still have a long way to go before I run out of new things to do in the game, so I’m not stressing about it too much.

But I still wish that Nintendo would give “Animal Crossing” players something, anything to keep the game exciting once we have done everything we could possibly do in our little islands.

Right now, I’ve only heard rumors of possible updates, but Nintendo has yet to confirm anything, which sucks because “Animal Crossing” could really use some new updates.

I’ve heard veteran “Animal Crossing” players who got so bored with the lack of new features, they would go months without playing the game. I just think we all spent way too much money buying this game just to be left bored and disappointed after a few months of game play.

Kyara Morales-Rodriguez is an English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or knmoralesrodriguez@eiu.edu.