Hi I kinda have a genuine question:
For people that gave up/quit playing the game, is there a specific update you’re looking for that will bring you back into playing the game regularly?
Obviously so many people want Brewster, a store upgrade, etc. but I don’t really see how those things could bring a lot of longevity to the game since the core gameplay wouldn’t really change.
I definitely could see how improving villagers would make a big difference though, by adding more favors, activities, and more dialogue that is spread between the island
Honestly, I feel this game is lacking SO MANY things that it'd be unreleastic to say that, if they were added, I'd play it again, because that simply won't happen.
For starters, this game is severely lacking in the interaction aspect. Villagers act like flowerpots and the only requests they have is "give this to X" or "bring me a fish/bug", with the occasional "I lost my bag/pouch/book" and "do you want to go hunt for my treasure?". Where are the hide-and-seek minigames, the "go fetch me this villager", the house visits (whether planned or unplanned), the "bury this capsule for me and dig it up in a month" and many more? Their dialogue is repetitive, although I agree the last time I played some months ago it had been tweaked; I don't know what the current state is, though. They just look cute and admittedly the best they've ever looked, but that's it.
Secondly, there are not enough relevant furniture items and the most iconic collections (regal, astro, etc.) have been scrapped in favor of others, instead of just adding both of them. My house used to feature all of Gracie's collection and the Gorgeous Set was my favorite one. Now, both these collections and the NPC that used to sell them are nowhere to be seen.
And speaking of which, many NPCs have been removed and the few that have survived are as useful as a chocolate teapot. They're lifeless and they've been reduced to a fraction of what they used to be. I don't know if it has to do with being politically correct or not, but they all sound the same and most of them are NPCs you'll just want to interact once due to their uselessness (looking at you, Label). I personally don't care about Brewster but it's true he's been there for years now so it doesn't make sense for him and many others (Katrina, Gracie, Kapp'n, etc.) to be completely disregarded like that.
Also, the lack of upgrades for some buildings is difficult to understand. Why has more than a whole year gone by and the shop hasn't received an update in this period of time other than the initial one? This whole "deserted island" doesn't make sense anymore for most players who have been playing since day 1 or close to that date. Their islands most likely couldn't look less of a deserted island at this point, so making it look like it's difficult for resources to get there doesn't make sense now. The same applies to Resident Services customizations or your own house. New Leaf used to have more variety in that regard (in fact, there's zero customization options for Resident Services, and it looks, if not exactly the same, very similar to the NL town hall). I could add to this the lack of new/already-existing-but-not-in-the-game buildings and not just the customization of the ones currentl found in NH.
Finally, the Nook Mile Islands feature is rendered useless after a period of time has gone by. I think this was meant to substitute the island from NL where you went to catch exclusive fish and play online if you didn't find some stupid person who wouldn't let you go back. You could play minigames that have been discarded and take home durians, bananas, lychees and lemons and plant them in your own town, but, of course, they're not here. Neither are perfect fruits.
Honestly, I believe trading all of this for the ability to modify the terrain and place furniture outside isn't that worth it after all this time. They're cool features, but once the island looks exactly like you want it to look, you probably won't use that feature afgain. I didn't think about that at the beginning because I didn't even know the extent to which this game was missing these features (and probably more I've forgotten).
Sorry for the long rant, it's just I wanted this game to be the "ultimate" experience but instead it's been a disappointment to me (and many others, I see). So to answer your question: if all of the above was added, I'd consider picking the game up again.