I honestly don't think this game feels empty due to the cut content...

[Bilaz]

Just my observation but I've been playing wild world again, and honestly the lack of buildings and 'obvious' activities to do isn't what makes the game feel more or less full? Like, we got swimming back in an update, that was fun, but it still feels empty. And I feel like even if everything gets added back from new leaf it'll still feel that way, because our villagers just don't... do anything.

Man I have nothing I'm even interested in achieving in wild world and yet it's keeping me busy. My villagers all have rumours about each other (actual ones not the randomly generated ones from New Leaf that just had a different villager substituted the whole time), Tabby has gone crazy over grey furniture, Elmer wants fossils and more fossils.

I feel like they can add more content forever but without adding back more villager requests there just isn't going to be anything to do. just my thoughts

I'm bringing this up because I made a thread awhile back about what's missing. And yes we have some missing NPCs, but I just... Couldn't shake the feelings that there was more missing than those things, it's not like those features add hours of gameplay I don't know

 

[Khaelis]

It's definitely not empty. It has so many new things over the previous games. Sure, some NPCs are missing still and some furniture sets are gone but they're being added slowly via updates (Easter set, Mermaid, etc).

Even with the game being delayed once, I think they just didn't have enough time to add everything, hence the "DLC" updates.

 

[Imbri]

I agree with Khaelis. Yes, there is more to come, but I still find a lot of things to do.

There's always an area to tweak - we haven't seen all the seasons yet, in real-time, so I'm sure I'll change things up with that. Villagers are much more likely to wear clothing you give them (which can be a blessing and a curse), so I'm always on the lookout for something I think will suit them. Being able to grab them on Harv's island and try things out before gifting is awesome. And I'm just now starting to get photos, having ramped my friendship up enough, and I started playing on launch date.

I might not play for huge chunks, like I did when setting my island up, but I find something to do every day. We're about to head into a new month and a new season, which means new bugs and fish to catch. I can't wait.

 

[Feraligator]

NH feels like a full game when you like to customise your island (which is great for me), but it feels lacking when it comes to villager interaction, so I agree with your post. It fell apart from since NL imo, but NL had all of its content from the start so it still feels more "full" than NH right now.

I'm hoping they add more villager interaction in the updates. They just seem so decorative right now since the dialogue is so repetitive and they hardly do anything with the player. Even hide and seek is gone...

 

[Splinter]

The older games are much more restricted with what you can do, especially looking back after playing ACNH. It's kinda ruined them for me tbh.

 

[LambdaDelta]

I enjoy almost everyone completely missing what op's post was even about

 

[Bilaz]

xD it’s okay don’t worry, I don’t mind. If other people feel like the game is full because they like decorating that’s amazing

 

[Cheren]

I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly. A lot of fans (myself included) enjoyed the previous titles because the villagers are what made the game feel lively. If people are happy just decorating their islands then that's great! Good for them! But I can't help but feel like the game developers catered specifically to that niche group of people. The animals feel like dolls (and the island like a dollhouse) and most people treat them as such as a result.

 

[Feraligator]

I enjoy almost everyone completely missing what op's post was even about

I wanted to say this lmfaooo, at least you noticed

 

[cocoacat]

I agree that the villager dialogue and interactions could be better. I didn't play the older games, but in New Leaf it was nice that your most friendly villagers would come by your house unexpectedly, or ask to set up a time to visit them, or say more varied and quirky things. Even letters when they left and the mini games added something. I think what's missing in NH is that it doesn't feel as personal or connecting. The personalities are very flat and one dimensional, and the dialogue repeats too much. The focus is definitely on terraforming and decorating... which is fine, but for the longevity of the game, bonding with villagers and interactions are important.

I remember really liking Mitzi because of a quote I saw where she mentioned she liked to use the toilet as a flower vase. My normals in this game have never said anything as interesting. I don't know if they'll ever focus on it, but it seems like adding more interesting dialogue wouldn't be too difficult to do.

 

[Khaelis]

I agree that the villager dialogue and interactions could be better. I didn't play the older games, but in New Leaf it was nice that your most friendly villagers would come by your house unexpectedly, or ask to set up a time to visit them, or say more varied and quirky things. Even letters when they left and the mini games added something. I think what's missing in NH is that it doesn't feel as personal or connecting. The personalities are very flat and one dimensional, and the dialogue repeats too much. The focus is definitely on terraforming and decorating... which is fine, but for the longevity of the game, bonding with villagers and interactions are important.

I remember really liking Mitzi because of a quote I saw where she mentioned she liked to use the toilet as a flower vase. My normals in this game have never said anything as interesting. I don't know if they'll ever focus on it, but it seems like adding more interesting dialogue wouldn't be too difficult to do.

Older games have more dialogue because they have less features, so they have more 'space' to put more text. Admittedly, this isn't an excuse as Switch cartridges hold 32GB but you gotta remember they want to keep game size as small as possible for digital versions.

 

[eggie_]

i would absolutely love if they released a villager dialogue over haul or something. it’s just weird to me that so many people complained abt the dialogue in new leaf, and then in the next installment.... the dialogue gets worse.

don’t get me wrong!! i adore my villagers and the game, i have 300+ hours rn so it’s not like i’m bashing it haha. it was just something odd that i noticed.

i do think that the villagers feel less “stiff” in the sense that they do things around town now, like change outfits (they can wear bows and carry purses now) and do yoga and zoomies. i think that was an improvement to the villagers at least

 

[Nefarious]

I honestly don’t remember how good villagers interactions were before NL. All I know is that NH’s dialogue is sooo much better than NL’s. All that’s missing from there is that there needs to be more villager based activities and less contextual dialogue.

If they ever do make a huge update for villagers, it better include a way to fully reset them. I definitely wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy these kinds of features without destroying their closet/home in the process.

 

[Serabee]

I enjoy almost everyone completely missing what op's post was even about

I mean, I see what they're saying, but I disagree entirely. I also think the title of the thread was confusing- I was assuming this was gonna be a thread excited about the game and how it DOESN'T feel empty. Because I don't think it feels empty at all. There are things that can be added, sure, but there's no shortage of things for me to do. And I have no idea why it would feel "empty" besides content.

 

[Toska]

I completely agree with you, honestly. I have enough different things to do, but the lack of villager interaction is making the game a lot less enjoyable to me. Even in NL, I felt like they were more unique. Maybe Nintendo will hear our calls for help and add some unique interactions?

 

[marea]

Yesss i would totally love more villager interactions, things like visiting each other, playing games, and requests. I know the requests can feel repetitive after a while so i think having the option to ask your villagers for a task would be better so people wont feel so bad for refusing a request. I also want hide and seek back and more games to play with them. I am so sad they didnt add those things because i enjoyed them a lot. It does make the game feel like it is "missing" something to me.

 

[Hypno KK]

I really like NH. I've got a lot of hope for future updates adding more content. The only thing that feels empty to me is villager dialogue but it's kind of like how it was in NL. I really wish we could interact with them more because they're one of the things that makes this game unique to me.

 

[FireNinja1]

The biggest problem for me is that we didn't get everything from the start. Historically, Animal Crossing games let you access any holiday / event that you wanted (with the obvious caveat that you had to timetravel). With NH, it feels like they're just breadcrumbing new things into the game that don't really add that much.

Being able to meet Rover and Pascal again is cool, don't get me wrong, but in many ways I feel like these updates containing events are meant to substitute all the events that old games had, which makes the game feel like an unfinished product.

 

[MiniPocketWorld]

I really like NH. I've got a lot of hope for future updates adding more content. The only thing that feels empty to me is villager dialogue but it's kind of like how it was in NL. I really wish we could interact with them more because they're one of the things that makes this game unique to me.

Something just came to mind because I also have hope for future updates because of how slow this game is. Is it possible that there is more villager dialogue after having them for a very very long time on your island? I feel like this game is kinda dripped to us so I wonder.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I would love to have increased villager dialogue and interactions, but like others here, I do not find the game to be lacking or empty at all. Maybe it is just luck, but I also feel I get pinged by my villagers a lot. I played for an hour this morning at 6am and got three thought bubbles - one for a delivery, one an item exchange, and one catchphrase change request. And I had dialogue I hadn’t seen before from tabby telling me she woke up early.

of course there is always going to be room for improvement, but I have a lot of fun with my villagers.

(edit: I have played for a total of about 3 hours today and been pinged (by which I mean had villager initiated interactions through the thought bubble or name call, 10 times. I know it’s not exactly what people want/ our talking about, but it does make me happy. The villagers are my favorite part of the game).