Just relaxing and enjoying the game

[HappyTails]

Stress free gaming. I'm telling you guys, I used to stress about unlocking stuff. I'm three days into my new restarted game and I'm in no hurry to unlock anything. My 3 new villager plots have been placed down since this morning and I have not collected not one item for any of them because I'm not in any hurry. Those villagers may never move in, at the rate I'm going and I'm okay with that. It's not a race. This also applied to the villagers I got. I just nabbed the first three villagers I came across. I didn't care who they were. Any villager is welcome on Angel Cove (my island name)

So much more relaxing, playing without stressing and worrying. This is quite an interesting feeling to just play and have fun since I like to stress and rage over games.

My two starters keep reminding me about the villagers moving in. I guess they want some friends. XD

I just wanted to share this and hopeful help anyone who might be stressing about their game. Just have fun and relax. It's not a race. Believe me, it's a lot more fun when you aren't worrying about the small things.

 

[Licorice]

That was my mindset when I first started the game. I’m in no hurry to do anything really. I’ve been vibing on my island for almost a year now.

 

[HappyTails]

I've been vibing with my new island for 3 days. XD

IT's 3 days of stress free relaxation though. It's a great mindset to have.

 

[Matt0106]

This was me with fishing and bug catching. I originally felt so bad when I missed out on the one fish I needed in September, but now I couldn’t care less, since I’ll still be playing this game until the next iteration.

 

[Moritz]

On my main island that I started on day 1 I never stressed at all. I took it all as it came, developed my island gradually, section by section, as I got more villagers and things unlocked. It was an amazing experience.

On my second switch I figured since I've done it once before I will race through and get terraforming. Then reshape my whole island.

Yeah so I got terraforming and it's been gradually coming along over the last several months of not playing because I have no attachments to it but a huge work load.

Slow, steady, and stress free is 100% the way to go in this game

 

[HappyTails]

This was me with fishing and bug catching. I originally felt so bad when I missed out on the one fish I needed in September, but now I couldn’t care less, since I’ll still be playing this game until the next iteration.

I might miss out on the stringfish, but it's not like it won't be back. If I don't catch it now, it'll be back for me to catch it later.

On my main island that I started on day 1 I never stressed at all. I took it all as it came, developed my island gradually, section by section, as I got more villagers and things unlocked. It was an amazing experience.

On my second switch I figured since I've done it once before I will race through and get terraforming. Then reshape my whole island.

Yeah so I got terraforming and it's been gradually coming along over the last several months of not playing because I have no attachments to it but a huge work load.

Slow, steady, and stress free is 100% the way to go in this game

Exactly. So far, I'm having a great experience by just playing and having fun. This game is amazing, and when you aren't stressing about every detail, you'll see how much fun it can be.

 

[LuluLove102]

I started a new island yesterday as well. I still have my first and original island because I’m too attached but I have a switch light as well so I jumped into a new island. I can just say it has been soothing to play it. I have been fishing and catching bugs again, something I haven’t done in my first island in soo long. I talked to my villagers more than once because I wasn’t either decorating or terraforming or stressing about the specific colour variation of an object I really needed but I couldn’t find. I even dived again for the first time in forever. How relaxing it has been. Tomorrow I will set down my plots as well but, likewise, I’m not in a hurry. Actually, I even dread the moment I will unlock terraforming because I don’t want to go back into the decorating/terraforming and nothing else loop I have been experiencing in my other island. So I’ll definitely take my time.

 

[ivorystar]

Me too! I just wanted to play a relaxing game everyday. It's much easier to do this game then playing puzzles or rpg

 

[DarkSlayer1331]

I've been playing stress free from day one and I love it. Just doing things as I want on my island, switching out colors and furniture as the months change... just so much fun always being able to think of something I need/want to do. And it's not like I have to play for hours every day. Some days I'm only on for maybe half an hour, and other days I'm on for four hours. It's whatever. So chill.

 

[HappyTails]

I'm even taking the time to harvest from every tree on my island. I didn't before because I was lazy.

I don't know if this is a part of just relaxing and enjoying the game or if it's more slowing down and not rushing.

I was missing out on a lot of stuff hidden in these trees, like furniture and wasps can sell for a nice sum.

 

[psiJordan]

I totally get this!
Every once in a while I’ll get really close to restarting my island, but I don’t think I ever will be able too. I really would like to experience just the relaxing atmosphere of the first few weeks though, just walking around the forest with that one song in the background

 

[EmmaFrost]

I really appreciate the stress free atmosphere of animal crossing. There are no boss fights and confusing side missions, it’s literally just you creating your own direction in the game. I wish there were more games along those lines. I’ve always found Harvest Moon stressful because of how quickly time passes by lol

 

[Eureka]

I restarted my island again a few days ago, because I rushed it way too much which took away all enjoyment or sense of accomplishment. Now I'm taking it slow. No time traveling and didn't bring any money with me. I made a rule for myself that I have to use bells made on my island to pay off my house, which I've never done before.

Just going to progress naturally and I'm really enjoying it so far!

 

[AlyssaAC]

Same here! I kinda promised myself a little before New Horizons came out to take it slow and not rush, so I’m trying to do that and it’s been pretty great so far. I only change the time when I time travel, so I can catch the late night bugs and fish a little easier, but I definitely won’t change the date. I do buy bells though on here, cause sometimes I don’t have a lot of time to grind for some and I would like a little time to play other games, so I’m OK with that. Gotta have a little variety if you know what I mean.

 

[xhyloh]

i really need to get into this mindset more, myself. seeing everyone else's fully completed islands that they've had since launch can be really discouraging to someone like me who just restarted this january. i need to take it slow and remember those islands took a whole years worth of work for other players, and that mine won't be finished overnight

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I definitely vibe with this sentiment. I got my Switch Lite and the game late last April and sped through the main "story" as quickly as I could without time-traveling to unlock terraforming. I made sure to check for new bugs and fish to catch every month.

This year, I started flattening my island in late February/early March. March is already two-thirds of the way through, and I've yet to do any terraforming. I keep changing my mind on what I think I would like version four of my island to look like, so I've been taking my time in Happy Island Designer. This weekend, though, I'm going to try out some things in-game, since the island is flattened and most of the buildings are out of the way. It kind of stinks that autosave will kick in and I would have to tear down anything that I end up disliking, but I think seeing stuff in-game might help me get unstuck and take a more informed stance on what I would like my island to look like.

My S/O and I are finally actually going diving this weekend to catch those last two deep-sea critters! XD

 

[piske]

This is a great attitude to have! I've always stressed myself out with terraforming, to the point where I'd just be stuck with a flat island because I was too worried about making a "perfect" island. Two days ago I said NOPE, not doing this, and just started building stuff. And I really like what I came up with so far (it's just a small section). It's my default to stress and overthink, so it's nice to not be in the headspace. Especially for a game like AC which really encourages you to go at a slower pace.

 

[LilyLynne]

This is the way I have been about my game. I was determined to be relaxed about it. I really enjoy the slow pace.

 

[meggiewes]

I agree with the stress free mindset with all games! I restarted my island back in February and I just now got the upgraded Resident Services building. I'm in no rush to collect all my villagers I'm looking for. Having the hunt is making this really fun!

I'm still way back in November and I don't even have half of the seasonal recipes I had, but I'll get them when I catch up in real time.

 

[HappyTails]

Know what another thing I learned to stop doing and in turn enjoying this game more? I stopped comparing my island to other peoples. Even a video I watched yesterday on YouTube stressed this: Stop comparing your island to others. Everyone's island is unique whether it's filled with the most beautiful decorations or if it's as barren as the most desolate wasteland. Get ideas from other people, but don't compare islands. This game is not a competition game on who has the better island.