Would you ever buy an indie Animal Crossing-esque game? Or has Nintendo perfected the genre?

[Christmas]

Since New Leaf came out, I had been keeping my eyeballs peeled for games similar to Animal Crossing but like for the PC or other consoles (as carrying a 3DS around in high school in that time wasn't too accepted at my school) and I wanted alternatives to get my fix. Emulating aside, I mean.

For me, personally, it came down to the fact that I haven't found a game of the same (or similar) genre that really treats the NPCs interactions with the Player as engaging as Animal Crossing does.

A lot of the other games play like Sim games that had player interaction included, whereas AC feels like the interactions with the NPCs is almost more important than the "core" elements of the game itself. (ie. Collecting, Museum, etc).

So all things considered, if an indie developer can capture the liveliness of the NPCs Animal Crossing has settled on, I'd totally buy it!

 

[ahbramey]

I think if an indie developer made a game with a sense of humor and level of charm closer to what ACGC has, I would be interested. I think anything trying to approach ACNH levels of gameplay would be hard to do well, and even the original game is unmatched (it's my favorite in the whole series), but I could realistically see an indie ACGC-like game being fun and being possible to do well.

 

[nightglow]

Hokko Life. It's early access on steam but I did buy it and I do like it but as early access suggests, it needs work. For what it is, it is pretty good and the crafting system enables alot of creative freedom for the player. The villagers are interesting.
So yes, I'd buy if an indie game is actually close to Animal Crossing.

Edit as a side note Haven Park gives me strong animal crossing vibes but at the same time is different. It's a short but very good game if you like exploration. 4 hour long game.

 

[Hypno KK]

There already are some AC-esque games... they seem to be cropping up more and more. There were also already some games in the DS days like Enchanted Folk, which was basically like AC but set in a magic school I really like this type of game so I'd say yes, I'd buy them! Especially if they're different enough from AC, with different settings and features.

 

[kusariyaro]

Yes i would buy an indie game and yes i think nintendo has perfected the genre! I have bought and enjoyed many games that arent like animal crossing but share the vibes or some aspects of the game, i wouldnr be against a more similar one. At the moment i think animal crossinf has perfected the genre, but im not an animal crossing purist and would enjoy trying more games!

 

[mermaidshelf]

Yes, I'd gladly buy an indie game with all the features of AC that I enjoy!!! Heck, I'd even shell out more money than I did for NH if it hit all my marks. I personally believe Nintendo has far from perfected the genre. Many features in NH were lateral moves or worse than in previous titles. I'll be honest, I've even gotten more joy out of playing Pocket Camp. I definitely do think it's possible for an indie creator to make a game I would enjoy more but I think it's very unlikely, unfortunately... In general, it seems companies are moving towards what makes money vs. making an enjoyable game with all the best features from previous iterations (i.e. Sims, Pokemon, etc...)

 

[Introspective Onlooker]

I guess it depends on how good it is, doesn't it? Animal Crossing is far from perfect, though that applies to all of the games, not just NH, specifically. I don't want to feel as if I'm just playing a knock-off version of Animal Crossing, so if I do decide to buy a game inspired by the franchise, hopefully it'd be its own thing while correcting the many issues that I have with each AC game.

 

[Belle T]

Well, as much as I love Animal Crossing, the series has so many things wrong with it, I'd be surprised if someone didn't eventually come along and make something better.

Though if that did happen, I'd certainly buy it if it interested me, but not specifically because it was better than Animal Crossing. I'd probably still buy the newest Animal Crossing while I was at it.