In some ways, yes. Both are cozy games about an island home, animal friends, fishing, digging and seasonal or weekly events, and both let friends visit online. The big difference is what you do all day. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a life sim about building and decorating your island. A Short Sail is a sailing game: you are a tabby cat with a sailboat who delivers mail between little islands.
Short answer first: A Short Sail is not an Animal Crossing game, and it is not trying to be one. But if you love Animal Crossing, you will find a lot that feels familiar, so here is a plain, honest comparison.
Who makes each game
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is made by Nintendo. It came out in March 2020. It is one of the best-loved cozy games of all time, and it is only on Nintendo’s own consoles.
A Short Sail is made by Yos Riady, a solo developer. It is still in development and coming to Steam and itch.io in Q1 2027, for PC (Windows), Mac, the web and Steam Deck. A free demo plays in your browser now at play.ashortsail.com.
What is alike
Animal friends. In Animal Crossing, animal villagers move to your island, and you chat, trade gifts and become friends. In A Short Sail, the islanders are animals too: Ines the rabbit, Pip the pelican postman, Gus the beaver shipwright and more. You help them with their requests and give them rides, and they become your friends, shown as hearts. They each write to you on their own letter paper.
An island home with a name. Both games start with a fresh island that you name yourself. In A Short Sail, your home island is your base, and the name is yours to choose.
Fishing. Both games love it. In A Short Sail, different fish bite in different waters and at different hours, and a few are rare shiny ones. You cast from your boat, and you try again after dark, when your lantern glows.
Digging and a museum. Animal Crossing has fossils to dig up for Blathers’ museum. A Short Sail has treasure to dig up with the maps you find, and finds on the beaches to bring to a little museum.
Swimming under the sea. Animal Crossing lets you dive for sea creatures. In A Short Sail, you get a snorkel and swim over reefs and old ruins under the sea.
Events. Animal Crossing has a calendar of holidays and contests, like its fishing tourney. A Short Sail has a weekly calendar of events: a fishing contest, a regatta, a lantern festival and a night market.
Music. In A Short Sail you find instruments and tunes and play music, and islanders may join in as a little band.
Friends online. Both games let friends visit. In A Short Sail you host a lobby or join one by its code or from a list of public lobbies, chat, ride along in a friend’s boat and play flag tag. In online play you pick your own animal.
Gentle and kind. Neither game has fighting on foot or anything that chases you on land.
What is different
Sailing and delivery are the center. In A Short Sail, the main thing you do is sail. You catch the wind in your sail and steer your sailboat from island to island. You pick up letters and parcels, pack them into your hold and deliver them to folks. Animal Crossing has no sailing of your own; you mostly stay on your island.
Decorating is much smaller. Animal Crossing is a decorating game at heart: you fill your house with furniture, craft items and reshape the whole island. A Short Sail is not built around that. You build your home island one plank at a time, and most of your customizing goes into your boat: new sails, hulls and more.
A story to uncover. Animal Crossing has little story; you make your own. A Short Sail has the secrets of the islands to uncover, with a main thread to follow at your own pace. We will not spoil it.
Gentle sea battles. Animal Crossing has no battles at all. A Short Sail has gentle sea battles against storms and living waves, never people or animals. They are single-player only, and there are no timers.
Weather at sea. In A Short Sail, rain and storms roll in over the sea, and you sail through sun, night and storms. Animal Crossing has weather and seasons, but you watch them from the shore.
The clock. Animal Crossing runs on the real clock and calendar, so the island changes with the real seasons. A Short Sail has day and night, and the hour matters for fishing, but there are no timers, so you go at your own pace.
Size. Animal Crossing is a huge game that many people play for years. A Short Sail is a smaller game from one developer. Its length is not set yet.
Platforms. Animal Crossing is only on Nintendo consoles. A Short Sail is coming to PC, Mac, the web and Steam Deck. It has no console plans.
Side by side
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | A Short Sail | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo | Yos Riady |
| Release | 2020 | Q1 2027 (in development) |
| You play as | A human villager | A little tabby cat (pick your own animal online) |
| Main thing you do | Build and decorate your island | Sail and deliver mail between islands |
| Friends | Animal villagers | Animal islanders, shown as hearts |
| Fishing | Yes | Yes, by day and by night |
| Digging | Fossils | Treasure maps and beach finds |
| Events | Seasonal holidays and contests | A weekly calendar of events |
| Decorating | Deep: rooms, furniture, the whole island | Fix up a cottage; customize your boat |
| Combat | None | Gentle sea battles only, no timers |
| Online | Yes, friends visit your island | Yes, lobbies, chat, ride along, flag tag |
| Platforms | Nintendo consoles | PC, Mac, Web, Steam Deck |
Who should play which
Play Animal Crossing if your favorite part is decorating: filling rooms, crafting furniture and reshaping your island. Play it if you like a game that follows the real calendar, and if you want something you can play a little every day for years. If you do not have a Nintendo console, our games like Animal Crossing on PC list has picks for your computer.
Play A Short Sail if your favorite parts are fishing, chatting with animal friends and exploring, and you would love a boat to take you further. It is for players who like small daily errands, a sea full of little islands and a gentle story to uncover. Try the free demo first; it runs in your browser, and your save carries over to the full game.
Play both if you can. They scratch the same cozy itch in different ways.
Our own game
We make A Short Sail, so this page is not neutral. We tried to be fair to both games. Animal Crossing is a much bigger game, and a wonderful one. If you want more cozy island life, see our cozy island games and cozy fishing games lists.
Questions
Is A Short Sail an Animal Crossing game?
No. Animal Crossing is made by Nintendo. A Short Sail is a separate game made by Yos Riady, a solo developer. They share a cozy feel and some activities, but no characters or world.
Does A Short Sail have fishing like Animal Crossing?
Yes. Different fish bite in different waters and at different hours, a few are rare shiny ones, and you fish from your boat by day and by night. There is also a weekly fishing contest.
Can I decorate my house in A Short Sail like in Animal Crossing?
Not at the same scale. In A Short Sail you build your home island, one plank at a time, and you customize your boat with new sails, hulls and more. Animal Crossing is far deeper for decorating rooms and reshaping an island.
Is A Short Sail on PC?
Yes. It is coming to Steam and itch.io in Q1 2027, for PC (Windows), Mac, Steam Deck and the web. The free demo plays in your browser now.
Is there a museum in A Short Sail?
Yes, a little one. You dig up finds on the beaches and bring them to a little museum.
