Island hopping is becoming an increasingly popular way to spend time in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. As maintained by Nintendolife, island hopping is the game’s pièce de résistance. “ Terraforming was the addition that initially got everyone talking but, after 300+ hours of gameplay, I’m just as enamored with the game’s Mystery Island Tour mechanic and ‘island hopping.”
Purchasing a Nook Ticket to uncharted island territory will cost you 2,000 miles, but players are quickly finding out that paying to play is often well worth it. It’s not so much the trip itself that has players trading in their savings for a coveted seat on the next Dodo Airlines flight to wherever. The draw of island hopping lies in the nearly limitless ways in which island hopping can augment your in-game experience.
For starters, island hopping with the Mystery Island Tour will take you to deserted islands where a myriad of treasures await. An element of RNG is involved, but players can encounter a variety of non-native flora and fauna, explore unique island layouts, earn money, and even speak with new villagers.
Before amiibos were introduced in New Leaf, players had no control over which villagers they would share their island with. Island hopping in Animal Crossing: New Horizons builds upon that feature by letting you invite villagers to visit your island—and potentially become permanent residents. There’s no guarantee that they’ll agree, of course, but it’s nice to know your actions can impact the behavior of the game’s NPCs.
Another unprecedented feature fomented by the introduction of island hopping is the expansion of the stalk market. The stalk market has been around for some time, but island hopping creates an arena for financial transactions on a global scale. Players with high turnip prices are even letting people visit their island for a cut of earnings. While the stalk market is lauded by most as a quick way to make bells, some players argue that the market’s transactional nature is caustic to the bucolic charm that makes Animal Crossing the care-free escape that it is.
In a similar vein, the feature has also given birth to a black market, where highly sought after villagers, creatures, plants, and more are sold for top dollar. The black market is officially condemned by Nintendo but is undoubtedly one of the game’s most prominent features. Discord servers with thousands of members connect a global web of trade made possible by island hopping, and it all takes place just out of Tom Nook’s sight.
On a sunnier note, players are also using island hopping as a means to visit friends and family during a time of increasing social isolation. In-game birthday parties, weddings, and get-togethers are hardly a replacement for IRL experiences, but, for now, it’s really all we have. Island hopping may have been overlooked at first, but it’s quickly becoming the game’s go-to feature.
Source: nintendolife
