I haven’t played in a couple of days now because I don’t know what I can still do in AC:NH. I wanted to re-decorate my island and also finish the DLC, but I lost interest in doing so because these activities are so stressful to me. Also, I don’t want to waste too much time playing AC because I have a lot of things going on in RL. The daily things I usually did (digging up fossils, finding gyroids, collecting art etc.) got boring now as well.
i’m actually somewhat in the same boat as you rn, so i feel you. i lost interest in around november of last year (despite how great 2.0 is) due to personal stuff, mental illness and just overall game burnout, and i haven’t really been able to regain interest since. i mainly just play whenever i feel up to it or when i have a trade to do.
if you’ve run out of things to do in-game that interest you and you’re busy irl, i would also suggest taking a break. there’s not really any point in playing a game you’re becoming bored with, especially if you have other things you’d rather be/should be doing. your island and villagers will be waiting for you whenever you’re able or want to return, no matter when that may be.
I'd suggest taking a break from the game if you feel you haven't got the motivation to play. Luckily the game isn't going anywhere so if you ever do feel inspired to play, you can pick up where you left off or start over again.
Take it from me as someone who has spent like over 4,000 hours on this game. Do not force yourself to play it just because you have to. Like others have said, learn to know when to take a break when you feel like you're overplaying this game so much. I used to do that last year and it really affected my mental health. Since I have a 2nd switch I can always restart and pick out whatever map layout I want. I am not sure if you are thinking of restarting but if you do, you still have all the skills learned from when you first started out playing the game and you start to do things differently that you would not even think of doing the first time.
I would just take a step at a time. There is no need to rush through stuff quickly. Animal Crossing is a game that is meant to be a chill experience and it was not meant to be like some sort of design completion, since I've seen people compare their islands so often and they always get depressed whenever their island is not good enough. You make whatever stands out to you and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Play how you see fit and if you find yourself getting bored with the game again, then take a break or play other games. Thats what I do whenever I feel burned out with New Horizons.
I would take a break and not force yourself to play. I took a break in February and March. Just got back into it the last few days. Redecorating can be stressful. I still haven’t figured out either of my islands. I only work on them when I have an idea and stop when it gets too stressful.
I agree with the other comments, it's probably time to take a break.
I'm actually in a similar boat you you right now. After getting the achievement for Kapp'n and completing my DIY collection, I'm no longer visiting the islands, and my focus is on redecorating the island. But with how clunky and slow terraforming is, I'm doing it very, very slowly. Since I'm also busy with rl stuff as well, it means I'm getting a fraction of work done each time, if even that.
