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Sunday, 26 April 2020

The Apps Are Alright: ACNH Travel Guide

There's no reason why Animal Crossing: New Horizons had to be so delightful. Nintendo could've half-assed it or even one-quarter-assed it and they would've still printed money. Instead, like the premium console game designers they are, ACNH has a seemingly infinite amount of stuff to collect and build, each with its own lovely animation and backstory.



Likewise, the ACNH Travel Guide iPhone app – currently the first or second best-selling "Reference" app – is a beautifully-crafted thing, free of the usual subscriptions and shady in-app purchases associated with unofficial game guides.

Once, I lived in ignorance, chasing the shadows of worthless yellow butterflies. Now my eyes are open to the true form of this world, a world where the value of bugs is easily summoned and precisely quantified. Thanks to the ACNH Travel Guide, when I see a paper kite flutter across my screen, its real nature is revealed to me: a floating bag of 1000 bells.

But if you have purer motivations, you'll rejoice at its compendium of DIY recipes. Can't remember what you need to build a fountain? Just search, right from the home screen. More of a completionist? Worried you haven't caught all the fish available this month? It's got you covered.

Fuck this guy

Yes, ACNH Travel Guide is "just" a database of all the bugs, fish, fossils, furniture, clothes, etc. in the game. But it is the platonic ideal of that database.

I have nodded approvingly at its effortless combination of iOS design patterns with an ACNH style. I gave an Obama-style "not bad" at its Dark Mode support and customisable home screen. And I wept at its lovely "What's New" screens, shown every few days with goodies like Time Travel support and icons for Villagers.


Given its rank and ratings so far, I'd guess it's sold tens of thousands of copies worldwide. At $2.99, that's a great payday for its sole developer, Jeffrey Kuiken. But that's fine! If we want nice things, we have to pay for them.

Don't waste your time with wikis. Put aside childish things like Reddit. Make your premium gaming experience even premiumer... with the ACNH Travel Guide.

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