How does time work in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the world by storm when it was released back in March 2020. People were elated to have a life-simulation game that they could play while they were confined within their homes due to the global pandemic.

However, one of the most common questions that beginners of the game had was: How does time work in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? In this regard, Nintendo truly maintained New Horizons' life-simulation nature, as time follows the exact same pattern in the game as it does in real life.

---

Time works just like real life in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Nintendo took its claims of New Horizons being a life simulation title very seriously when it came to the concept of time. Unlike most other titles, an hour in New Horizons time is exactly the same as an hour in real life.

Just like in real life, a day in New Horizons also consists of 24 hours. Therefore, events that go on for a few days in real life truly go on for a few days in New Horizons as well.

Players are required to come back every day for daily tasks and events to collect their correlated items. Now, as expected, if players are in a hurry to get to a certain event, there are ways to tweak time in the game as well, with the help of time travel.

Time travel is a hotly debated topic in New Horizons, as many players believe it ruins the authentic experience of the game. The concept of time travel in New Horizons essentially allows a player to travel back and forth in time to achieve their goals in the game.

New Horizons players often indulge in time travel in the game to achieve different goals, such as acquiring a villager or attending an event for its seasonal items, which they would have otherwise had to wait for.

So, while many believe that time travel ruins the authentic New Horizons experience, there is no denying that the feature has its own advantages as well.