Lightning in a bottle, ACNH struck so many chords with me during a pretty significant time in everyone's lives. Gave me a sense of community when real life interactions suffered as a result of the COVID pandemic. It also builds on and improves, massively, almost every aspect of the series from previous entries.
Something I didn't expect from this game was to feel a sense of completion. After playing the original Animal Crossing for the GameCube and Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii as a kid (but missing out on Wild World for the DS and New Leaf for the 3DS), I had a preconceived notion that an Animal Crossing game would just last indefinitely - no endgame, and the content would still feel just as fresh as it did when I'd boot up the original as an 8 year old, or New Horizons for the first time. But after spending almost 400 hours playing New Horizons, I finally felt like I had done everything the game had to offer (or at least the parts that appealed to me).
And all of the sudden, I was surprised with the desire to put the game down and never return, with only the occasional inclination to return for nostalgia's sake. Which isn't to say is a bad thing at all, but just an unexpected outcome. It helped me realize that a game can truly be enjoyed in its entirety and leave its mark on you, while also not being a constant in your gaming catalog. Some games have their time and place, and cement themselves in your history without ever becoming a permanent presence.
Something I didn't expect from this game was to feel a sense of completion. After playing the original Animal Crossing for the GameCube and Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii as a kid (but missing out on Wild World for the DS and New Leaf for the 3DS), I had a preconceived notion that an Animal Crossing game would just last indefinitely - no endgame, and the content would still feel just as fresh as it did when I'd boot up the original as an 8 year old, or New Horizons for the first time. But after spending almost 400 hours playing New Horizons, I finally felt like I had done everything the game had to offer (or at least the parts that appealed to me).
And all of the sudden, I was surprised with the desire to put the game down and never return, with only the occasional inclination to return for nostalgia's sake. Which isn't to say is a bad thing at all, but just an unexpected outcome. It helped me realize that a game can truly be enjoyed in its entirety and leave its mark on you, while also not being a constant in your gaming catalog. Some games have their time and place, and cement themselves in your history without ever becoming a permanent presence.