I'm quietly obsessive about Floatopia, a free-to-play superpowered Animal Crossing-like that's New Horizons meets My Hero Academia

I’ve been saying it for years: the one issues Animal Crossing is lacking are rocket boots and superpowers.

Okay, I’ve not been saying that – however now that I’ve seen it’s a factor, I’m quietly obsessed.

Floatopia, a free-to-play Animal Crossing-like from NetEase Video games, is sort of a toybox life sim crossed with that anime trope the place the protagonist is the one regular particular person in a world of superpowers.

Set to a real-life day/evening time cycle like Animal Crossing, you construct a floating paradise – this time within the sky as a substitute of a tropical island – constructing and adorning your own home, fishing and interacting with a always rotating forged of holiday makers, every with their very own “ineffective superpowers”.

Some, just like the emo introvert Mistika, have the basic energy to manage ice, whereas others have extra sensible quirks like the flexibility to develop crops tremendous shortly. There additionally appears to be like to be a chibi sheriff in a bullet-proof vest referred to as Fluffy, which is among the most hilariously tonally dissonant issues I’ve ever seen.

They’re all peachy and fuzzy like Sylvanian Households, and although I’ve seen lots of people say they appear vaguely terrifying from the trailer, in-game the toy field look – the place your own home opens out like a playset – is definitely very nice with a whole lot of texture; form of like Pokemon Concierge.

Apparently, on the earth of Floatopia these guests pilot their islands via the skies, pitching up subsequent to your private home at any time when they’re within the space. Day-by-day, completely different islands will come into orbit round your central homestead with new characters to fulfill and new gadgets and supplies to find.

As a cadence it’s a very intriguing idea, and I’m fascinated to see simply how a lot Floatopia shares with Animal Crossing. From the quick demo I’ve performed at Gamescom 2024, there’s the same interface the place you construct furnishings from sources scrounged throughout your island, you mosey back-and-forth between the store and participate on the town occasions with different residents, and the soundtrack parps out the identical brassy horns as New Horizons, however how far more brazen can it get? Will there be a museum to fill with bugs and artwork, simply as I’ve already landed fish, chopped logs and hoovered up stones?

Mechanically, Floatopia is – fortunately – barely completely different. Fishing is extra concerned than the 1-2-3 mini-game in Animal Crossing, however the greatest distinction is traversal, the place your character jets round with rocket-powered boots which ship you hovering from island-to-island. As a result of it’s Unreal Engine, Floatopia feels extra open and interactive than the full-fat Animal Crossing, with extra seamless exploration and better sense of verticality and distant perspective. You’ll be able to swim within the water and soar over blockages, however I ponder if that can find yourself being factor.

Animal Crossing New Horizons was virtually made higher by its constraints, with the clunk of whipping out your ladder to scale a cliff or going the good distance round your island to get to the one bridge grounding you within the mundanity of your island simulation and making you are feeling current and engaged in making your means round a comparatively small area.

Because it’s extra open and simpler to get round, will probably be fascinating to see for those who really feel extra penned in whereas taking part in Floatopia, even when it’s set in a bigger area, and if the boundaries really feel extra synthetic.

Just lately, I’ve heard lots of people say they’re taking the plunge and restarting their island in New Horizons and revelling in recollecting all the moths, sea creatures and spare elements they’ve already picked up 100 occasions. However I feel that places Floatopia in a very sturdy place, not despite its spinoff tendencies, however due to them.

We’ve seen again and again that a large quantity of individuals need principally the identical as what they’ve seen earlier than, simply with slight variations. So when you can fairly simply peg Floatopia as an Animal Crossing clone on a scale we’ve not likely seen MySims, when Nintendo is sort of completely happy to go away you hanging for 8 years between sequels new video games had been at all times going to steal in to scoop up that demand (similar to Palworld did for a Pokemon-esque survival sport).

However with Floatopia, there’s at all times the cumulonimbus storm cloud of free-to-play monetisation lingering within the distance. Considered one of Animal Crossing New Horizons’ greatest strengths was its egalitarian spirit, with free garments patterns, star piece meet ups and turnip value events all forming the bedrock of a very cosy expertise.

Floatopia appears to have emulated the feel and appear of Animal Crossing, however I’ll be watching intently to see if it could nail the vibe as properly.

You’ll be able to pre register for Floatopia, and obtain a “free island present pack”, at its official web site.