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And yet, there's still a calmness about creating something from scratch to make your island look even prettier that is strangely therapeutic. Path placement is a little fiddly too, hampered by the limited camera angles and the fact you can only lay a path one tile at a time. Perhaps that's to come, but from the looks of trailers and everything I've experienced so far, I'm uncertain. You can add to or carve away existing cliffs, create or remove existing water, but forget about reshaping the island on mass. The tools – at least those I've now got access to after three intense weeks of grafting – allow you to manipulate the terrain that already exists.
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For those of you that have dreams of basically creating an island from scratch, I'm sad to say that's not the case. But that doesn't mean the latest system is perfect either. Then there's the terraforming, New Horizons brand new mechanic that lets you throw on a builder's hat and directly edit cliffs, add water features and finally, finally lets you place and edit pathways – a revelation for those of us who used to run back and forth over the same spot to physically wear the grass away to create makeshift paths in the old days. Soon your home – and probably theirs too – as well as your island will be adorned with your creations, and there's an ungodly pleasure to be found in finally landing a recipe type you've been waiting for – yes, I'm looking at you cute sofa. But soon, you'll start raking in crafting recipes, earning them from popping balloon presents that float across the sky, from the bottles that wash up on the beach, or from your merry band of island friends as gifts. To begin with, your focus will be on crafting the tools that let you fish, catch bugs, smack rocks, wobble trees, excavate fossils, plant trees and flowers, and the usual Animal Crossing busywork. Thankfully, access to crafting is such a huge part of the game it's made accessible from your first full day on the island. The headliners in terms of new additions are crafting and terraforming. That goes for access to the game's new features too - you're not going to get all of them straight away. There are actually a slew of new features to help you execute your own vision of paradise – from terraforming to new crafting tools - and the moment Tom Nook steps back and relinquishes island control to you, you're ready to create your ultimate desert getaway.
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But that doesn't mean your powers to shape the future of your new sandy home is any lessened. Nook's in charge now though, meaning you've been demoted to Resident Representative, and later when she eventually arrives like a sunbeam of cuteness, you realise Isabelle reports to Tom Nook now too. Yes, the money-focused tanuki is back with a new investment scheme, and this time it's about setting up a new life on a deserted island. That's not just because Animal Crossing: New Horizons has possibly arrived at the most perfect time – a period where many of us may find ourselves being trapped at home a little more than usual – jetting us off to an island paradise courtesy of Tom Nook.