Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer review embargo lifted up!

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Well, the review embargo has been lifted up today and we've seen some reviews already. At the time of writing this post, there are 16 reviews on metacritic, in which 68/100 is currently the average score. That pretty much sums up my rather low interest of the game, and that is coming from someone who thought Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a must-own title.

Why is the score that low? Read at least a few reviews from there and decide if it's worth getting or not.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/animal-crossing-happy-home-designer
 
It's obvious that HHD wouldn't get a huge rating. It's such a small little "minigame." I'm prepared for that already and know what to expect. We are not getting another ACNL with this game.

Regardless, it's cute, I like designing and I like Animal Crossing. I'm still getting it. XD
 
I think reviews bring up a lot of good points, and are super useful to finding out if games are super buggy or incomplete.
I know I've bought low scoring games like Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley and loved every minute of it! It really depends on what people are looking for :)
 
It's a niche game with a very specific theme. It's obvious why the reviews could be low but it's also obvious to people who love to design and customize that this would be a great game for them. This game isn't revolutionary it's simply entertaining. Animal Crossing fans are already used to that genre of game.. this is just an even more simplified version of what already was a very simple game.
 
Shimmer said:
It's obvious that HHD wouldn't get a huge rating. It's such a small little "minigame." I'm prepared for that already and know what to expect. We are not getting another ACNL with this game.

Regardless, it's cute, I like designing and I like Animal Crossing. I'm still getting it. XD
Click to expand...

I agree :) I'm prepared for this not to be a "complete" AC title, and I'm excited to opt in to send Nintendo my play data to hopefully go towards an awesome new full game :D
 
what you get out of the game depends on what you put in it. you can get a LOT of fun and playtime out of it if youre actually trying.
if youre already on the fence about it and held back by comparisons to new leaf and not willing to invest joyfulness and exploration of possibilites which many reviewers seem to be that will limit your fun in achhd.
but oh well

(gonna skip reading reviews.. seems pointless.. i'm over the negativity)
 
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Hm well, I need to play more to form a full opinion, but I can see where these reviews are coming from so far. While I'm enjoying the game, it definitely isn't giving me any kind of "OMG THIS IS AMAZING" feelings. It's not going to be winning any awards certainly.
 
Justin said:
Hm well, I need to play more to form a full opinion, but I can see where these reviews are coming from so far. While I'm enjoying the game, it definitely isn't giving me any kind of "OMG THIS IS AMAZING" feelings. It's not going to be winning any awards certainly.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way now, two months later. It's a good game, just not... great. The Happy Home Network addition got me into it again, but I still don't choose this one first when I get on my DS, so I haven't actually designed a ton of stuff. At least it will last me forever at this rate!
 
Yeah, seems like an alright game, an "it'll do" game until the next full fledged AC game is released. Not expecting superhigh ratings, and I am fine with that. It'll be a nice game to unwind with.
 
Makes sense to me. ACHHD is focused on a small aspect of the entire franchise, and there's of course no guarantee that house designing is an aspect that interests everyone.

Overall it may be 68/100 but for those who are crazy about the design aspects of Animal Crossing, it should undoubtedly be higher. :)

- - - Post Merge - - -

ANC said:
Yeah, seems like an alright game, an "it'll do" game until the next full fledged AC game is released. Not expecting superhigh ratings, and I am fine with that. It'll be a nice game to unwind with.
Click to expand...

It could also be a way for them to make money while introducing a new design system they intend on implementing in future games.... Let's hope that's the reason.
 
A game like HHD is almost impossible to score on a number scale. Really, it's just not possible for that to be accurate. It hits such a specific market and will only offer full value to those who are genuinely interested in what it's offering. It comes down to:

Do you love Animal Crossing?
Was one of (or was) decorating homes your favorite part of the series?
Do you enjoy interior decorating as a whole?
Do you like games like Tomodachi Life, Style Savvy, and Nintendogs?
Do you aim for a more relaxed experience when playing videogames?
Do the Amiibo cards make you scream like a little girl?

Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Buy it. It'll likely be a solid experience for you.

The only thing I've noticed so far in reviews as a 'negative' point was not receiving realistic feedback from clients. Honestly, I don't see that as some huge disappointment. I've said it once a few weeks ago and I'll say it again: use your imagination.
 
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Mairmalade said:
I've said it once a few weeks ago and I'll say it again: use your imagination.
Click to expand...

Reading the reviews I got the impression that even though it's been clear that this is a spinoff, there's still an expectation that this will be more than a spinoff.

This is an aside/rambly musing, but generally speaking, I also get the impression that there's a general discomfort with games that have few defined goals (or "not enough" goals). So many games, from handheld to console to MMO, have infinite loops of: "Go here. Talk to this person. Do a thing for them. Talk to another person. Fight or sneak or quest your way from point A to point B. Kill a thing that's threatening a person/our village/life as we know it. Get treasure/diamonds/that thing you always wanted/world peace." Games that leave ample room for noodling around and using one's imagination seem to be less well-received. To me, it's the games that, at the point at which you run out of storyline or quests, let you muck around and make your own fun that are the most interesting.
 
I'm just looking for something that caters to my neurotic need to control things, and this will definitely be something I enjoy. Whenever I play minecraft it's basically for the building portion only, haha. ;; My tendencies with AC:NL are similar. I just see everything as decorating, indoors or out.
 
I picked one of the lower rating reviews just to see an alternate viewpoint... and he claimed that HHD didn't introduce any new furniture from ACNL. There were new items in the screenshots he posted alongside the review. Ok dude.
I feel like most of the low scores are coming from people who didn't play very long, or who don't have much interest in the series in the first place, so... I'm not going to read any more.
 
KitchenWhisk said:
I picked one of the lower rating reviews just to see an alternate viewpoint... and he claimed that HHD didn't introduce any new furniture from ACNL. There were new items in the screenshots he posted alongside the review. Ok dude.
I feel like most of the low scores are coming from people who didn't play very long, or who don't have much interest in the series in the first place, so... I'm not going to read any more.
Click to expand...

Yeah I feel that if you are a huge fan of the series already, and love design, that Happy Home Designer will be a fantastic game. I have not let reviews change my mind before, unless they stated some fundamental bugs with the game.
 
I really don't put much stock in reviews. After all, Pok?mon Mystery Dungeon (at least the DS games) were rated fairly low and they're some of my favorite games.

I think HHD will be a cute way to waste time, but am I expecting it to be anywhere near as good as NL? Nope, because I'm realistic.
 
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