ACNH feels empty after credits

[mirukushake]

The beginning of the game was more rushed for me to be honest. I didn't TT but I did unlock terraforming ASAP. Honestly, I'm glad all of those people on social media rushed it because now I have tons of ideas to steal inspiration. This game isn't a competition, and I've never felt the need to "keep up with the Joneses." Now I'm taking it much slower, moving buildings around a day at a time, chatting with my villagers, messing with terraforming then undoing it all, trading here and there... I'm in it for the long haul so I don't expect to complete my island any time soon, but it is nice to have the tools to get it done already.

 

[Fey]

I really don’t understand when people say the game is over after the K.K. goal is reached. If anything, the game opens up at that point!

I’ve been able to do exactly what I did before, plus a lot of new things. Since I don’t TT, I still:

• catch new fish and bugs
• tend to gardens and grow hybrids
• earn money and collect resources
• buy clothes, items and DIYs
• see new dialogue daily
• expand and decorate my house
• go on tours to recruit favorite villagers

Due to the terraforming being unlocked I now also get hours on hours out of landscaping alone. Between that and all the new seasonal and event content, there’s more to do than ever imo. Hell, we haven’t even gotten to the first Bug Off, most major holidays, or experienced 3/4 of seasons goddamnit.

One benefit of playing day-by-day is that you begin to see the story you yourself are telling. If you breeze past weeks and months, it isn’t as easy to immerse yourself in the world, and much easier to become lost in it somewhere along the way. That’s how I feel about it, at least.

 

[th8827]

The key to enjoying the game is not to make it into a competition. Play when you feel like it, do what you feel like doing, and don't rush to have the "best" island.

While I did enjoy the early game, I like the additional options that the post-tutorial island offers. but, just because a feature is there does not mean that I have to use it. I do not mess around with Terraforming, and I think that my island is looking great.

 

[Clock]

I miss the beginning music, but it was frustrating and enjoyable in the beginning because I had to wait each day for the tool and something useful without time traveling.

 

[GEEBRASS]

I'm thankful that:

1) I started the game almost 10 days after launch
2) I'd never played AC before
3) I didn't delve into the online community until I'd been playing for two weeks

I really got into the slow-moving, long-term-goal-oriented, choose-your-own-adventure design of the game before being exposed to any of the grandstanding, peac*cking, and time-traveling mania. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the online community in general, and I deeply love the game, but I'm glad I didn't get caught up in the hype. I'm in no hurry to achieve someone else's idea of enviable perfection, and I'm content to breed my flowers one day at a time.

 

[babi98]

The previous games felt less "questy" compared to New Horizons and instead gave you long-term goals to work towards with no real deadline. With NH you have a ton of tasks thrown at you at once and then are kinda left with nothing to do; no PWPs or other buildings to upgrade over the span of months/years. I really hope they add more as right now everything is super lonely lol

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I think the hype of the game on social media made many people feel like they had to rush and the game felt like a competition of "look at me!" and people showing off their amazing islands in such a short amount of time. It's gotten to the point that many people are tearing themselves down and comparing their island to others or stressing to have the perfect island to show it off to the internet for likes.

Yeah this actually bothers me a lot. There are so many people who have absolutely stunning towns (one of them being one of my good friends MasterM64) and my town is basically a flowery wasteland. I agree that to an extent they've almost given us too much freedom. I don't plan on doing much with terraforming because to me it's way too overwhelming, but I say that at the risk that others (or I myself) will compare my town to something that's WAY more developed and then be like "wow Kat's town is trash lmao."

There have been times when I think "dang I wish my town could look that nice" but then in the end I always remember that it's my town and I can do whatever I want with it. I think it's looking great so far, even if it is just a flowery wasteland. I'm not in a hurry to develop everything, I like to take my time.

 

[meggiewes]

I'm really thankful that I've played New Leaf before and know that just because the credits roll doesn't mean it is the end of the game or that you have reached "endgame". That is the real double-edged sword in ACNH. It actually has a tiny little story for the tutorial (which is nice), but lots of people who are new to the game and who are used to credit roll meaning end of the game don't realize that AC doesn't really have an end.

 

[Biancasbotique]

i value all the friendships i accumulated in this journey

 

[BeezyBee]

I completely agree, I feel like they expected terraforming to make up for the lack of returning NPCs/shops (which to be fair, will arrive in updates), but I would be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by all of the islands I've seen on social media. I have fun terraforming, but it's very stressful trying to make everything symmetric and orderly while still making room for future features. Redesigning new paths for rivers is something I'm completely dreading.

After the concert, I really feel like there was nothing left for me to do except decorate my island. I wish there was a way to earn/purchase DIY recipes easier, more bugs and fish available, and more buildings to unlock. Hopefully these updates take care of that.

 

[Aliya]

I recently reset too since I didn't feel like I had enough space on my old island to do what I planned on with my two south river exits. I'm slowly TTing to catch up to real time, but I think it's only a competition if you make it one. At the end of the day, if you were to visit two islands that were exactly the same, no one but you will know how long it took you to get to that point.

I love seeing what others come up with and have used inspiration to make my island the best it can be with my abilities. My favorite part of resetting was just imagining the potential for the island in the future. I have so many ideas, but I'm in no rush to get them all perfect right away.

Just have fun with it and enjoy the journey! Once everything is done, then your reflection will be much more meaningful if you enjoy the little things that come along with building everything up again.

 

[SleepyMimeko]

It's easy to get sucked into the whole social media thing. I do watch videos on youtube about what other people have done with their islands. Just keep in mind that it's your island. It should be unique and reflect all of the different facets of your personality. Why would you want to live on someone else's island? Make it your own.

 

[Splinter]

You're overthinking it. Just chip away bit by bit at your island, every day theres new things to collect. Ideas will come organically. Just one new DIY recipe can give you a lot of new ideas. Do that while chatting to your villagers and sticking to your routine of finding fossils and fishing and saving up bells, trading or even work on offering a service to others, such as growing and selling hybrids or crafting bait for bells. Little things like that can have a lot of satisfaction.

There will be points where you feel a bit down about your island or overwhelmed wanting too many changes at once, but eventually you will see and appreciate the work you have put in, it really does pay off, but it takes time.

I used to avoid watching videos of other peoples towns or looking at pictures because I'd see glimpses of stuff I'd think, aw man that looks so good in comparison. But when I look at them now, I think my town looks a lot better.

Or just flog it on eBay.

 

[akimaki]

I honestly feel otherwise. The only way to enhance the animal crossing experience was to one day let us be able to terraform out islands, or yknow people would have the same old complaints, "my villager messed up my paths" "I wish I could have a pond over here" and stuff. It's just the natural progression of the game as new iterations come out. Of course there are still restrictions to terraforming and such but one of the main things people wanted from New Leaf was more freedom (moving villager houses, etc). It would have been a bit dumb game design wise to have the new ac game not have these features. I think you may just be overthinking it.

It's also kinda like artists when they look at other things people have drawn. It's not a competition, everyone learns and does things at their own pace. What you make is special to you so honestly theres not much to worry about.

 

[-Blue-]

The problem is party due to covid-19 and a lot of people being confined at home. So a lot of people who would had never touched this game were picking it up and not understanding it's not a competition. They play competitive games. I know someone who thought this game was like pvp. The series is 20+ years do you not know how to read reviews?

I just came back here after being away for a long time but I am sure you guys get the 'This game is boring' topic that they're a dime a dozen now. This game is not what I thought it was. All you do is log on, collect fossils, fish and catch bugs, update/pay off your house, and make your outside look pretty.

The competition came from the group that had no idea what AC actually was. In 2 months from now all these competitive accounts you're watching are going to die out. I check gamefaqs sometimes and I see that topic all the time. I ask them if this is there first game. They almost always say yes. So there you have it.

 

[Xara]

i don’t agree. while i do sort of miss the storyline that followed through the first week or so, there’s still plenty for me to do in terms of landscaping, island hopping, shopping, etc

 

[-Blue-]

The beginning is too much of a slog also. Out of all the games in the series the beginning dragged on too much for my liking. In comparison NL's first week had a lot more going on for it. Each game had you start off with 5? villagers instead of just two. And waiting for the 3 islanders to show up took 3 days.

There's a lot they could had done to cut back on how slow it was. Like making the 3 move in all at once. Or changing the way it worked altogether. Because having 5 villagers right off the bat to talk to gave those first few days a lot more going on.

 

[crystalmilktea]

Like all social media, comparing yourself/your progress to others who curate only the best parts to post online is never healthy. You might want to take a break from looking at others' islands and just do what makes you happy on your own! Like others have mentioned here and on other threads in the past, this game came out during an abnormal time where people are stuck at home and can play for 8+ hours a day. Try to limit yourself to a couple hours only and you'll find more things to do for longer!

As for story, there's a pretty interesting storyline with the Able Sisters. I'm not sure if you know about it already, but try to talk to Sable every day and develop a relationship with her!