Animal Crossing: 10 Wonderful Tiny Details You've Probably Missed

In today's uncertain and stressful times, millions of people have found solace in the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Fans of the famously peaceful series had to wait about seven years for a new game, and their first HD offering has thus far delivered in just about every regard. Unlike other games with measurable objectives, Animal Crossing more or less gives players free rein to do as they please. Sure, there are goals to meet such as getting your island a 5-star rating, catching all of the available fish and bugs, and breeding all of the hybrid flowers (among other things), but there is no set order to these tasks; you can pretty much do whatever you want, whenever you want to. This freeform style helps to make Animal Crossing one of the most immersive gaming experiences available.

Oh, and it's f***ing adorable.

Yes, Animal Crossing is chock full of charm, not only thanks to its impossibly-cute characters and music but also its exceptional level of detail. Beneath the surface of this game lies plenty of hidden treasures for the player to experience. For example, did you know that you can actually play a game of pinball on your Pinball Machine? Did you also notice that frog villagers don't wear raincoats when it's raining? How about villager toe beans?

This game is so filled to-the-brim with "nice touches" that it was hard to narrow it down to only ten entries. Nevertheless, let's dive in...

It's fairly common knowledge by now that your player's footsteps will sound different based upon what surface they are stepping on. Stepping on bricks, for example, is going to make a lot more of a pronounced sound than stepping on the grass would. However, the developers of Animal Crossing: New Horizons took this detail even further by having the sound depend upon your footwear as well.

If your character is wearing boots, walking on bricks will produce a heavy stepping sound when running. But if you were to perform the same action while wearing sandals, it will produce a much quieter sound. There are even subtle sound differences among shoes in similar categories. The previously-mentioned sandals, for example, produce a rather light sound, while flip flops are a little louder because of the clapping sound that they make against your feet.

This exceptional level of detail in their sound design is part of what earns this game the critical acclaim that it has received.