Animal Crossing is well-known for its leisurely pace of play, and that attitude also applies to its release schedule. Barring a few spin-offs of varying quality, New Horizons--which is set to release this Friday, March 20--is the first core entry in the series since 2012's New Leaf. This Switch title takes the series in a fresh direction, placing the player in charge of a deserted island, and introducing Minecraft-like crafting systems to the game.

Reviews for the bubbly sim game are in, and they're overwhelmingly positive, including our 8/10 review-in-progress. "There's only so much you can do every day in Animal Crossing," our critic Kallie Plagge wrote. "Part of the fun of its real-time clock is going to bed wondering what you might wake up to in the morning--how your town might change, who might move in, what special visitor might be there tomorrow. So far, I've played Animal Crossing: New Horizons for 80 hours over 17 days, and that anticipation hasn't yet gone away. While I've spent a lot of time developing my island so far, I still feel as if there's plenty left for me to do and see--there's a lot in New Horizons to occupy your time with."

We've rounded up some more reviews below, with most of them striking a fairly similar tone. In general, critics are impressed by the integration of the new survival-inspired mechanics within the existing framework of the series. On the other hand, some express concerns about the game's pace and overall longevity. For more reviews, check out our sister site Metacritic to see what even more writers had to say.