Game of the Year and Animal Crossing New Horizons Should it win or not?

[iamjohnporter67]

Okay I will admit it and say that Animal Crossing New Horizons was the one game that did help me get through the pandemic. However saying its like the "game of the year" is very debatable. The game has a lot of issues that have went unaddressed and despite the updates we've been getting there still a lot of things missing and a lot of other stuff that needs to be improved. I will agree that this game really did a great job with the graphics and how it gave us the freedom to make our islands the way we want which is why I spent so much time on this game making my island the way I wanted to and I got more better as time went on, but it all changes when you question "well what is there to do in this game?". Thats when you realize that the game becomes different when you find yourself doing the same tasks everyday, talking to your villagers but they all say the same thing, and of course when you do all of that you earn nothing but Nook Miles. Sure it was fun at the time but later on it just got too repetitive. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed my time with this game but I am not going to pretend like its like "Game of the year" worthy. I know this may seem controversial but I am giving my honest thoughts.

Its debatable but New Horizons should not win. I know I'm going to get flack for this but it just has a lot of issues with it that just makes it not that good. I mean I'm surprised it got nominated for "best multiplayer" considering that the game's online is so terrible and there is a lack of modes for multiplayer. So thats really strange. Not to mention it was on "Best Family game" when you remember how many people were angry when this game had a one island per switch limitation so it wasn't really good with Families. While I do agree that this game saved 2020 in a time when there was a pandemic I would not say its game of the year worthy. If it wasn't for all those issues with the game I would understand but I am not seeing it, I'm sorry but I'm being really honest. What do you guys think? I'm curious to know.

 

[Miss Misty]

I'm giving it a solid maybe.

Like you said, the success of the game was largely because it's a bright, sunny, cheerful, timesink of a game in a time when we as a society collectively needed a bright, sunny, cheerful timesink. I think outside of a pandemic, NH is still the most popular AC game in the series, but I don't think it gets to the second best selling Switch game status like it has.

On the other hand, it's way more relevant than some of the other contenders. I barely see people talking about Doom: Eternal, or Ghost of Tsushima, or the Final Fantasy 7 Remake anymore. Not that that makes them bad games, just that NH was objectively more relevant for more people for more of the year. In a way, calling it Game of the Year makes sense because it's the game that everyone kept coming back to for the entire year.

 

[Rosch]

I'll be honest here. Animal Crossing is a great game, but it only went mainstream due to the pandemic.

This game, while it brought amazing new features (terraforming) and adorable visuals, is technically incomplete (missing characters, furnitire, events, etc).

I've spent 700 hours in this game. I love it very much. It deserves the nomination, but I don't think it deserves the title.

 

[Insulaire]

Of course it deserves it. This is just going to be another "Complain About ACNH" thread

 

[Romaki]

It's the game of the pandemic year, obviously it deserves it.

 

[meggiewes]

Of course it deserves it. This is just going to be another "Complain About ACNH" thread

Then can you tell us why you think it deserves it?

Personally, I haven't made up my mind and I would like to hear both sides.

 

[Your Local Wild Child]

I’m honestly in the “I don’t care” section. I love the game (even if I have my gripes), and I don’t put too much stock into these awards events.

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I'm in the same boat as @Your Local Wild Child. What makes anything good is subjective, let alone a video game. For every aspect that is "good," there is almost always a counterpoint that a devil's advocate could make.

 

[Dewy]

It's by far been the most popular and talked about game of 2020, so I don't see why it wouldn't be game of the year.
Every game has some flaws. That doesn't change how hugely successful it's been

 

[Dunquixote]

In an identical thread i said it deserved to win, but now that I have given it more thought and as the game has been out a little longer, I really don’t think it should. If it won, I would hate for them to think that all of their decisions were acceptable. The drip fed content is good and bad; while personally I am frustrated still with the updates and waiting for more furniture and my interest has been declining, I do like that they aren’t giving us event after event like gacha games do. That leads to faster burnout to me.

I am sorry for bringing this up again, but their decision to wait to fix some things like the posters until the amiibos were announced to be re-released left me a realy bad aftertaste and impression - part of it is due to how highly I thought of the company up to that point, along with how much work I put into organizing a catalogue event for event and then the rest is just I’m not blind to see they want to get us to buy them. They should want people to buy them because they like them and want to support the company.

This is just my opinion and I do think it is understandable and nothing wrong with people wanting it to win because it helped them during the pandemic. It has helped me too but, I cannot find some of their decisions to be acceptable or at the very least, I question them. And i fear they may think it is okay to release another game with questionable effort (like look at some of the villagers interior) and intentionally leave “bugs” unfixed until they see they can make a profit from it.

 

[Sloom Lagoon]

I love New Horizonsand I'm still enjoying playing it mostly daily, but it is the game of the year? In my opinion, no. It's probably not even the best game in the series. It's got a lot of amazing features which I love, but there's a huge amount of QOL problems and so much missing content from previous games that we're being drip fed like it's all new and exciting. I just... I can't help but be let down by it almost every time I play it. There was so much potential and so much it COULD have been, but isn't.

 

[Mairmalade]

Whether a game should win Game of the Year or not is, as some have mentioned, subjective. Some love New Horizons, some dislike New Horizons or certain parts of the game, and others may be in-between or undecided. Positive feedback and constructive criticism are equally valid, as everyone enjoys different features and has different playstyles.

Please keep this in mind when posting, and focus on the discussion: why you believe this, as a standalone title, should - or should not - win the award rather than simply saying 'yes' or 'no.' The Game Awards are now right around the corner, so it's a great time to talk about it in this context.



My personal take:
I haven't played all the games that were nominated, so it's hard for me to cast a certain vote. On its own, New Horizons has been an enjoyable experience for me, but I don't think it's "Game of the Year' material. It does do a few things well though, namely sound/visual design. I love the weather, skies, trees swaying about, and some of the items we do have for clothing and furniture selection. The freedom to place things has also been a great sim experience and I have fun experimenting with different ideas when I have them, but it sometimes feels empty otherwise - like there's a lack of inspiration from a game design perspective.

I moved from playing every day to playing a couple of times per week because I'm not immersed. I don't have a desire to collect everything, and while I love terraforming, decorating, and hanging out with villagers, and taking photos occasionally, the loop becomes stale quickly. That said, I still appreciate the general Animal Crossing experience it offers.

 

[Dunquixote]

I love New Horizonsand I'm still enjoying playing it mostly daily, but it is the game of the year? In my opinion, no. It's probably not even the best game in the series. It's got a lot of amazing features which I love, but there's a huge amount of QOL problems and so much missing content from previous games that we're being drip fed like it's all new and exciting. I just... I can't help but be let down by it almost every time I play it. There was so much potential and so much it COULD have been, but isn't.

I agree with you completely! I still love the game in spite of my play time decreasing steadily. As you said, the game has so much potential. My favorite part of the game has always been collecting furniture and seeing what ideas I can come up with. Being able to decorate outside has opened so many doors. I admit it was my fault for getting this game expecting a lot of the HHD items plus NL along with new furniture sets as well. Still at it’s half anniversary, it was kinda alarming to me how much it still was missing.

 

[sleepydreepy]

I voted for maybe. I think it will win because of its booming popularity due to COVID. It helped a lot of people get through quarantine and even made it into mainstream media for a while.

If COVID didn't happen I wonder if it would still be in the running for game of the year. The game itself isn't very revolutionary, and seems pretty basic when compared to all the other more "intense" video games out there. I personally like the game a lot, but since I am not a serious gamer, I am very easy to please. But even though I am a fan of ACNH, I think it does have some serious flaws. Generally, I personally would not ever predict that ACNH or any AC game would win the game of the year, BUT because of its widespread success due to COVID, I feel like ACNH winning this year is a real possibility that will most likely occur regardless if it is deserving or not.

 

[Sloom Lagoon]

I agree with you completely! I still love the game in spite of my play time decreasing steadily. As you said, the game has so much potential. My favorite part of the game has always been collecting furniture and seeing what ideas I can come up with. Being able to decorate outside has opened so many doors. I admit it was my fault for getting this game expecting a lot of the HHD items plus NL along with new furniture sets as well. Still at it’s half anniversary, it was kinda alarming to me how much it still was missing.

I'm in the same boat with designing and collecting furniture, which is why it really annoys m,e that so much of it is locked to your island and a lot is rng based. There's so many cute summer outfits I missed out on because I kept getting the same five or so in my shop every day! I don't want to HAVE to trade for every item! It's the same with DIY recipes, I'm still missing so many that I love but will get the same 5 every dang week.
I'm also annoyed aout the sets, I love most of the new updated sets but I still miss seeing the classic items I always used :/ Plus I expected them to use SOME of the Pocket Camp items at least, especially now we can decorate outdoors! Tbh if NH has taught me anything, it's how much I underappreciated Pocket Camp lol

Ultimately I'd rather they had kept half the new clothing etc. back and released that slowly so we could have had reasons to keep on collecting, whilst still having realistic chances of getting each item. It would also be great for them to release new seasonal sets each year, like they do in Pocket Camp (seriously, just give us their sets and it'll be grand)

 

[John Wick]

Absolutely not.

It feels like a tedious game where I'm constantly gathering materials to craft items I don't even want or like.

They've ruined AC, IMO.

 

[Maiana]

I think it should win!
It became the worldwide staple game for the pandemic, it is creeping up to Mario Kart in sales, and overall a game you can play for hours (as long as you pace yourself and don't get burnt out lol).
There's definitely some lacking things in the game, but I genuinely believe Animal Crossing deserves it. Not saying other games are 'forgettable' but there is something about Animal Crossing that sticks with you. Whether it be the town you created, or your villagers you talk to everyday.

 

[helloxcutiee]

Even if it doesn't win Animal Crossing will always be game of the year in my heart.

 

[ekcomyth]

i cant really make a fair judgement since ACNH is the only game i've played this year lol but it certainly deserves an award

 

[Pintuition]

I think it should win, but I understand how there's other great contenders. I think when we look back on gaming on 2020 as a whole, it will be impossible not to acknowledge the impact of NH. In the beginning of the year it's all everyone I knew did while we were in lockdown. I think it gained acceptance in popular culture few other games did. I see AC stuff in all the stores, but not as much from other recent games. Let's face it, the switch was out of stock for weeks when NH came out. It would for sure get my vote for this year. In the end, I suppose I really don't care whether someone deems it the game of the year or not, it certainly defined 2020 for me!