Anyone else worried the game is much shorter and watered down than New Leaf?

[Preet]

I've been watching many reviews and everyone seems to suggest you unlock most of the features in around 1 month. There's also been mention of no Brewster, no gyroids, no Resetti, no Dream Suites, and teraforming unlocked in about 50 hours, which is reasonably 3 weeks. I feel like New Leaf took way longer.

Anything else anybody worried about or anything anyone could say to ease my worries?

 

[sudo]

I'm a little worried too tbh. I know a lot of people are optimistic that Nintendo are hiding stuff so its not spoiled, but given the fact that the game was delayed, and holiday content was cut so that they could have additional time to develop them as future updates, it seems like they maybe didnt have as much time to implement everything they wanted.

 

[coffee biscuit]

I think we all need to take a deep breath. A lot of people have the same concern including me, but remember that this game is going to receive free updates. If it's not in the game now, they're most likely going to add it in a future update. They probably don't want people time traveling to unlock things like Brewster and other shops right away, so they could be locking them behind free content updates. I also heard there are some things that reviewers aren't allowed to show or talk about, though I'm not 100% sure about that. There's no way they're going to reveal the entire game before it's released.

We'll just have to see! I'm sure the game is going to be fantastic. I think we all need to try and think about everything positive that's been shown in the game so far, instead of worrying about potential negatives. We're close to only 3 more days now.

 

[JKDOS]

We've only seen 2 weeks of gameplay. It took more than 2 weeks to get Club LOL in New Leaf.

How many weeks did it take to get Brewster in New Leaf? Pretty long time. 50 donations required at museum. Probably 2+ weeks of mayorship too.

 

[MichaelCera]

Imo I'm not worried at all- I think there's gonna be stuff that reviewers haven't covered, but even aside from that, personally I think it's about more than unlocking everything! There's all the collectables, seasonal events, crafting all of the items you want, trying to get your dream villagers, making custom furniture and clothes, etc,,, Imo I'm not too worried because I know unlocking all the features isn't end goal for me, and I've waited too long to worry about there not being enough content because I'm pretty sure there's gonna be more than enough for me

 

[Hilbunny]

I saw 1 gyroid in a video

 

[Freya]

Reviewers are on an embargo right now. I have a feeling we aren't getting all the information. Plus, Nintendo is going to be updating the game for events and such. I wouldn't be surprised if they are going to be updating the game on release day to add things.

 

[TheRealWC]

As has been mentioned, reviewers cannot mention everything (ordinances and a "plot" are some things that have been teased). I wouldn't worry too much. If anything, the creative options will allow for an easier-to-edit town than New Leaf that will mean the late-game is more fun and less cramping in what you can and can't do. For example, in New Leaf, once you placed certain buildings, you couldn't move them and had to work around them. This seems alleviated in New Horizons.

I also imagine some content will come in updates. Obviously the game is not "done." I'm sure the dev team would've liked even more time to work. It kinda seems like putting Isabelle in Smash rushed up the timeline of everything a lot, or some unforeseen developmental issue pushed everything back.

I understand the concern, but I think it's too early to worry. There's a lot we have yet to see (Brewster, Redd, paintings)

 

[sudo]

We've only seen 2 weeks of gameplay. It took more than 2 weeks to get Club LOL in New Leaf.

How many weeks did it take to get Brewster in New Leaf? Pretty long time. 50 donations required at museum. Probably 2+ weeks of mayorship too.

I thought I read somewhere that terraforming took roughly a month to unlock and The IGN reviewer was showcasing that feature as his favorite, indicating he had timetravelled.

 

[WhitneyLeigh23]

Reviewers are on an embargo right now. I have a feeling we aren't getting all the information. Plus, Nintendo is going to be updating the game for events and such. I wouldn't be surprised if they are going to be updating the game on release day to add things.

I’m hoping for this, too. I hope that updates will include new features, items , or unlocks.. not just events!!

 

[JKDOS]

I thought I read somewhere that terraforming took roughly a month to unlock and The IGN reviewer was showcasing that feature as his favorite, indicating he had timetravelled.

All that's been confirmed is Nintendo said in the 2.20.2020 direct "fully decked out". They said this during the segment where they mentioned upgrading to town hall. That's really all that's needed.

 

[shendere]

hmm.. i think the "end game" item they mentioned in that Q&A video was probably the magic wand thing, but even so, there's going to be a lot of free updates so keep that in mind! i'm sure it doesn't just include event updates, but also new additions and things to be added. plus 2-3 weeks, even with time traveling.. won't give you everything, there was months worth of work and time traveling included to unlock lots in NL. even if this turns out to have less, there's still updates to come~

 

[JKDOS]

For reference with Club LOL in New Leaf

For Club LOL to open, your shop has to be upgraded to the convenience store, and you have to have reached 100% approval rating according to Isabelle (see the starting the game guide for information about increasing your approval rating). Then the next day that you play, Dr. Shrunk will be outside of your house and will ask you to get signatures for his petition. Agree to do so, then talk to six of your villagers and ask them to sign the petition. Once you have six signatures, go talk to Dr. Shrunk in Main Street to give him the petition. Within the next four to eight days, Club LOL will open.

To upgrade to the convenience store (T&T Mart), you must have a house rather than a tent. Upgrade from the tent by giving 10,000 bells to Tom Nook. The convenience store upgrade occurs after 12,000 bells have been spent in the shop (all players on the game card can contribute) or you have bought at least 15 items. It must be at least 10 days since you created the town.

With building time alone, it takes nearly 3 weeks to get Club LOL. Plus, that's only if you legitimately speed run it. Casual players would have taken a month

We may definitely need to give the game more time to reveal things like the Roost.

 

[SheepMareep]

It takes almost a full year just to get all of the bugs/fish. a longer time to collect all of the fossils. Holidays are still a thing that only happen once a year, and there are plenty of other mini things that go on in typical animal crossing towns to keep everyone busy.

People played NL for YEARS with such a limited range of customization in comparison to NH.
The reviews are ALSO under a very strangely strict NDA for a life sim game so there is likely a LOT we do not know about yet.
They also TT'ed and were forbidden from talking about anything past a certain date

Terraforming, while a new option, is likely not the LAST thing we will unlock and should not give us a "completed" feeling to the game after one month. I'm sure there will be a lot more to unlock and do as no animal crossing game has ever been "completed" in a month.

Also remember these games have no set "ending"; it's up to the individual player and we all experience the game differently.

 

[tajikey]

People need to step back from the ledge. Most reviewers got 60 hours of gameplay in 2-3 weeks. If you're worried the game is too short, you're reading the reviews wrong. That's one half month, which barely scratches the surface of the Critterpedia, let alone the entire game.

Sure, you might be able to beat the game by your definition in that time, but it's not how the game is meant to be played.

 

[Kairi-Kitten]

This game legit has never had an "endgame" so to speak so I disagree with this thread tbh o/ I'm seeing the vids on YT w/ short gameplay/tours and it looks gorgeous and frankly i'm excited as someone who has seen several main-series remove/add features I don't see how this won't be yet another gem :') just my takeaway, but i'm still excited and ready to dive in regardless of what it offers : )

 

[ChaosKitten]

With the current trend of video games being unfinished at released, yes, I am worried about this. Nintendo is -usually- not too bad, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

 

[Xara]

i’m a bit worried, too, but as already stated reviewers are on an embargo so they can’t disclose everything. i’m sure there’s more than what has been mentioned and we know there’ll be updates dished out so i wouldn’t worry too much, just yet.

 

[sudo]

I'm not saying the game wont be good. I think what they have shown off looks really great and is a good foundation, just that the fact it was delayed, has post launch updates to fill in missing holidays, and a slower pace to stretch the time between free updates might indicate a shortage of development time for base game stuff. But I agree its too soon to tell.

 

[sdw4527]

I'm still optimistic because most of these additional features people are worried aren't in the game yet were all unlocked after Nookling Junction had been upgraded at least once. In every single gameplay vid I've seen so far, not one had Nook's Cranny upgraded. It's possible they increased the default number of days played or bells spent in the store this time for the first upgrade (which is why no one has it yet).

I'm guessing it's close to 3 weeks this time. According to GX, Nintendo has forbidden anyone from showing content past today's date. This might be to softlock anyone who tries to TT ahead and upgrade shops in advance.