I'm quitting ACNH (longest post ever)

[thatveryawkwardmayor]

I only skimmed through some things on here and don't 100% agree with all of your points (for example I like the dialogue even if it could still be better and think some of the mean GC dialogue is too harsh), but I do agree with a lot of it--the game feels incomplete to me too, as if even though it was delayed they needed more time, especially with all the glitches and the fact that multiple of them are massive and gamebreaking and/or make people feel uncomfortable with using multiplayer features. I don't like the update model because I absolutely hate the uncertainty of so many things being gone and not knowing if they'll come back and just having to say "well maybe we'll get it with an update!" and I'm really upset that the minigames are gone, they hyped up 8 player multiplayer but what's the point of it? I was hoping for more minigames and never expected they'd be gone completely, and honestly? 8 player multiplayer takes forever to even get everyone in because of the loading screens and then lags to unplayability and it makes me wonder if they even tested it at all. Also, I hate when people say we're looking at NL with nostalgia goggles or whatever because I literally still play New Leaf, I have 4 towns and I still play it every day and I'm having more fun with it than NH still so yeah I feel you, OP.

I really shouldn't be going off on my own rant on your post though so I'll just say this: it's okay that you're feeling this way! I feel like you should just take a break rather than entirely quitting the game, but that's up to you and I get how you feel.

i agree that the game is incomplete but we’re also comparing a game thats been out for a month to game that beens out for 7 years on a completely different system thats ran its course. the last big update was 2016 that was a total game changer, and that happened 3 yrs after the initial release. a lot of games are moving to a steady dlc/updates model so i think we’re gonna see more changes like these from future nintendo releases.

like someone else mentioned, if people are feeling bored or frustrated with the game its probably because they’ve logged 100+ hrs into the game already. life has stopped for most of us, and its completely resonable to feel tired of a game that you’ve spent hours playing. theres a lot of things that i would like to see changed or updated that probably should have been there in the initial release, but patience is key when playing this game. patience has always been hallmark of animal crossing

 

[JKDOS]

I think I might be in the minority and I am about to say a very not popular thing but I hated NL. Being the mayor, what? I bought it when it came out, played a little bit, left it there to collect dust for years and then came back later when the rumours about a new AC game started to go around. But I hated it so much, I only love and always will WW. I still play it sometimes

Being mayor was okay, but poorly executed. It felt like Isabelle was the Mayor, and I was just a secretary and helping her decide how things should go. Also, you had to wait for villagers to suggest ideas for PWPs. This means it could have taken years to unlock a PWP you wanted. Building upgrades were also painfully slow to unlock, especially the final Nook's upgrade, since you had to pass Gracie's check 5 times. Since Able's sisters only sold like 3 clothing options per day, I had to buy everything possible per day and drop them all over town just to be sure I could pass the fashion check when Gracie showed up.

 

[Babypink]

Being mayor was okay, but poorly executed. It felt like Isabelle was the Mayor, and I was just a secretary and helping her decide how things should go. Also, you had to wait for villagers to suggest ideas for PWPs. This means it could have taken years to unlock a PWP you wanted. Building upgrades were also painfully slow to unlock, especially the final Nook's upgrade, since you had to pass Gracie's check 5 times. Since Able's sisters only sold like 3 clothing options per day, I had to buy everything possible per day and drop them all over town just to be sure I could pass the fashion check when Gracie showed up.

Completely agree! I felt stressed in NL!

 

[starlightsong]

i agree that the game is incomplete but we’re also comparing a game thats been out for a month to game that beens out for 7 years on a completely different system thats ran its course. the last big update was 2016 that was a total game changer, and that happened 3 yrs after the initial release. a lot of games are moving to a steady dlc/updates model so i think we’re gonna see more changes like these from future nintendo releases.

like someone else mentioned, if people are feeling bored or frustrated with the game its probably because they’ve logged 100+ hrs into the game already. life has stopped for most of us, and its completely resonable to feel tired of a game that you’ve spent hours playing. theres a lot of things that i would like to see changed or updated that probably should have been there in the initial release, but patience is key when playing this game. patience has always been hallmark of animal crossing

I've gotta be honest, I'm not looking for debate with my post, just sharing how I feel with OP since we feel the same on a lot of things. But I don't really like this type of model just in general so I'm kinda frustrated with nintendo/the gaming industry as a whole at the moment, not just Animal Crossing. And I guess this is part of why lately I just keep replaying old games that I already know are good instead of getting into new ones. But to me, NL felt complete and amazing already and welcome amiibo was just an awesome surprise that brought new life into it when not as many people were playing anymore. It added a bunch of entirely new things along with old things like the villagers all for free and I loved that. This time around I'm desperately waiting for updates wondering if something I loved before will ever come back or if it's just permanently gone, and I might never know, and I hate that. Your opinion is just as valid as mine is and OP's is though.

 

[Clock]

I'm sorry you feel this way when playing NH, I think you need a break playing NH because you might be playing too long. I tend to feel this way sometimes, so I end up playing the other AC games or find something else to do so I don't push myself to far.

 

[naranjita]

I wanted to adress the topic of people saying they're bored after 320/400 hours. like, the game came out 45 days ago? if you're bored of the game, it's because you've logged 8-10 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY SINCE LAUNCH. take a break, go play something else. Valorant is pretty good if you're into shooters, Minecraft is getting a huge update, Xenoblade definitive edition is coming out soon. Maybe you're like me and you haven't finished all the routes in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I'm coming back to that after 250 hours of Animal Crossing. It's okay to be bored if it's the only thing you've done for a month and a half. Nintendo couldn't have predicted that we'd receive this game at the exact time most of us get holed up in our houses all day. Learn a new hobby, Go outside and take a walk if you live in a rural area and that's an option. It's okay to be bored of a game that's given you 400 hours of enjoyment. take a break and come back for events and updates.

this tbh, I feel like we're holding animal crossing to insane standards. most video games out there won't give you 30 hours of entertainment, let alone 400. and animal crossing was always a series that you were supposed to play maybe 1 hour a day. I'm so confused when I see people being like "there's nothing to do in new horizons, I talk to my villagers a bit, check the shops, maybe do some fishing and I'm done for the day"... like, isn't that what we always did in animal crossing? what were you doing in previous games that could keep you entertained for 10 hours a day, every single day, for over a month? this was always a series that you were supposed to play for an hour or two every day for months if not years. it was a mobile game before mobile games even existed.

 

[Tatoenami]

While reading your post I found a lot of things that I agreed with you on!
But the majority of the time I was just thinking you'd be a really great concept/game developer That Zipper concept you created sounded really interesting, I would be excited to play it
I also agree with many others on this post, maybe we just need a break from the game. It's not going anywhere and yet some of us are holding on to it for our dear lives haha

 

[astoria]

I read your whole post and I agree with it. I’ve played the original one for GameCube and feel like that game is better than this one. Like it’s 2020 and the game is so empty and feels boring to me. I feel like I wasted $60 on this for so little content. The events aren’t even exciting either, I did the May Day tour and I was like what is this? Nook said it was supposed to be something relaxing for all your hard work but it was just a hard maze that I had to restart 3 times only to have rover give me a briefcase. Very boring. I’m not playing it everyday like I was in the beginning because there’s barely anything to do.

 

[kjetta]

People have articulated far better than I can some points, and without wanting to rehash what has already been said, I want to share my thoughts.

The way I relate to this is completely different to a lot of people in this thread (and on this forum wider it feels) as I personally like that they have not front-loaded the game. It doesn't feel 'incomplete' to me, as Animal Crossing never felt like a game to be completed. They are committing to continuing to add content to the game as it evolves, and that feels refreshing to me. Regardless of it is content found in previous games, that has little impact on me. The point is that this game is a new game, not New Leaf.

I think nostalgia and enough time removed from the initial experience of playing older entries in the series clouds peoples views of them. When I got New Leaf, I played for the first few months relentlessly. I would be on every hour of the day if I could. And as time went on, I grew bored. I started to play for half an hour each day (and only to water plants and do chores). People think that having the "absence of content" is the issue with the game, and I'm inclined to disagree. I don't believe that Animal Crossing is designed to be a game that you sink hours and hours into each day for the rest of the year. It is slow paced. There is objectively little to do (regardless of game entry). I believe COVID-19 and the quarantine/lockdown to be a huge issue for AC because (despite what all the articles and reviews would have you believe) I don't think that AC is the 'perfect' game for lockdown.

I have more thoughts, but I notice that as I write these initial thoughts I'm getting increasingly frustrated because I genuinely don't agree with a lot of the sentiments shared across forums about this game. My objective isn't to change people's minds, but I suppose to caution people that nostalgia, unusual circumstances and (perhaps) too high expectations are all partly to blame for peoples disappointment with this entry into the franchise. I will end it there as I don't know if I'm in the best headspace to continue.

 

[Dewasa]

I've never played NL so I'm not even going to try and tackle the comparison between the 2 games. I do have question as I see a theme when people are comparing the 2 games, there seems to be a lot more features/things in NL. Those features, were they introduced when the game was released? I don't know if they were updated in or if out of the box, all of those features were all available.

 

[Altarium]

I'm so glad someone has put into words how I've been feeling recently!

The game has just gotten.... boring?? After like a month of gameplay?
I understand that they're adding new events and things gradually and all that but for the meantime the game just feels so hollow? I have over 400 hours and I think half of that is just me staring at the screen, willing myself to find something to do because I don't want to admit the game is lacking.

It's a gorgeous game and was so fun in the beginning, but there's just not enough to do man.

I also think you got the topic of villager dialogue SPOT ON!!!!!
I've got mostly wolves on my island so I have quite a few crankies (by my own choice) and I can basically recall every single thing a cranky villager can say to you. I feel like they could take the villagers out of the game and it would more or less be the same - they don't seem to be the main focus unlike previous titles.

Feel comfort in the fact you're not the only one feeling like this. Maybe a break is needed?
I've been limiting how often I play now and it gets me more interested in the game.

You've brought up some really good points here though, for which I'd have to agree to most if not all of them.

I think one of the problems here has been the virus and having to be on lockdown. Everyone has played the game WAY more than they would be able to normally without the pandemic going on, and I believe that's why some are starting to feel burned out. They did what was supposed to be done in 2 or 3 months in a single month. This is not anyone's fault, and I'm by no means trying to attack or be rude, sorry if it's coming across that way! I just think the developers weren't expecting everyone to be locked down by the time the game released and having more free time than usual. Taking a break is in order, I think!

 

[Hanyuu]

I've never played NL so I'm not even going to try and tackle the comparison between the 2 games. I do have question as I see a theme when people are comparing the 2 games, there seems to be a lot more features/things in NL. Those features, were they introduced when the game was released? I don't know if they were updated in or if out of the box, all of those features were all available.

As a 3DS game, regular updates weren't as easy, especially on the scale that they are for NH, so NL was released as a pretty much completed game. I think the last update was around 2016? It's been maybe 5 years since I played properly so I don't really remember! I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong

 

[JKDOS]

this tbh, I feel like we're holding animal crossing to insane standards. most video games out there won't give you 30 hours of entertainment, let alone 400. and animal crossing was always a series that you were supposed to play maybe 1 hour a day. I'm so confused when I see people being like "there's nothing to do in new horizons, I talk to my villagers a bit, check the shops, maybe do some fishing and I'm done for the day"... like, isn't that what we always did in animal crossing? what were you doing in previous games that could keep you entertained for 10 hours a day, every single day, for over a month? this was always a series that you were supposed to play for an hour or two every day for months if not years. it was a mobile game before mobile games even existed.

Agreed. Previous games don't offer much more. Sure you could go to a Cafe, but what did that provide? 60 seconds of content for your character to drink a pointless cup of coffee and then leave? If NH had the Cafe right now people would still be complaining after 350+ hours in the game. (I hope that didn't sound too harsh, it wasn't meant to be). The only thing missing IMO that could offer a good extra 15-30 minutes of enjoyment is a club for DJ K.K. . I know the club is hated by many, but the DJ remixes of the K.K. music are pure amazing.

In New Horizons, I am constantly rearranging everything in my town trying to achieve perfection, so I am never really out of things to do. Since furniture can't be placed outside in previous titles, all I could do is just place paths. I could try to do something with flowers and trees, but you cannot move trees like you can in NH, so you had to deal with dead spots, and flowers just flat out died if you didn't water them (Excluding that ordinance in NL). There was hardly anything to do in the past games after you watered flowers, picked fruit, and picked up shells. In the Wild World days, I spent hours of my time just playing online socializing with players and seeing what they did with their house. This feature still exists. Though as an adult now, I use it sparingly, as I just don't have time for it, especially considering with the time I do have, I want to spend towards town improvement.

 

[starlightsong]

what were you doing in previous games that could keep you entertained for 10 hours a day, every single day, for over a month?

okay, i was going to make a long list here of stuff that i did in NL and still do--and just to be clear, yes I do still play NL on my 4 towns that i've had for years so no i am not just pretending that it's great because of nostalgia--but tbh i get the feeling that op was probably just looking to vent and not looking to make a debate thread, and i already said i wasn't looking for debate, so i'll just say that there are tons of things i do in NL that i'm severely missing in NH (many of which have been in previous entries rather than just being introduced in NL, or which make no sense not to have in a game set on a tropical island) and i have logged far, far, far more than 400 hours into it over the years. i definitely don't just talk to my villagers, check the shops, do some fishing, and then quit. it is not lacking in content in the slightest. and even if it was, OP's feelings are still valid and understandable.

 

[Altarium]

I wanted to adress the topic of people saying they're bored after 320/400 hours. like, the game came out 45 days ago? if you're bored of the game, it's because you've logged 8-10 hours EVERY SINGLE DAY SINCE LAUNCH. take a break, go play something else. Valorant is pretty good if you're into shooters, Minecraft is getting a huge update, Xenoblade definitive edition is coming out soon. Maybe you're like me and you haven't finished all the routes in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I'm coming back to that after 250 hours of Animal Crossing. It's okay to be bored if it's the only thing you've done for a month and a half. Nintendo couldn't have predicted that we'd receive this game at the exact time most of us get holed up in our houses all day. Learn a new hobby, Go outside and take a walk if you live in a rural area and that's an option. It's okay to be bored of a game that's given you 400 hours of enjoyment. take a break and come back for events and updates.

Yeah this is pretty much what I wanted to say :3

 

[SheepMareep]

It doesn't feel 'incomplete' to me, as Animal Crossing never felt like a game to be completed. They are committing to continuing to add content to the game as it evolves, and that feels refreshing to me.

(Dont feel a need to reply just wanted to touch on this more as well!!!)
This this this!
Everyone is complaining there isnt enough content or that the events arent what THEY thought of.
Personally I think there is plenty of content. Visiting merchants are MUCH more common than in other games, you have the stores, you can terraform, theres unlimited decorating possibilities.
With 7 years to contemplate the next game people have definitley come up with ideas they want and hope to see in the game. Then they get mad when... it isnt implemented the way they expected.
That's not on nintendo at all; that's on the player for coming up with grand ideas that... likely wouldn't of been added in the first place or werent guaranteed to be added in.
Thinking up ideas is fun to do but if you start developing an ENTIRE plan of what something *will* be and then it doesnt turn out that way because you arent a dev for the game then it brings about a wave of disappointment all at the fault of the person coming up with and depending on these features to be added despite never being promised it.
Cant be upset over a feature in the game because you had a better idea for it despite having 0 input in the games development ykno.

Can be upset if the event isnt fun or interesting in general, but to compare it to your own ideal scenario that does not exist and was never said to exist is... eh.

 

[alpacac]

I think everyone here has discussed how lockdown has caused everyone to play relentlessly (causing burnout) and I have to say I agree!

My university has switched to online so I've attempted to maintain a 10-5 study day each weekday. As such, I only spent 2 hours a day max on ACNH which makes me feel like I'm not as burnt out with the game as everyone else seems to be reporting?? It's pretty clear when I compare my town (which has only like... 1/10th completed) to everyone else whose town is already mostly done, had all their dreamies achieved and basically everything that can be done so far

I think if you take a break from the game and come back it might give you a fresh perspective. If waiting for updates aren't your thing maybe take a longer break for updates to accumulate? The NL amiibo update did take 3 years afterall, and that's kinda what re-sparked my gameplay on NL after going hard for months and then stopping for a few years.

 

[thundershot]

tl;dr

I skimmed. Take a break. I’m enjoying the slow build of the game. I don’t need a bunch of buildings and NPCs. I’ll appreciate them more if they slowly arrive.

 

[moon_child]

I think I might be in the minority and I am about to say a very not popular thing but I hated NL. Being the mayor, what? I bought it when it came out, played a little bit, left it there to collect dust for years and then came back later when the rumours about a new AC game started to go around. But I hated it so much, I only love and always will WW. I still play it sometimes

I didn’t hate NL but compared to NH, I like NH miles and miles better so we’re on the same boat of unpopular opinion, I guess. I played NL for a very long time and I still remember all the things I didn’t like about it that were addressed in NH:

- No more grass deterioration.
- No more dead saplings / flowers.
- You can transfer actual trees without cutting them down and waiting 4 days to grow.
- You can landscape in bulk. No more one sapling and two bushes a day. You can actually finish a garden in an hour. In NL, without TT, that would take you months.
- No more plot resetting.
- No more PWP farming.
- No more talking incessantly to villagers to find out who’s planning to move.
- The islanders are more alive than ever now. They do things and interacts with objects. They remember stuff. They have relationships with each other. They’re no longer walking around aimlessly like dead robots.
- Terraforming.

Those alone are enough for me to not complain about some buildings or NPCs missing. I think it just suits my play style better, overall. Since everything is more convenient now and the focus was on the actual gameplay. I just wish we could craft multiple items. Save from that, at least in my case, NH is miles away from NL. In NL, I only played maximum 30 mins a day cause there’s nothing to do. Yes there are more buildings but it’s not like I do anything there anyway. In NH, I play A LOT. Around 4-6 hours a day on and off maybe.

 

[Chris]

Your post reads more as a burnout due to over-playing the game, rather than a lack of things to do. You've exhausted all that there is to do due to excessive play. You'd be bored of any game if you put that many hours into it in such a short period of time. Most games these days you can beat the main story in 10-40hrs, and 100% complete it in under 100hrs.

I personally feel New Horizons is far better than it's predecessors. I'm still hooked and feel there is plenty of gameplay left, but I've nowhere near as many hours logged as you have.