i feel like this game is almost universally misunderstood due to its comparisons to its predecessor. it's a game that strips a lot of the most frustrating parts of The Dark Descent and boils them down to a more narratively interesting game, but most people left disappointed because it had less jumpscares and felt more like a "walking simulator" to them.

let me tell you something, the best horror games are, in fact, mostly walking simulators! fear of the unknown that is allowed to fester and build dread over time as the rich plot themes bubble over is much more interesting than having to wait for an enemy's patrol route to go in the specific way you need to sneak by over and over and over. having an unreliable narrator who is much more of a character than a near-blank slate everyman is wholly more powerful. also, the music of this game owns. back off haters!!!!

I'm approaching this as someone who started with New Leaf, and instantly became a relentlessly devoted player. I've heard a lot of resentment over the years from OG fans that the new games are too saccharine and pleasant. After finally trying the original game, it's a perspective I can see and respect, but I dunno, man - I like Nice Animal Crossing.

Going back, you can really see Dobutsu no Mori's weird, warty 64DD roots. The N64 may have been shaped by the west, with games like Turok and Banjo-Kazooie, but the 64DD was a playground for Nintendo's internal late 90s weirdos. Projects like Doshin the Giant and the Game Boy Camera. The place that gave birth to Tingle. Kids today, who wanted to play the cute animal game because they saw a popstar play it on a YouTube Live stream, have no idea about its aggressively scribbled heart.

The original Animal Crossing is an uncaring game at its warmest, and otherwise quite hostile. Villagers are often prejudiced, selfish and lazy. All the patter about Tom Nook's callousness? It's actually warranted here. There are kind, sweet villagers too, but they're the town doofus that everybody dunks on.

I think what's crucial is there isn't really much incentive to do anything in this game. You can contribute to the museum, decorate your house, customise your character, but there really isn't much inherent appeal to it. Every object in the game looks like it was pulled out of the reductions basket in Woolworths, and I didn't really care to be the one good Samaritan on Asshole Island.

There's always extra steps to everything to make it just that little bit more of an irritation. Want to swap out the item you're holding? Go to your inventory screen, drag the held item back into an empty spot in your inventory, drag the desired item into your hand, and resume. Don't have an empty space to put the item while you transfer? You're shit outta luck, buddy. Hope those fish like umbrellas.

I realise that there's more to GameCube AC - Folk won't shut up about the unlockable NES games - but it's just so blasé to your presence. There will be days when you just can't do anything because the shop's shut, and you don't have the item you need. Sure, there's time travel, but if you're not going to play the game by its rules, toss off and make your own.

I don't think this game really has the same appeal as modern Animal Crossing. It's more comparable to Tomodachi Life. A weird little toy to poke around and see if something amusing happens. This isn't a "Life Simulator". What you have in Animal Crossing 1 isn't a 'life'. It's a crude doodle of yourself with stinklines coming out.

Again, I kind of like this stuff. It's funny. But after a week of these sociopaths and villains, I was ready to run back into the appreciative arms of New Horizons. I'm somebody who's so into the vibe of the modern games, they enjoyed one-player amiibo Festival. I have been repeatedly assured that my opinion on Animal Crossing is unrelatable and irrelevant. Maybe I just ain't real enough for this shit. Give me a present and tell me I'm fabulous.

This game was such a nice place to be for a few hours. A mashup between a 3D Zelda and a 3D Platformer Collection mixed with cozy childhood summer vibes??? Add humor, charm, wacky items, and post-game tools to help you find everything you missed (I was at 96% completion before rolling credits), and you'd be hard-pressed to find an indie game more tailor-fit to my tastes.

Honestly this feels like it might be a 5/5, but I'm super judicious about what I slap that score on. I'll think about it for a bit!

Lil Gator Game reminds me a lot of A Short Hike in the same way that Haven Park does, but unlike Haven Park, it's much easier to maintain a free-spirited flow state in a way that the former really captured and the latter somewhat lacked, lending Lil Gator Game a much stronger sense of identity. Translating the climbing stamina mechanics from the isometric perspective of A Short Hike to the 3rd person 3D perspective of Lil Gator Game (basically that of Breath of the Wild) does wonders for how quickly you can just jump and climb about. Factor in t-shirt gliding, "shield" sledding (which allows you to skim on the water like a jetski), and the ability to chain all of this together through constant jumps while sledding to build up speed, and you've got some pretty sick movement potential, even if you don't necessarily need it.

I think that's the strength that this game best exemplifies; there's tons of ways to get going and zip around the two islands for the kicks, but you can absolutely take the odyssey at your own pace and just soak in your surroundings too, since there's no fail-state from falling too far or discomfort from ever getting lost. It's a several hour nostalgia trip with tons of environmental interactivity that's quite literally a living make-believe playground, with tons of random hats, swords, shields, and various toys like a bubble gum balloon or a sticky hand to roleplay Spider Gator to mess around with on a whim. They even give you a texting tool to find the remaining cardboard monsters to go slashy slashy upon and the megaphone to shout out to find your remaining buddies if you're that kind of individual that wants to do everything there is to see. It never tries to take itself too seriously either; the whole gang's here for the dumb adventure tropes and genuinely wants to be your friend. It's such a simple yet realized take upon an indie classic, but absolutely worthwhile dipping into just to remember that sometimes, it's okay to forget about life for a while and pretend to be a kid again.

Oh, and the Ninja Headband accessory actually does make your character move faster thanks to the Naruto run. It's okay though; no one's going to judge you in Lil Gator Game. Now, time to climb some more peaks and ragdoll terminal velocity splat one more time before dinner.