ACNH: Time Travel - how to change the time of day? Animal Crossing guide, tips

On this FAQ page of our game guide to Animal Crossing New Horizons you will find out how to change the time of day in the game or how to manipulate time (time travel), and why... it is not necessarily worth doing so.

The store is closed at night.

Animal Crossing is a very unusual game. The time of day, as well as the time of year, corresponds to reality. We wrote more about it in another part of our guide. How does the game know what time it really is or what day of the year it is? Of course, from the information that's stored in your console. There's nothing stopping you from changing these settings in Nintendo Switch options and then restarting the game - fans call it time travel. Is it worth playing Marty McFly, the hero of Back to The Future?

The whole charm of Animal Crossing is that we are in no hurry in this game and we don't have to rush it. Sometimes you have to wait a day or two until something happens or a building is finally built. Even during this time we still have something to do - catch insects and spend time on fishing, visit other islands or collect materials for crafting. The farther we are in the game, the more tasks and opportunities we have, so we are less and less confronted with the situation that "today I have nothing to do in the game". By manipulating the time and date in console's settings you will spoil this unique aspect of the game. But the decision is yours - after all, it's only a game, you don't harm anyone, so if for some reason you think you'll have more fun, then don't hesitate.

Do you want to see your island in the winter and you don't have enough patience to wait a few months? Then you have to manipulate the time.

Advantages of time manipulation (also known as time travel)

There are some advantages to using the time manipulation option.

1. Let's start with the fact that you can make a lot of money this way. In Animal Crossing we get some money if we already have some cash stored in our bank account (something like paying out the interest). The more money you have in your account, the more you get from the bank. By jumping years ahead, you can easily make quite a fortune.
2. This way you can also speed up the construction time of new buildings, bridges or the time of other investments.
3. You can see how your island looks like in winter or participate in the autumn events (check the list here).
4. The constant time shift will allow you to play "in the morning" if you can only play Animal Crossing in the evenings when the shop is already closed.

Disadvantages of time manipulation

We have already mentioned that manipulation of time spoils one of the basic ideas on which Animal Crossing was based. Additionally, expect various problems.

Don't be surprised if your island is abandoned by other residents - they will feel ignored by you for a very long time.

If enough time passes, there will also be a lot of weeds on the island and even some cockroaches may appear in your house.