Review #4 - 2020
First, a preface. Me and my wife were first introduced to the "Animal Crossing" series with "New Leaf" back in 2017. We IMMEDIATLY fell in love, playing the game nearly every day. It had so much to look forward to each day, and when a new season would arrive, so many surprises awaited you. It was perfect. My favorite thing to do were the Public Works Projects, where villagers would suggest something for you to put in your village, like a new statue or something silly like a giant shoe sculpture. If someone asked for it, I'd commission it right away, setting it up with their specially assigned fruit tree as a sign they commissioned it (I would plant fruits next to each home based on their personalities). We eventually fell off from playing the game daily due to life things, but we still did our best to visit our villages at least once a week.
Jump to 2020, the year of the global pandemic. Nintendo drops their new "Animal Crossing" game titled, "New Horizons", and we bought it immediately, as did many other lucky Switch users who were able to snag a copy. This game came at a perfect time, when the world was shrouded in death and uncertainty, and for many, including for me and my wife, this game was a light in our world, bringing people together in a beautiful way.
Yet, players hit a wall. For some, it hadn't been 6 months yet, and already players were getting bored and starting to move on. The lack of replayability of this game was beginning to rear its ugly head, and people began to see the flaws. It came at a perfect moment in time, but time indeed flies, and with a game like this having no real end game, it needs to thrive on its ability to keep you hooked even beyond the credits screen, and unfortunately, that just wasn't happening.
I bring up "New Leaf", because I feel that game had everything ready to go for you. It had all the content you'd unlock as time went by, and it was paced well enough in order to keep you coming back for more. Sure, you could play for hours, but eventually, you'd have to put it down and wait for another day to see what surprises were to arrive next. "New Horizons" had an illusion of fullness, but we soon found it was lacking many features that previous titles had, and though Nintendo eventually tried to remedy this with future DLC, it still wasn't enough to get people to stick around, including myself. People were completing things easily in a day, and with nothing more to come other than the usual seasonal things, players were already burnt out.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time with this game, and I do pick it up from time to time, but that spark that got me hyped to boot it up each day, went by a lot faster compared to the well paced experience of "New Leaf". That, and the crafting system is an absolute chore to deal with.
To end on a more positive note, this game has brought joy to a lot of people, myself included, and it has introduced people to not only the series, but video games in general. They play this game for the first time, and fall in love with it the way me and my wife fell in love with "New Leaf". I may not find the same spark I felt with "New Leaf" when I play this title, but I can always go back to the one that started it all for us. Even though this may have been a disappointment to me, I really am glad that for many, this game is a light in their world, and even with its flaws, that's something worth counting.
First, a preface. Me and my wife were first introduced to the "Animal Crossing" series with "New Leaf" back in 2017. We IMMEDIATLY fell in love, playing the game nearly every day. It had so much to look forward to each day, and when a new season would arrive, so many surprises awaited you. It was perfect. My favorite thing to do were the Public Works Projects, where villagers would suggest something for you to put in your village, like a new statue or something silly like a giant shoe sculpture. If someone asked for it, I'd commission it right away, setting it up with their specially assigned fruit tree as a sign they commissioned it (I would plant fruits next to each home based on their personalities). We eventually fell off from playing the game daily due to life things, but we still did our best to visit our villages at least once a week.
Jump to 2020, the year of the global pandemic. Nintendo drops their new "Animal Crossing" game titled, "New Horizons", and we bought it immediately, as did many other lucky Switch users who were able to snag a copy. This game came at a perfect time, when the world was shrouded in death and uncertainty, and for many, including for me and my wife, this game was a light in our world, bringing people together in a beautiful way.
Yet, players hit a wall. For some, it hadn't been 6 months yet, and already players were getting bored and starting to move on. The lack of replayability of this game was beginning to rear its ugly head, and people began to see the flaws. It came at a perfect moment in time, but time indeed flies, and with a game like this having no real end game, it needs to thrive on its ability to keep you hooked even beyond the credits screen, and unfortunately, that just wasn't happening.
I bring up "New Leaf", because I feel that game had everything ready to go for you. It had all the content you'd unlock as time went by, and it was paced well enough in order to keep you coming back for more. Sure, you could play for hours, but eventually, you'd have to put it down and wait for another day to see what surprises were to arrive next. "New Horizons" had an illusion of fullness, but we soon found it was lacking many features that previous titles had, and though Nintendo eventually tried to remedy this with future DLC, it still wasn't enough to get people to stick around, including myself. People were completing things easily in a day, and with nothing more to come other than the usual seasonal things, players were already burnt out.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time with this game, and I do pick it up from time to time, but that spark that got me hyped to boot it up each day, went by a lot faster compared to the well paced experience of "New Leaf". That, and the crafting system is an absolute chore to deal with.
To end on a more positive note, this game has brought joy to a lot of people, myself included, and it has introduced people to not only the series, but video games in general. They play this game for the first time, and fall in love with it the way me and my wife fell in love with "New Leaf". I may not find the same spark I felt with "New Leaf" when I play this title, but I can always go back to the one that started it all for us. Even though this may have been a disappointment to me, I really am glad that for many, this game is a light in their world, and even with its flaws, that's something worth counting.