What is your opinion of New Horizons 3 years on?

[Imbri]

I have never looked at NH as a sequel of any sort (haven't thought that about any of the games, really), so I didn't expect this to be just like NL, but set on an island. Every game is its own mini universe.

That said, I think NH captures some of the simplicity and whimsy that made me fall in love with AC back with the GameCube, while still giving the freedom to design and create our island the way we want.

Is it perfect? Nope, but I never expected it to be. There will always be limitations, even in the most perfect of games. But it's still enjoyable enough that I am running my original island, started on launch day, and have missed 3 days of playing.

I'm actually okay with the dialogue. I was never one who liked the rudeness from characters. Even with playing as long and often as I have, there are still lines that pop up that I haven't seen before, so that's always fun. And while I've gone as far as I want with landscaping my island, I'm still having fun tweaking things each season to keep things fresh. I'm also able to focus on completing tasks and catalog, something I haven't always cared about.

Will I keep playing once a new console and game come out? Possibly. This one has kept my active interest so far, and I don't see it changing. Despite there being no more updates, I still find new things to do, so until that fades, I don't see a reason to give up.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I will give my pros and cons on ACNH after playing it for 3 years.

Pros:

1. The idea that you can place items outside was a really a neat idea because in past AC games you were not able to do that. It was way better than Public Works Projects from New Leaf

2. The Graphics look really nice and it shows how well polished this game is. Even little details like whenever you put a fan in front of a plant item and the leaves actually move is nice. Its a major improvement

3. Customization is a lot better and more refreshed. Changing your character to whoever you want and having so many variety options of custom paths really open the door for potentinal ideas for island desiging.

4. You have more Pocket Space and Home Storage than ever before.

5. It has a lot of relplay value whenever you want to do over an island and get different variety of map islands.

Cons (this is going to be controversial):

1. The Villagers don't really say much whenever you talk to them. While they do say more stuff the more you talk to them throughout the day, the problem is that the topics they talk about get repeated the next day. They point out obvious things that are on the island, asking you the same questions you heard so many times, and of course always having to remind you what you've done yesterday.

2. The Multiplayer is lackluster. While it is fun to go and visit your friends islands and mess around there is not really much to do afterwards. Sure you can talk to their villagers, go to their shops, and catch fish/bugs there is really not much else to do. Its a downgrade from New Leaf how there used to be mini games and now its no longer a thing. Even when visiting or leaving islands is annoying because the game stops whatever you're doing on the island just to see someone coming or leaving.

3. Happy Home Paradise made some features in ACNH so dated. Its funny because when we got the Happy Home Paradise DLC you would think that we would get so much quality of life changes to our main island. Well thats yes and no. It is true that when you complete the DLC you can unlock the feature to customize villager homes on your island, but the problem is it feels too limited. Like you cannot even expand the Room size and they don't let you use the Room sketch app. You cannot even do it in your own home which is a major let down. Also terraforming is such a chore when you become so used to the outside designer tool that makes customization outside so easy.

4. Crafting just feels like a chore. The amount of times you have to craft stuff one at a time and you cannot speed this up is so painful. For example when you want to craft Fish Bait you have to craft Manila Clams but the problem is that they don't stack and you find yourself having to go back to the beach so many times just to get them. Then you have to mash the button so many times just to craft more fish bait. Your thumb might be sore if you spend too much time crafting. This would've not been a problem if there was a way to bulk craft.

Overall ACNH is a good game, it did improve a lot of things from past AC game, but made certain elements feel like a downgrade. Here's hoping in the next AC game they can learn to improve on.

 

[misstayleigh]

My feelings about ACNH are such a mixed bag. I’ve gotten hundreds of hours of gameplay out of the game, so by no means do I dislike it or even think it’s a bad game… it just seems like it had so much potential to be better in more meaningful, long-lasting ways.

If benefitted greatly from coming out when it did. Everything that would’ve been cute about it seemed to take on more meaning, as things shut down and people connected virtually. It was escapism at its finest.

Unfortunately, I think that was also a double-edged sword, where planning and long-term visions maybe were lost in favor of the short-term rush. I will never understand why they did a bulk update with SO MANY items instead of sprinkling them periodically throughout the game’s first few years. It felt like a pump and dump of content, and it’s been crickets since.

The DLC breathed some new life back into the game, but perhaps it was too little, too late. None of my friends play it anymore, and I don’t think they will return anytime soon.

I love the game for its overall vibe and upgraded aesthetic, but definitely wish it had capitalized more on its own potential instead of settling for seemingly surface level gloss.

 

[Xara]

i’ll admit that i’ve always had a hard time putting my thoughts about new horizons into words for some reason, but i’m gonna try my best lol.

i’ve had new horizons since release day, and like for a lot of other people, it’s one of the things that got me through the pandemic. it brought me back to tbt after a 2.5-3 year hiatus, introduced me to a lot of incredible people, and gave me an escape through several awful times. it got me through when my mom began showing symptoms of crohn’s disease and became unimaginably sick, it got me through when my cat died in 2021, it kept me sane through all of the crazy stuff going on in my house, etc. it will always be special to me for those reasons.

in terms of the game itself, here are the highlights for me:

the graphics - the graphics in this game are absolutely incredible, and it’s one of the main things that sold me when i was still unsure whether i’d be getting the game. i still can’t get over how glorious the museum exhibits look, how beautiful the sky is (especially during sunrise and sunset), etc. nintendo may have dropped the ball a bit with some of the other aspects, but they certainly didn’t play when it came to the graphics. 100/10

villagers no longer move out randomly - villagers being able to just up and leave whenever they wanted was one of my least favourite things in the previous games. booting the game up again after not playing for a long time, especially if i didn’t remember the last date i played, was terrifying because i had no idea what i’d be going back to. i still remember when i didn’t play new leaf for a couple of weeks because i was depressed, and when i booted up the game again, beau (my #1 fave villager at the time) was in boxes. i didn’t even get to say goodbye to him because in my desperation to get him to stay, i time travelled backwards - which meant he was gone. it sucks lol. i haven’t played new horizons in almost 3 months, and i’m glad that whenever i play again, my villagers will all still be there.

more creative freedom than in previous games - i’ve talked on here a bit about how the amount of creative freedom in the game is actually overwhelming for me, but i still think it’s one of the best parts of the game. terraforming was a nice addition to the franchise, and i really appreciate that we’re able to choose where most buildings go and relocate them. having to plot reset in new leaf was tedious, and i am so glad that i don’t have to do that anymore.

the new villagers - the new villagers that were in new horizons from the start and the new 2.0 villagers are all great, with shino and audie of course being my favourites lol. new horizons added a lot of cool new villagers to the mix, and i love the old ones that it brought back as well.

island hopping - island hopping for villagers is my favourite thing to do in-game, and it’s one of the best new features imo. 10/10

i’m probably missing a few things, but those are the main things i can think of. that being said, new horizons is the ac game that i’ve had the least amount of fun with. wild world and new leaf kept me entertained and playing for years, whereas i was tired of new horizons after less than a year. i’ve racked my brain a lot trying to figure out why - perhaps it’s because i had so much time to play it? or maybe because i was 18 when it came out, and everything felt different? i don’t know.

it’s not because nintendo fumbled a bit (even though they did), or because pocket camp has cooler things than new horizons, or anything like that. i think a big part of why i didn’t enjoy new horizons for as long as the other games is because of how different the vibe is. i’ve never known how to explain it, but new horizons doesn’t have the same community feel that the other games did. new horizons is so focused on decorating and terraforming that it feels more like an advanced version of happy home designer, instead of a mainline game. i’ve never been super into the decorating aspect of animal crossing, so maybe i’m just not the target audience.

while i wouldn’t say that my lack of enjoyment comes entirely from a lack of features, there is a lot from the previous games that i miss, that contributed to the sense of community those games had. i miss dr. shrunk and learning reactions from him. i miss club tortimer and tortimer’s island, and the minigames. i miss pete, pelly, phyllis and the post office. i miss gracie and her store. i miss some of the small events, like april fool’s day. i miss having to take katie to another town. i miss a lot lol.

tldr; new horizons isn’t a bad game at all, but it definitely isn’t my favourite in the franchise, and i miss the vibes that the previous games had. maybe the lack of vibes is because i’m older and different now, so everything feels different now, but idk. it just doesn’t entirely feel like animal crossing.

 

[-Blue-]

i’ll admit that i’ve always had a hard time putting my thoughts about new horizons into words for some reason, but i’m gonna try my best lol.

i’ve had new horizons since release day, and like for a lot of other people, it’s one of the things that got me through the pandemic. it brought me back to tbt after a 2.5-3 year hiatus, introduced me to a lot of incredible people, and gave me an escape through several awful times. it got me through when my mom began showing symptoms of crohn’s disease and became unimaginably sick, it got me through when my cat died in 2021, it kept me sane through all of the crazy stuff going on in my house, etc. it will always be special to me for those reasons.

in terms of the game itself, here are the highlights for me:

the graphics - the graphics in this game are absolutely incredible, and it’s one of the main things that sold me when i was still unsure whether i’d be getting the game. i still can’t get over how glorious the museum exhibits look, how beautiful the sky is (especially during sunrise and sunset), etc. nintendo may have dropped the ball a bit with some of the other aspects, but they certainly didn’t play when it came to the graphics. 100/10

villagers no longer move out randomly - villagers being able to just up and leave whenever they wanted was one of my least favourite things in the previous games. booting the game up again after not playing for a long time, especially if i didn’t remember the last date i played, was terrifying because i had no idea what i’d be going back to. i still remember when i didn’t play new leaf for a couple of weeks because i was depressed, and when i booted up the game again, beau (my #1 fave villager at the time) was in boxes. i didn’t even get to say goodbye to him because in my desperation to get him to stay, i time travelled backwards - which meant he was gone. it sucks lol. i haven’t played new horizons in almost 3 months, and i’m glad that whenever i play again, my villagers will all still be there.

more creative freedom than in previous games - i’ve talked on here a bit about how the amount of creative freedom in the game is actually overwhelming for me, but i still think it’s one of the best parts of the game. terraforming was a nice addition to the franchise, and i really appreciate that we’re able to choose where most buildings go and relocate them. having to plot reset in new leaf was tedious, and i am so glad that i don’t have to do that anymore.

the new villagers - the new villagers that were in new horizons from the start and the new 2.0 villagers are all great, with shino and audie of course being my favourites lol. new horizons added a lot of cool new villagers to the mix, and i love the old ones that it brought back as well.

island hopping - island hopping for villagers is my favourite thing to do in-game, and it’s one of the best new features imo. 10/10

i’m probably missing a few things, but those are the main things i can think of. that being said, new horizons is the ac game that i’ve had the least amount of fun with. wild world and new leaf kept me entertained and playing for years, whereas i was tired of new horizons after less than a year. i’ve racked my brain a lot trying to figure out why - perhaps it’s because i had so much time to play it? or maybe because i was 18 when it came out, and everything felt different? i don’t know.

it’s not because nintendo fumbled a bit (even though they did), or because pocket camp has cooler things than new horizons, or anything like that. i think a big part of why i didn’t enjoy new horizons for as long as the other games is because of how different the vibe is. i’ve never known how to explain it, but new horizons doesn’t have the same community feel that the other games did. new horizons is so focused on decorating and terraforming that it feels more like an advanced version of happy home designer, instead of a mainline game. i’ve never been super into the decorating aspect of animal crossing, so maybe i’m just not the target audience.

while i wouldn’t say that my lack of enjoyment comes entirely from a lack of features, there is a lot from the previous games that i miss, that contributed to the sense of community those games had. i miss dr. shrunk and learning reactions from him. i miss club tortimer and tortimer’s island, and the minigames. i miss pete, pelly, phyllis and the post office. i miss gracie and her store. i miss some of the small events, like april fool’s day. i miss having to take katie to another town. i miss a lot lol.

tldr; new horizons isn’t a bad game at all, but it definitely isn’t my favourite in the franchise, and i miss the vibes that the previous games had. maybe the lack of vibes is because i’m older and different now, so everything feels different now, but idk. it just doesn’t entirely feel like animal crossing.

A very well thought out post. I agree with this and I believe for me one of those things missing was progression. You never really get a sense in game of progression. It happens pretty quick during the tutorial, but after that it's pretty much done and you have to do the rest of the progression yourself (terraforming/designing) but no one in game will ever give it recognition.

Like I once made this awesome flower garden with a water moat/fountain and added benches for villagers to sit at. I was please with it until one of my villagers just walked by, ignored the benches, and sat down on the ground. It broke away from the immersion and kind of disappointed me that I spent all that time making this elaborate area that the AI was too dumb to appreciate or acknowledge.

 

[PugLovex]

i'll always hold new horizons near and dear to my heart. graphically and designer wise, it is the BEST game in the franchise, but i feel like that's also what carries it;

like said before, the game feels like its missing the spark that the previous games had. i feel like the devs focused so much on what many wanted (which was the ability to decorate outdoors), that they just completely threw aside everything else. it doesn't have the magic a lot of the other games have i feel as though? i love the game but i just get bored too easily if i don't have anything to do unfortunately. new leaf just had so much going for it imo that i almost never got bored, new horizons just felt somewhat incomplete from the beginning, and even after 2.0 i just never know what to do lmao

that being said, i still think it's a fantastic game, just missing that animal crossing spark that the previous games have if that makes sense?

 

[KittenNoir]

3 years on New Horizons is my favourite animal crossing game to date. I am sad that no other updates were ever added.

I kind of feel like the game is over now cause there is nothing new coming for it. I also feel like because there are no more updates the game developers will start working on the new Animal Crossing game.

 

[neptoons]

I don't really play NH anymore, unfortunately. Honestly, there's nothing for me to do on it anymore. I agree with the above users, it definitely has lost its spark compared to other games and I feel that the lack of updates just makes me want to quit even more.

 

[Iris_T]

I think its a great game that really kept me busy and entertained for many months, its a shame that now I'm almost scared to go back for all the weeds I'll need to clean around (but mostly because I have not much left to do tbh).

On the bright side, if I ever go back I don't have to worry about villagers missing like in new leaf.

 

[McRibbie]

For a game that:

• presumably only really started development properly around the time of the Switch's release (after spending several years on amiibo-related things, the latest one only releasing 4 months before it launched)
• on top of that is the first HD game in the series, necessitating making a ton of new high-quality models for basically everything
• got announced with only a teaser screen, meaning we didn't know ANYTHING about it for 9 months and unrealistic expectations ended up being built up around it
• got delayed to 2020 and promptly tanked Nintendo's stock
• initially made me go "ew, I don't like it" due to its concept seeming gimmicky and overly "hey I themed my town" for my liking, at least until the February Direct when I came around on it
• listens to complaints from fans like "being able to control where villagers move" or "having villagers only move out when you want them to" and invents a terraforming mechanic based on players resetting for layout that in theory sound like improvements, but in reality drain a lot of life out of the game when you implement them and tip the game's balance further in the direction of "design"
• is also generally designed with newcomers in mind (and especially people who've only played Pocket Camp) after the devs thought that NL was generally geared towards pre-existing fans of the series, which is simultaneously a good idea (as a LOT of new people bought the game) and a bad idea (as a LOT of people started going "why isn't it just Older AC Game With Decoration?")
• got released just before a worldwide pandemic that basically screwed Nintendo's output over for the rest of 2020 (and is still having knock-on effects on games being released a few years later), and massively slowed further development on it as a result to the point that literally every post the official social media page is full of people (that there are a lot more of due to it becoming a massive hit, partially due to said pandemic) demanding when the next update is, a fact that only got worse as time went on as update content got more and more sparse
• ended 4 months sooner than it probably should have due to a combination of COVID-related development slowdown and, if my sneaking suspicion is correct (and going by the fact the only non-remake games coming for the Switch until July this year are Tears Of The Kingdom, a game that was delayed from last year, and Pikmin 4, a game in a series that seems to release a new game every 9-10 years at this point, it's very likely), Nintendo starting development on games for the next version of the Switch/ the Switch's successor, including a new Animal Crossing game

I like it a lot more than I should. I fall very firmly in the middle of loving it and hating it at this point, but I think there's something great in it despite its troubled production and some of its major misfires.

There's a lot of new stuff I think is great (crops and cooking, holiday items that aren't just a holiday-themed furniture set, the museum stamp rally and the May Day maze, Nook Inc. themed items, more interesting tools and plenty of fun handheld items, CJ and Flick as visitors), some new stuff I have mixed feelings on (basically everything related to the customisation options, especially if it affects the feeling of it being a real world for convenience reasons; the changing room in the Able Sisters for similar reasons, Redd/Kicks/Leif/Saharah cycling between Harv's Island and your island, Kapp'n boat trips, Nook Shopping seasonal items) and very occasionally, some new stuff I outright hate (the postcard stand replacing the Post Office, Isabelle announcing visitors as of 2.0).

There's some really good returning stuff, too: they added 2 new types of bushes and one of them's the best one in the game, Wisp has finally stopped being a genie and instead gone back to being a Japanese ghost (with a new spin on the spirit-collecting quest he had in GC), they finally brought back event items from DnM+ like the osechi, fishing flag and the champion's pennant, Redd is finally selling carnival tat again, including uchiwa fans (even if him not having the 5 retro Nintendo toys is still a letdown), Blathers actually blathers on about things again after being weirdly quiet in NL, Celeste gets to do something related to stars instead of just being a shopkeeper, and villagers actually gather in the plaza for the Harvest Festival. They also brought back the aerobics sessions, even if it feels kinda weird to be able to do them at any time of day, 365 days a year?

However, I also think that despite having the largest amount of furniture in any AC game aside from Pocket Camp, there's a lot of stuff that's gone missing in the transition that I'd have really wanted in there, and furniture sets that get some but not all of their items available (sometimes it's just wallpaper, like the robo or modern wood series). I hate the fact that villagers barely ask you to do anything anymore, to the point where if you get a lucky friendship fortune from Katrina you'll get what used to be a normal amount of requests. Villager pictures still feel less like a momentous event and more like "hey, we're friendly, have another picture!". Making it so you can get most of the event furniture before the event still makes the event last about 15 minutes total. Villager dialogue feels better than NL's as a result of not sounding like it was run through Google Translate, but as a result of you being their overlord and having 8 personalities instead of 6, it's still sometimes kinda uninteresting.

It's not the perfect Animal Crossing game (that doesn't exist imo, even when the series gets close to a perfect entry something's wrong with it), but it's also not the irredeemably awful thing that some corners of AC fandom make it out to be. I wouldn't be happy if the next game was even more design-focussed with even more QOL changes that drain the life out of the world, but I also wouldn't be happy if the next game was a grovelling apology to the AC fandom that completely ignored NH exists (even for the myriad of good things in there) and felt like AC by numbers either. It needs to go "actually, what worked about this?" and find something that feels new while still recognisably AC imo.

tl;dr: yeah, I think it goes too far in the direction of design and convenience to the point where even some of the stuff I'm going "yeah, great!" about gets tied up into it... but there's still stuff that I'm going "yeah, great!" about nonetheless, so it's not awful.

 

[Biancasbotique]

No Gracie no goody!

 

[Drawdler]

NH is actually my favorite. I played them all, was a fan since WW came out. My post might come across as a little defensive, sorry for that.

Even though many people say there’s nothing to do, I feel the other way around. Because of the furniture just generally being so high-quality and inspiring to decorate with, 0.5 movements and the like and being able to customise your whole town, you can always work on something with customisation. I spent a lot of time at night just staying up and playing, which I wouldn’t do with the old games anymore, wouldn’t have for years now. The older AC games have little to do if the shops are closed and you don’t want to catch creatures. NH has catching, furniture, terraforming, and miles quests which while some of those are little all those things add up. The game was extremely rough but 2.0 addressed almost all my issues (furniture colors were the worst pre-2.0, god the limitations in obtaining those by trading or RNG shot the entire system in the foot and having that opened up finally felt like the game actually opened up).

The game still has stupid limitations. Yes. Some dumb things like crafting should outright have been patched, and it regressed in a few ways from the old games. It doesn’t have minigames, and the dialogue isn’t as good as the first two games, or even NL. The online still isn’t great, and frankly I think we need a revamp for the ordering system and some sort of blueprint system, since doing all of that slowly and manually can get in the way of customisation and just get annoying unless you have a backlog of items stored. However the dialogue is still leaps and bounds ahead of freakin’ City Folk, the storage issues are something you progress past and going back to the old games I wish a lot of things from NH were in them. Playing the old games makes me miss NH, Playing NH I remember the old games fondly but know how much it added and revamped so I ultimately prefer it.

NH and the older games have distinct, different appeals from one another and I don’t think NH replaces them or something- but if I had to stick with one and one only, I’d go NH. It’s really astounding how far ahead it is in terms of customisation- even if it’s missing a lot of furniture you can do so much with what is there- and these days the main appeal of AC for me is the interior design aspect. I like the dialogue and special interactions, and I do think the holidays are another sore spot, but I do feel after a certain point I’ve seen them enough and I guess I don’t have the imagination to keep coming back to it for years anymore. Interior and town design have a lot more staying power for me, and NH for all its flaws is a lot more slick and fast in some other ways. It feels like I can make something in NH, and I know the old games are more about escapism in these towns more out of your control developing around you with characters that have their own lives, but that just isn’t my thing anymore because I can see how limited it kinda is.

It’s a real shame some of the things NH is missing- even as a customisation/interior design/creation tool it has some obvious flaws, and some furniture options are shockingly lacking- but ultimately I’ve found myself more attached to it because I developed the town myself. Of course with WW-type villagers or even GC-type dialogue and better holidays and minigames and stuff it would be better, but I’m even attached to my villagers a decent amount. My post sounds kinda conflicted in the end, but I really do love NH. I prefer the active customisation to the old games‘ passive checking in. I think it’s fair people take an issue with the direcfion, and I’m glad this forum is pretty reasonable about it. Sometimes though it almost feels like an unpopular opinion to like the game so much, and I don’t see many people declaring that NH is their favorite which always surprises me.

 

[Hypno KK]

I feel like the game is ok. I love some of the new features like being able to place furniture outside and some of the QoL things that the game really needed. I love decorating so this is a boon to me.

Unfortunately, it feels pretty souless. Villagers and NPCs lacking in depth was already a criticism of NL and it's even worse in NH. I feel more invested in NL and even WW nowadays. I'll go into NH from time to time to donate things to the museum and go on a decorating spree, then forget about it for months.

 

[Fruitcup]

As much as I miss mini games and some furniture I have to say this has been the best game yet due to the hours played alone.
It also makes me so happy how much this series blew up in 2020

 

[Hypno KK]

TLDR: ACNH is simultaneously better than the previous installments for everything new that it offers and worse because of everything it lacks from the former games.

This sums it up perfectly.

 

[beachcrossin']

I'd play every other ac game before i play new horizons..too much control over everything bland villager dialogue

 

[oath2order]

I do particularly like the decoration aspect of the game, so the whole customization (as in, furniture and clothing items all come in different colors) really does make the game a lot more enjoyable for me.

Having HHP built-into the game as opposed to a side game like HHD was is really nice.

 

[boring]

I'd play every other ac game before i play new horizons..too much control over everything bland villager dialogue

I personally love dictating my whole island, but I do agree the dialogue was NOT it. Why cant Static tell me to shut up and call me ugly as well anymore? There was so much realness to the old villagers that they just felt like friends to me.

 

[Just_Rosey]

At first it seemed so much better than NL, better graphics, bigger island, being able to jump over rivers?? WOW!

But the more I played it I noticed that it didn’t feel the same as NL after I “completed the game” Once I caught all the critters and my island was done there wasn’t really anything to do. The events were cool but honestly were the same as NL some were SLIGHTLY worse/better but in my opinion nothing really changed too much. The crafting was really cool but I hated how you couldn’t bulk craft which a lot of people agree with. Being able to go over the river and now have to run all the way to a bridge was nice, also being able to have different ground levels was really cool! Being able to change just about everything was my favorite part. No annoying villagers moving into your blue rose garden or having the river be an inconvenience. Though, the lack of upgrades in just about everything was a turn off for me and one of the reasons I ran outta things to do so quickly. The only store upgrade there is is the one for nooks and there’s only one? There’s the museum and the able sisters but then there’s no other buildings? I hated that. My town felt so empty. Having to go to the island for the other characters (other than them randomly being by the resident services) felt awful and like they were just put in there without any care if that makes sense. If anything, there should’ve been an option to have them on Harvey’s island or yours. That way it does fill up your island if you don’t want it too (which I feel like might’ve been a reason they put them all on harvs?) I would kill for more buildings and shops though. Another thing I hated was just how much was cut out of the game. The shops were huge and having them have little rvs felt wrong but not only that, so many sets and furniture was cut. I hated that instead of just adding flowers they took out and replaced them. I want my violets and carnations. I liked the dandelions in the beginning of the game before having my rien covered in hybrids. I feel having dandelions scattered around in NH would’ve made it feel even more deserted. I ALSO MISS MY DINOSAUR MODELS I HATE THAT THEY GOT RID IF THEM. I kept one of all my fossils early game hoping I could make them then I was hoping 2.0 would add them in but nope! They’re just gone I also wish they would’ve added deep sea models but since they added diving with the summer update it wasnt that surprising. I hate how it feels like they spent more time on the graphics than the experience. It feels like a huge part of the games missing. I liked the DLC. I also liked how it was a DLC and not a whole new game. I’m not sure if that’s as popular as an opinion but it’s nice not having to switch games when I feel like decorating.. since my towns done. It’s also nice being able to change your villagers houses that live in your town. The little walls you could add was nice and led r like I was able to decorate more than before, every wall being able to have something different was also really cool, though, the lack of upgrades isn’t the house again gave me less to do. The house also just felt smaller since I wasn’t able to slowly make it bigger (and it might actually be smaller idk).

Online, that was a huge disappointment. Going into that game after playing NL almost since release was probably what made the experience feel as empty as it did (not at first, the first few months were AMAZING but that’s because it was new and had so much to do). Either way, I felt like NH was missing online. I know you could go to each others islands but that was it. The mini games and other island were taken away. I mean you did have book tours and Kappn had that one island a day thing but I wanted an online island with all the mini games. Being able to interact with other players and make new friends was a HUGE part of why I loved NL. I know they said not to add people but we all did. Maybe that’s why they took it out but they encourage playing together so it doesn’t make that much sense to me. The only reason I ever had people to bring over to my town was because I met them on the online islands! I even mad a friend back when I was in like 3rd or 4th that im still friends with today! It was an amazing feature that should’ve never been taken out. It also gave me something to do that I definitely have months worth of time on.

Another thing I didn’t like about NH that’s been slowly happening but NH out did it was the lack of personality in the villagers!! I miss being made fun of, having to slowly earn their respect, then slowly starting to like me and become my friend. I miss laughing at their insults and all their small jokes. Miss “over hearing” their conversations that were so much better then. I hate how they don’t feel real anymore (obviously their not real, there talking animals) BUT they felt like my little friends not some robots that repeat the same thing and do everything I tell them too. I know it’s a kids game but they didn’t have to make it like this. Resetti also deserves justice. It’s not his fault those kids wouldn’t listen to him and they should’ve saved their game

Where’s Kappns family?

Also I agree with it sucking that they took out the cute stumps and being able to sit on rocks, I mean I guess you can make fake rocks but still.. it’s so sad. I also hate how good tools break? Idk, maybe it’s just me but I feel like the gold tools never breaking was the whole reward part of them. Getting them once and having them forever was the best part.

WHYD THEY TAKE OUT THE POST OFFICE?
There wasn’t a point and they unnecessarily took out those characters just because?

Why did shrunk have to go?
We still have reactions and in my opinion having to unlock the club in order to get the reactions was so fun. The dumb jokes make it just that much better. They could made some of the reactions unlocked by him, some by villagers, some by buying them, etc.

I just don’t like how so much was cut. There was no reason for it. I feel like with chip and nat, they could’ve ran the fish/bug offs and their offspring could’ve done what they did every week or two.

Maybe with the turnips (I forgot the name) but the originally character could’ve come to explain how they work and explain how their young one was going to run it? Idk but they could’ve done something other than just take them out.

ANOTHER THING, BADGES!
I hate that the badges are gone?? I get we have the nook mile cards and they could’ve added that without taking out the badges I feel. The badges for the bigger accomplishments, catching all fish, bugs, deep creatures, millionaire, full catalog, maybe even a perfect town. Then the nook mile things for the others planting x flowers, pulling weeds, the starting “tutorial” just things like that. I also liked the character that gave us the badges, I don’t know how to spell his name but im sure most of you know what im talking about.

With all that said, that’s not to say this game was a bad game. If I had never played NL I feel like I would’ve thought this games was AMAZING.
The better graphics make this game easier to look at and just makes it feel realer if that makes sense. I LOVE the graphics, and the small things like the different animal imprints in the sand and how things blow in the air was such a small but nice added touch.

Also the way different shoes sound on different walkways was really cool but better yet the fact that there were paths already there that you could put down was AMAZING. I love how there was even dirt and sand paths. I didn’t like however, how if you wanted to put a border on the path with a custom design the sound was canceled out.

I liked being able to manipulate the land and rivers. Gave me the ability to make my island exactly how I wanted it and having more l ground layers was really cool and opened up more opportunities for creative designs. Being able to have more than 3 bridges was also nice but even better than you had the poke incase a bridge wasn’t near same with the latter.

Being able to decorate outside scores HUGE point with me since I loved the public works projects in NL. Made the town full fuller and more realistic. THATS THE WORD, not “realer” lol.

I liked the new flowers though I wish they were just added and not swapped with the violets and carnations.

This was an amazing game on its own and gave me a fun 600-700 hours that I played it. It did its job and was WELL with the money. It simply didn’t live up the the expectations I had from playing NL. If everything that was in NL stayed or was there in some way with about the same significance (meaning if kicks had a store and not just some blame the stops on outside the residents services) I’d have nothing to complain about! It would’ve been perfect in my opinion. But I just can’t get over everything that’s missing

None the less, I love this series and this was a great game. I prefer NL more as a game to come back to from time to time but the first experience you get as a beginner in NH is far better than the one you get in NL.

If you read all this, I hope you have an amazing day! Make sure to eat something and drink some water <3

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I pop in once a day to get my daily Nook Miles and to make sure everything is okay. This Island is going much better than the previous three when it comes to the flowers. They are such a nightmare to get rid of once they start taking over.