I'm quitting ACNH (longest post ever)

[naranjita]

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.

I never replied to you, I'm not sure why you're acting like I was trying to debate you?

 

[moon_child]

Oh and I forgot that now you’re able to invite villagers from the campsite even if you have a full town. That’s one of the best issues they addressed. In NL, your campsite is basically useless once you have a full town.

 

[Leeloo55]

We want so much from Animal Crossing as a franchise, and on the whole, it delivers a staggering amount of gorgeous content in a satisfying way. It has made this horrifying pandemic feel slightly less lonely and grey.

I do resent being forced to pay to access my friends online and I struggle to supervise my young kids to go to NH playgroups with their friends, but I am still SO GRATEFUL that NH launched when it did. It has given me an incredible morale boost over these months.

Take a break in order to catch your breath again, but I am glad you’ll be sticking around this forum, because you’re exactly the type of person TBT is for, and your passion fits in perfectly here.

Be happy knowing so many people wanted to talk with you about this!

 

[starlightsong]

I never replied to you, I'm not sure why you're acting like I was trying to debate you?

i didn't say you were? i meant that i was about to start debating you by making a big long list and decided to try saying something less confrontational, but i guess it came out in a confrontational way anyway unintentionally. sorry, i probably should've said nothing, it's just that i see a lot of people both on this forum and other sites lately acting like NL is lacking in content and people who love it are only looking at it with nostalgia goggles when that really isn't the case at all.

i do feel like people here are trying to debate the OP which it doesn't seem like they wanted, though. i know if i made a thread like this i would only be meaning it as a space to vent.

 

[rayraysparkles]

I think you're right about the anxiety level in the game. I've seen some people spending loads of hours resetting because they don't even like how it is to begin. We wanted so much freedom, and now we have it, I'm not sure it's good for many people! There's so much online about making your islands look amazing, people can be so mean about stuff, you feel like you have to play the same as other people, but none of this is true or does us any good! Definitely take a break. I try not to compare to other people either, and I've just restarted so now I'm even further behind! But i think a big part of it is simply we're all sitting at home unable to lead normal lives right now and everything seems to be done in a rush. Normally people would perhaps play a couple of hours after work etc, people would be going out to do more, but people can't and i think it's lead to some crazy amount of perfecting something that i don't think it's possible to do so, especially with so little content out atm!

Datamining has uncovered a lot of new things in the pipe work, and even in NL you still had to unlock and upgrade things you never got it all at once. It's the same here. There's so much missing and it will come, and i think people will find they have to constantly redo stuff as new things are released so i do think all this crazy activity is a little nuts. But people play how they want and that's fine

Just go and relax and don't think about it for a week or two. See how you feel then

 

[Altarium]

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.

Agree 100%! Just to add to the list:
- No more having to worry about someone moving out if you take a long break
- Fruit and bells stack automatically
- Rocks' locations are not permanent
- You don't have to get stuck with your starting map, and you don't need to think for 5 hours where to place a building because you can move anything now

I feel like this game has improved on so many things the series had problems with that we're taking for granted ^^

 

[naranjita]

i didn't say you were? i meant that i was about to start debating you by making a big long list and decided to try saying something less confrontational, but i guess it came out in a confrontational way anyway unintentionally. sorry, i probably should've said nothing, it's just that i see a lot of people both on this forum and other sites lately acting like NL is lacking in content and people who love it are only looking at it with nostalgia goggles when that really isn't the case at all.

i do feel like people here are trying to debate the OP which it doesn't seem like they wanted, though. i know if i made a thread like this i would only be meaning it as a space to vent.

people aren't trying to start a debate by saying that they feel different than OP, they're just stating their own opinion just like OP did. I don't think NL was lacking in content; I think NL, and every animal crossing game before and after it, was made to be played for an hour or two every day. like, I remember when I was a kid I would play WW for hours and hours every day, and some of that play time was just me walking around doing nothing or just talking to my neighbors over and over again, because genuinely there was nothing else to do, because the developers never intended me to play that long in one day.

I don't want to debate OP or anyone else because tbh I don't care if people don't like NH, it's none of my business and I'm not trying to convince anyone to like it.

 

[moon_child]

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.

They weren’t downloaded into the game but it’s not like they are available right away either. Yes, the initial shops were there from the get go (since the storyline is you arrive in an existing town with existing villagers and existing shops and not a deserted island you have to make from scratch) but upgrading them still took time. Some 30 days before they upgrade again. For PWPs, you have to wait for villagers to suggest them so some you don’t get until several months to years. I know someone who didn’t unlock the police station until her third year of playing.

 

[skogkyst]

There's a lot that people have said and, admittedly, it's kind of a lot to read, but however philosphical people write or however serious they take it, at the end of the day Animal Crossing is a video game. It's meant to be entertainment, something that makes you feel like you're enjoying your time. If you are not enjoying it, then don't pressure yourself into playing. If you ever feel like playing again, just pick it back up. It's that simple - sometimes, I think that communities and fandoms lose sight of the fact that their object of focus is just a game/movie/show/etc. You don't need a reason beyond "I don't want to play".

 

[DJStarstryker]

I know that the game is incomplete, but if you don't TT, it actually feels like there's more to do per day than in NL right now (provided they keep rolling out updates so new events crop up occasionally). The reason there's more to do each day is because of terraforming and DIYs.

I played NL without time traveling and honestly it felt pretty similar to this game, except I couldn't play as many hours per day. I would do my daily chores, maybe go fishing or beetle hunting to help pay for the latest PWP or house upgrade, and that was mostly it. In NH, I'm constantly working on designing my island, collecting DIYs, collecting materials, looking for new villagers whenever somebody moves out, etc.

I also like that there's more random visitors in NH than there was in NL. It makes you look forward to each and every day, because you want to know who has shown up. Heck, even nighttime is more fun because of making sure to look and see if Celeste or Wisp is there.

I feel like the incompleteness actually impacts TTers way more than non-TTers. You will notice that there aren't events past what the most recent update added. The more the game gets updated, the more it feels true that Nintendo simply doesn't want people to TT in this game. They keep adding TT penalties.

Maybe I'm unusual, but I felt like the Tortimer Island mini-games got super old super fast, especially because you had to play them way too much to grind out medals to buy all of the island exclusive items.

I'm not trying to belittle your feelings on the game. Honestly, I feel like part of the issue might be you're playing Animal Crossing, in general (to include the other games), too much. You might be burnt out and that's why you feel annoyed by things. Or maybe this game isn't for you. That's fine.

 

[kasane]

i do understand where you are coming from. before i even preordered the game, my biggest concern was that i wasn't going to enjoy it as much as i did with new leaf. that's why i tried to avoid as many spoilers as i could before the game's release, because when i closely followed each new announcement for pokemon sun/moon i was left with "ok, sooo now what?"

i only have half of the hours that you have put into your game but i do share some frustrations that you have:
- more specifically, the lack of "new" buildings such as the dream suite, which i always assumed was going to make a return, or at least some way for you to visit other people's islands whenever you want through a code or something
- the villager dialogue is quite plain, yes, but to me that's not really that big of an issue, maybe because it's animal crossing. compared to stardew valley, where the npcs will eventually tell you more about themselves, their hobbies, struggles, etc. the more you increase your friendship with them (i mean it'll still be the same for every playthrough but there is character development)
- i absolutely agree with the flower stuff. i get that the flowers themselves can be used for crafting, but having to dig up every single flower just to transport them, not to mention not being able to store them away like you could in new leaf, is very tedious and ticks me off
- the island rating dropping just because you dropped some crafting materials/fruit/tickets/furniture on the ground is also very annoying. sometimes i just want easier access to them, or it's to help enhance/add variety but nope, gotta remove it because they complain about how there is too much stuff lying around
- i was also surprised to learn that there is only one expansion to timmy and tommy's store. also only 5 new furnitures in total is :/
- the other thing i don't like is the amount of weeds that grow in your island, like please STOP or give us an option that could stop it from growing more and infecting my town (stardew has an item that you can unlock which freezes the growth of grass)

other than that i ran into several mind blocks as to what i wanted my island to look like, and then being dissatisfied at what i have done so far. the terraforming takes ages (when you accidentally cover up a patch of water ugh), and you can only move one building at a time (costly too). oh and laying down paths i hate it so much dear god

i made myself take a break from the game for a bit and patiently plan out what i wanted to do. i looked at some inspo online as a guidance to what i could do to my island (without outright copying). so far i'm a lot more happier/satisfied, i started by pretty much removing the cliffs/water so most of the island was flat land and planned from there. i planned out the entrance of my island and figured out how to work around my res services and maybe 1/8 of my island

overall, i am still very happy with my decision to purchase a switch just so i could play new horizons for now. i do recommend taking a break from the game and then coming back to it when you feel like tackling it again

 

[Llunavale]

I’m actually kind of relieved to see a more critical response to New Horizons. I feel like a lot of the pre- (and even post-) launch reviews were very favourable of a game they had maybe only three weeks to experience. This is bizarre for a game that runs in real time - it’s very difficult to review the completeness of a game intended to be played over at least a year. I guess what I’m saying is, I’m disappointed there were not more critical reviews out there. You’d think they’d have noticed how quickly they were ‘running out’ of content in this game.

I could write a thesis on why I think New Horizons has this weird new feeling to it, and I'm sure a lot of it has to do with nostalgia…I may make a post about it, but for now I’ll just say that for the most part, I agree with what you’ve said. I don’t know if I’d necessarily quit the game, maybe I’d take a short break from it and come back later. Right now, all I’m doing is using the spare Switch I have here to cycle some villagers for a few people. My island is very much just sitting there, waiting for something else to do.

In June, we're going to get a month long wedding event that essentially turns Reese and Cyrus into props for photographs. Maybe they’ll have a bigger role, but based one what we’ve seen of them…for me, it speaks more about the state of the game than I think most people would think. Here’s these two characters that had their own roles and personalities in the last mainline game. Now they’re props for photos.

Like a lot of people here, I really love New Horizons, but I think it’s only fair to be critical of the lesser aspects of the game…that’s how people can contribute to improving the game indirectly. No sense in being a mindless fan, nothing is flawless.

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

Sorry to pin-point you - I just happened to stumble upon this comment when I was replying. I just wanted to give a nod in your direction; you're not wrong, but I do take a slight issue with this statement. It's true we're comparing a game that's been out for less than a month to a 7 year old game, but your wording makes it sound like New Leaf has had 7 years to mature and refine itself. It hasn't. For the most part, it's remained as-is since release. The core of the game was as complete on day one as it is in the seventh year of its release. That's completely disregarding the Welcome Amiibo update which, let's be honest, was only released to sell more Amiibo cards since no one cared enough about Amiibo Festival. That wasn't the last big update, it was the only big update. I don't think it's unfair to compare New Horizons to New Leaf in that regard - one month of New Horizons is less complete than one month of New Leaf, and that is weird.

 

[Mairen]

I read the entire original post here and skimmed through the replies, but I honestly don't think this is an "incomplete" game and I don't understand why people think that. It was planned ahead of time that they were going to release content in updates, in order to give people things to look forward to. It wasn't a case of "oh we're just not going to put all of these things in the game and release it anyways, oops."

But I do agree that if you have been playing this game for 8+ hours a day, it may be time to take a breather and either give yourself a break, or move on to other games. Animal Crossing, as wonderful as it is, is not the only thing we have in the whole world. People are starting to get bored of this game, but that's entirely understandable. And it's okay to get bored of this.

Do you guys deem every game bad when you start to get bored of it? It has no obligation to entertain you with every specification you dream up. I have my own personal list of pros and cons I feel towards this game, but I'm not going to sit here and feel like nintendo purposely put those cons into the game just to spite me. I still like this game for what it is and all of the happiness it's brought me.

 

[oneinamelon91]

I didn't expect this post to get all this attention. I used to write on forums 10 years ago and now I've forgotten everything, but I'll try to answer to everyone, hoping I don't mess with things.

Before I answer, I'd like to thanks everyone who took the time to read my post and answer and I'd like to say that I'm glad to hear that someone is feeling the same for some of the things I mentioned.
And most of all I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who really can't play with sound turned on in this game.
I started to think that something was wrong with me and for some reason, I was not able to enjoy this game, but reading your answer makes me feel a little better, even if I still feel bad because I can't enjoy the game like I used to do with NL.

I think maybe either take a break, or pick the game up again once lots of updates have rolled out so you come back and have more to work with, since you said you feel anxious about planning if you don't know what's coming. I completely understand this.

I don't really have much more to say other than saying the other games are still available to you. I might go check on my GC/NL town even! Maybe play these games for the next couple of months if you feel like it and come back to NH once more things have rolled out to see if you still like it? And if not, you could maybe sell it.

I also felt the same way about the HHD buildings, I even remember posting on here that I hope restaurants and grocery stores make their way into NH just like in HHD. The music too, with how relaxing the WW and NL soundtracks were, I really was not happy with the NH soundtrack. At this point I'll mute and play other games' songs during the night instead.

I think right now a break for you is most ideal.

I think I'll totally take a break from the game and start playing HHD again or Dragon Quest Builders 2. I really enjoyed it before NH came out and after playing it, I think NH has lots of things to learn from that game (even if even DQB2 has lots of mechanics "taken" from Zelda BOTW and AC).

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.

Gosh, seriously, I too spend hours staring at the screen because I don't want to admit that I need to turn the game off because I run out of things to do. The fact is that I used to play the exact amount of hours every day in New Leaf when it came out and I never had this feeling, that's why I think that there's something wrong with NH.

While I agree that the game is incomplete, I'm actually a fan of this update model. In New Leaf era, everyone had everything in the first week with agressive time traveling and it completely ruined the social and trading aspects of the game for me. I prefer the content be gated by updates so I don't feel miles behind everyone else, as someone who doesn't time travel and hasn't at all in NH.

I prefer this "slow burn" style of animal crossing being enforced a little more than in New Leaf, where you couldn't even have anything worth trading unless you abused your system clock immensely. However, that doesn't mean this comes without its problems. I will admit I wish this game had more content at launch. The "slow burn" as it is is a little too slow. and I think every Animal Crossing fan is worried that their favorite character or feature might just... not happen. That's something that does worry me.

Events so far have been mundane, but your idea for events is quite frankly unrealistic. Especially since they're doing events for minor holidays and pumping out 2-3 a month, the amount you expected from the Easter event is pretty ridiculous to hope for, frankly. the Easter event sucked, but it's not like Bunny Day was everyone's favorite holiday in New Leaf either. Bunny Day furniture has always been awful, and quite frankly the fact that they saw complaints and hotfixed egg spawns I think is a testament that they're committed to this game.

I'm not a rabid fanboy who thinks this installment is above criticism by all means, and while some of your complaints (tedious crafting, lack of items in stores, 8 ramps limiting creativity quite a bit, shared design slots (currently my biggest problem, I invited my two little siblings onto my island and it's been a nightmare them filling my inventory with awful designs) some of your criticism seems silly or some expectations seem set too high.

Yes, they had 7 years to work on this game. But this game needed MASSIVE graphical enhancements from New Leaf, on a whole new system which might not even have been conceptualized when New Leaf was released. the game looks gorgeous, and I feel that was their main priority. So far they've been good at addressing complaints and releasing frequent updates, for now let's hope they keep the streak going.

Just wanted to share my own thoughts, since I really resonated with some of your complaints and really disagreed with others. I still enjoy the game, and I could see myself playing the game in its current state with no more updates at least until the end of the first year, when I stop getting seasonal DIYs and such. I have high expectations that Nintendo can make that 1 year into 4 or 5 with a few updates.

I'm honest, at the start I was really excited about the update model, because I didn't like the fact that time travelers were able to spoil the entire game in 3 days, but I think that they managed the thing in the wrong way.
I think the best thing would have been to release the game with only basic New Leaf things and then add later all the other staff. But they took away too much to make the game last more than 3-4 weeks.
Same thing for special characters. I think they all will be added one day, but the fact is that NL had like 60 special characters, while here we only had 20 in total (without counting the events ones).
Plus, NL had 28 special characters always available in your city (buildings, shops, Tortimer island etc) while here we have just 10 special characters always available...

Regarding the events, I was the first saying that I wasn't expecting something as big as I dreamt, but this doesn't mean that it's impossible. It could be impossible for an event that take 1 day to be completed (so it doesn't make sense to put all the effort to just make an event that lasts 1 day), but they changed the duration of the event from 1 day to 2 weeks, so you can't propose to me the exact same event as the previous games (even if they introduced diy, mechanics were really similar to the original event).

I don't think that problem is about my expectation. I mean, I always had high expectations for every AC game released, but this game in particular took 7 years to be released and I'm surprised to see that even if it introduced new things (the only real new things are terraforming, pre-determined mystery islands and the possibility to move buildings, if you count that most of the new things introduced in this chapter were already seen in HHD), it feels like an incomplete game.
The biggest change in the game is regarding graphics as you mentioned, but I always didn't care about graphics but more of what the game has to offer. To be honest I would prefer a game with Amiibo Festival graphics style (at the end it is New Leaf graphics in hd) but with more longevity, instead of new improved graphic and lack of contents, but in this case I'm aware of the fact that I'm probably the only one thinking like this.

No problem with your thoughts, we are all different so it's obvious that we all can't think the same! I'm glad you are still enjoying the game regardless of the updates!

 

[Babypink]

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.

Yes, same page as you. I’ve been trying to keep my life on a normal routine, given the fact that in Italy, where I live, we have been in lockdown since the 21st of February. I played maybe around 4 hours the first week cause it’s normal, new game, you want to explore and do stuff, but after that I limited myself to 1/2 hours throughout the day. My island is 3 stars, I’m barely starting to get hybrids as I only recently got all the flowers, I did get a couple of villagers I really really missed (Molly and fauna) from the community but now I just want to wait to get my other dreamies. I’m always shocked when I see people with 5 stars islands, entire complete sets of objects and all the villagers they want within a month. That’s what you would have done in months and months in other games!

 

[justina]

I read the entire post. I agree with what other people have said, that due to the lockdowns a lot of people have played the game much more than they normally would. I usually only played AC games maybe an hour a day or longer if a special event like the fishing tourney or bug catching contest was going on.

I’m sure there will be more updates coming out, I really love how gorgeous NH is and like a lot of the new features. I remember in NL I def did not have a perfect town rating after a month lol that probably took me many months to get. Getting the golden tools/flowers took many months/years too. I am very surprised to see that so many people have 5 star town ratings when the game hasn’t even been out 2 months! If it weren’t for the lockdowns I def would not be as far into the game as I am now. I am excited for future events!

 

[oneinamelon91]

I’m very sorry you feel this way but I think you might just need a break. New horizon was released in a very peculiar moment for half of the population: being in quarantine, almost disconnected from real life, made a lot of people play like crazy, while I strongly believe than animal crossing is a game made for short game sessions(at least, that’s what always worked for me). I really like this new game, the graphic is pleasant and I have fun but I can understand some of your concerns as I have them as well. Mainly small things that I can wait or live without but for me the biggest thing is villager dialogues...they are boring, plain, repetitive. I always loved normal personality villagers, they are my favourite and now I have 4 on my island and I’m just crossing my fingers every day I load up the game that at least one will ask me to move. I miss the mean comments, I remember when I was younger playing with WW how fun getting mean dialogues was. Now it’s all sugar and vanilla and it’s boring! I don’t think this will ever change so I must get used to it but for now, this is my biggest concern.

I think that we are finding the dialogues boring because we don't have other things to do. I remember having so much things to do in New Leaf that I didn't have the time to talk to villagers. Now talking to villagers is the only thing I do most of the day.
Unfortunately we will never see mean villagers again because they completely changed the game to fit child players too. New leaf made a really big change, but now they really exaggerated with the sweetness of every character :/

Honestly? I have to agree with you on every point.
This is exactly how I've been feeling.

The lack of options, the missing features, the boring villager dialogue...
It feels so repetitive.
They gave us an unfinished game.
I have a bad feeling they'll hide the features we should have gotten in the first place behind some sort of pay wall...

So what if snooty villagers were a little mean?
At least it's better than them being some doting drone.

Zipper's event was tragic...

Diving should have been included from the beginning.
Why are we missing so many iconic furniture sets?

Drives me bonkers...
I'm still playing, only an hour a day if that.
But I've found some other games I can play to hit that itch.

(Not trying to advertise... But if you're looking for something else to play...)


Littlewood is a cute pixel harvestmoon-ish sort of game.
TemTem might hit that Pokemon vibe for ya.
Stardew Valley everyone will suggest if you haven't played it yet. (That's on Switch too!)

I'm just sitting here... Holding out for a HUGE update on ACNH that will actually give me a reason to play...
While also waiting for some other games to release that I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy more.

That's exactly how I feel, but I was afraid to say it. I feel like I'm playing an unfinished game.
I think I'll just play half an hour/one hour a day, so I can make basic things, but I don't hide that this seems really boring...

I really love Littlewood, I played the beta on PC and I was waiting for the Switch release (I only like to play point and click adventures on PC). I hope to play it soon! I'll check TemTem too!

I played Stardew Valley both on Switch and Pc, but I can't totally enjoy it (I think it's cause of the energy and the fact that most of the game is based on harvesting).

I think I'll start paying again Dragon Quest Builders 2. I really enjoyed that game (in this chapter they took a lot from Zelda Breath of The Wild and AC) and even if it has battles and hunger bar (which I usually hate, but it isn't that bad in this game) I find the game really relaxing.

I thought this was going to be a flounce-type post from the title, but you expressed yourself really well, and I agree with a lot of what you've said, too - it is incomplete, which has been my biggest complaint, because it impacts my own enjoyment of the game; I was expecting there to be more polish, for more love to be there, idk.

But it's definitely not healthy to feel such all-encompassing anxiety toward New Horizons either. I 100% get that you care for the series - we all do, though some more than others obviously - but if you literally can't enjoy NH because of your attachment to older titles, then quitting probably is the right move for you. The older titles will always be there; no one can take those away from you. And NH will still be here if you ever change your mind.

A good, long break will do you good. Whether you come back is up to you. You know yourself best, so take care of yourself. ♥

The fact is that AC Gamecube proved to me that I'm not really attached to some specific chapter. and I was able to enjoy them all (except for WW and CF that I was not able to enjoy for the commands, not because the game were bad. That's why I don't think that I can't enjoy the game because I love the older one more.I love this game, but the fact that it looks so incomplete is keeping me from enjoying it.
Even if it hurts so much to take a break from NH after 7 years of wait, I think I'll do it and wait for a big update, while playing it less.

 

[thatveryawkwardmayor]

Sorry to pin-point you - I just happened to stumble upon this comment when I was replying. I just wanted to give a nod in your direction; you're not wrong, but I do take a slight issue with this statement. It's true we're comparing a game that's been out for less than a month to a 7 year old game, but your wording makes it sound like New Leaf has had 7 years to mature and refine itself. It hasn't. For the most part, it's remained as-is since release. The core of the game was as complete on day one as it is in the seventh year of its release. That's completely disregarding the Welcome Amiibo update which, let's be honest, was only released to sell more Amiibo cards since no one cared enough about Amiibo Festival. That wasn't the last big update, it was the only big update. I don't think it's unfair to compare New Horizons to New Leaf in that regard - one month of New Horizons is less complete than one month of New Leaf, and that is weird.

sorry but I disagree completely. NL had 7 years to refine itself and im not sure how you can completely disregard the Welcome Amiibo update and RV campsite and pretend it didnt change the game. sure you didnt have to buy the amiibo cards but you can’t deny the update added more content to a game (which is always a good thing).

there are pros of NL and previous AC titles having all the content ready upfront upon release but if you’re like me and spent hundreds of hours of the game of the first hours of release, the game gets boring real fast. I played NL religiously up until spring of 2014. I restarted in 2015 and again in 2016. now i barely play anymore obviously because of NH. The Welcome Amiibo updated was needed because NL was getting stale after 3 years and I’m sure the update and amiibo concept was in the planning stages not long after NL’s release.

If we want NH or any AC title to still be a living breathing game for years to come, updates are inevitable because as we see a lot on this forum, people are getting burnt out quick.

 

[toadsworthy]

NH I think was modeled towards all types of players... and I don't think its meant right now for those who TT and know exactly how to get "everything" from a game right from the start. I know so many people who never played animal crossing, and have it and don't know anything about it lol. I admit that half the fun for me is watching my bf try to do simple things.

People keep saying "no island tours, you can't do anything with multiplayer" - but i think thats such a simple minded way to look at it. You can travel to get other DIYs, you can find things in other nooks or ables to buy to give a villager a gift that day, theres so much variety to how you can set up islands I like going to just see what people do. And honestly, island tours were annoying or repetitive after a while... and I only did them to get hibiscus or cabana furniture.

I think NH is a very charming, collectithon in the best way. Theres loads to do to create things and I think they are gonna add in new buildings, extra villagers, yada yada which will make you revisit all these different aspects for months and hopefully years to come. Look at welcome amiibo.... I think were in for more things like that, that will be a game changer.

I think for the "completionist" type of gamer, AC is not a good game for you because you don't get the most out of it by completing it... you get the most out of it by putting yourself in that world. I for one, love talking to my villagers, yeah its repetitive sometimes, but I can give them new gifts, new outfits, they will do different things and show up in different places as I progress my town and I think thats most rewarding to me. So I hope you can find the charm in this game (which I think would've been the biggest let down if the game was released without any shred of that) while updates and interesting things can be done as we go along... I'm looking at halloween, christmas, thanksgiving, and other major holidays this year.

Also, no one should have the bugs and fish completed, lol thats like flagrant disregard for time... and anyone who does that is clearly the "completionist" type of gamer I mentioned that yeah, probably isn't gonna like AC games

 

[oneinamelon91]

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.

The fact is that I used to play 8-10 hours a day with NL too, so why didn't I get bored about it? When NL came out I had no school and no work, so I had all the day to play the game and I'm sure I played it more than NH (since now I live alone and I have to think about the house).
And to be honest, they are really not 400 hours of enjoyment, because as I mentioned, half of the hours I spend every day playing the game, are of me staring at the screen without knowing what to do or running randomly through the isle...

I read this all too and I understand that you are feeling burnt out. I think lots of people are feeling this way because lots of people have already put 300, 400, 500+ hours into this game after only a month and a half.

To answer your question as to why Nintendo decided to slowly add "old" features...
It is so that people continue to play the game. Animal Crossing will always have that loyal fanbase that logs in every day for years, but most people will lose interest after a few weeks. With other games you either play until you beat the game then stop playing (Breath of the Wild) OR a game where you play for years to get better and better (online FPS, MOBA's). Animal Crossing is a game you never beat but it's also a game that you don't get "better" at. It wants to be a game you play for years though. If there is a new event, new feature or something coming out every two weeks then people will continue logging in.
I'm not saying that this is a good business practice... but it is a smart one.
I'm the the point of logging in for 30 minutes a day or less. But, man, when those hedges came out... I went hard again. So a part of me is happy that Nintendo is rolling things out slowly. Another part of me is anxious that they'll roll out minigames after quarantine and I'll have less time to enjoy it.

While I totally agree about giving the player things slowly to make the game more durable and enjoyable, I think that they made it wrong. They should have released the game with same NL features and then keeping It updated with smaller events/features/characters.

I think you solved the reason for you being unhappy with the game by saying you've played for 360+ hours in a month.
Every ac game gets to the "sign on for 30min just to water flowers, look in shops, and talk to villagers". You've played more acnh in one month than you likely played every other ac game in a month or even months.

Yes. The updates are slow to roll out but... that's the point. Acnh wasnt planned to be released during a pandemic when people are bored at home doing nothing with hours of free time. It's meant to be a relaxing 1-2hr/day when you get home life simulator to wind down after the stressors of work/school/day to day life.

Definitley take some time away and space out your play times; play for those 30/min a day or every other day and then move on to something new. I've stopped obsessively playing for the same exact reason; it's getting boring. But it's also because we arent supposed to be playing 10hr/day.

As I already said, I used to play the same hours with NL (I think I used to play it even more than 10 hours), but I never get bored about it, that's why I'm concerned now...
The fact is that I can play 30mins a day, but it will still be boring because the game will be only based on make basic things.

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.

As an adult I found really funny ACGC dialogues, but I agree that they were too much for a kid. But NL was really a big change for dialogues and snooty villagers were able to be really nasty even without hurt kids feeling, so I don't understand why they felt to change them completely and make them only sweet.

I agree. It's not a nostalgia thing. I used to think that I couldn't enjoy some games cause of nostalgia, but then I tried other chapters and I found out I loved them more than the one I used to play (it happened with Mario Sunshine and AC Gamecube, just for instance).

Multiplayer is what surprised me the most, because it was really well advertised, but now I feel like I just want to play alone, because the multiplayer isn't worth.

Sorry, but what? This is not true. I think you worded this wrong or something

With Leif update they made flowers available for everyone, but before Leif, you could only get some flowers, but not all.
Same thing for fruits. I have pear in my isle and my sister fruit is Apple. I'm not sure if you receive another different fruit from letters (I remember receiving an orange), but other than that, there's no way to get other fruits without asking help to other players.