How Do you Deal with Animal Crossing Burnout?

[ShadowLelouch97]

So, I'm sure we've all been there before. We're playing these games daily, doing our dailies (haha), making our animal villagers happy (or angry), all the while perfecting our town/island to match our grandiose vision.

In my case, I played New Leaf religiously practically every day until New Horizons dropped. Even during that time I felt like I needed a break from New Leaf. Four years later (how has it been four years since New Horizons dropped omg) and I'm burnt out on New Horizons.

Time and time I feel nostalgia for New Leaf and want to go back, and I've tried going back twice. But within a week the burnout sets in yet again.

Onto the question at hand - what do you do when you have a burnout in Animal Crossing? What steps do you take to spark that joy and passion that disappeared? Does playing other games in the series help? Or is an extended and necessary break all you need? I'd love to hear what you all think.

 

[skarmoury]

I play ACNH intermittently, esp when I'm feeling inspired! I play in big bursts of a few days then go on an indefinite hiatus until I feel like picking it up again lol.

 

[Suguri]

Last year I played New Horizons daily, and even when I felt like I wasn't interested in playing, I kept going. This triggered my months-long burnout, which ended when I decided to log back in on New Year's Eve.

This year, I'm trying to prevent the burnout from happening again. While it's tempting for me to "complete" the game as soon as possible, I try to remind myself that there is always another time for me to do that. If there isn't anything else that's interesting on my island or I'm not in the mood to work on my long-term goals, I just close the game and go about the rest of my day.

 

[Yoshi155]

I think that’s happening to me right now, and it started a while after the Farewell to New Leaf event ended. Before that, I played Animal Crossing so much that there were a lot of days where I exclusively played Animal Crossing games, which I can’t believe looking back. Now I kind of just go through the motions when playing any game and feel like I’m forcing myself to play and would rather anything else. I think the best way to deal with it would be to stop playing daily, which I should probably do.

 

[Isadoraisacat]

It’s the one game I don’t get burnt out in. I always feel compelled to play. I’ve been playing since 2020 with new horizons and been juggling it along side the older games daily since 2021 and haven’t missed a day in NH since day of launch in 2020.

 

[Bruscoe]

It’s the one game I don’t get burnt out in. I always feel compelled to play. I’ve been playing since 2020 with new horizons and been juggling it along side the older games daily since 2021 and haven’t missed a day in NH since day of launch in 2020.

And I thought playing this game for all 365 days of an entire year straight was a record. You're the true warrior here! My streak actually ended at 367, as the potential 368th day was so busy IRL for me. Then, I began to play semi-regularly, and it's been a rollercoaster of playtime ever since. Maybe I can beat my streak for the next mainline game...?
I just need to not get bored of repetitive villager dialogue

In all seriousness, I really don't have a whole lot of huge game series interests other than this one. I can easily say that I'm currently burned out from the usual doodads of New Horizons, and I don't know when I'll revisit New Leaf again. In the meantime, looking at fanart and doing Photopia stuff is keeping my interest in the series relevant. One of these days, I want to branch out and make some fan content with the villager models that were made available in GMod. However, despite owning the game/program on my Steam account, it's a thing I'll have to master. It'd be worth it for a little web series or something.

 

[Isadoraisacat]

And I thought playing this game for all 365 days of an entire year straight was a record. You're the true warrior here! My streak actually ended at 367, as the potential 368th day was so busy IRL for me. Then, I began to play semi-regularly, and it's been a rollercoaster of playtime ever since. Maybe I can beat my streak for the next mainline game...?
I just need to not get bored of repetitive villager dialogue

In all seriousness, I really don't have a whole lot of huge game series interests other than this one. I can easily say that I'm currently burned out from the usual doodads of New Horizons, and I don't know when I'll revisit New Leaf again. In the meantime, looking at fanart and doing Photopia stuff is keeping my interest in the series relevant. One of these days, I want to branch out and make some fan content with the villager models that were made available in GMod. However, despite owning the game/program on my Steam account, it's a thing I'll have to master. It'd be worth it for a little web series or something.

It’s the one game series that I don’t get tired of it’s a comfort. For me I’d feel bad if I missed a day I look forward to visiting my island and I think that’s just it, if you really enjoy it you won’t lose interest. At least for me it brings me enjoy. Other games I play like elder scrolls online feels like a full time job. AC always feels like a vacation that’s the difference for me.

 

[mewp0ka]

i stop playing it completely until i feel like playing it again. i always look forward to the next time i play because if i don't add new things/villagers to my island, i end up making a new one, which is always exciting!

 

[Nika]

I just take a break from time to time.

 

[PugLovex]

like many stated, i have bursts of activity that last months, and then i take a break for a while. i find myself playing most commonly in the spring/summer and very little in the winter (mainly because my island theme is spring like so my island looks so weird during winter LOL)

 

[moonbyu]

take a break from playing, and pray that my island doesn't look like a complete mess when i come back lmao

 

[Clock]

Just like other games similar to AC where I have a lot of screen time, I tend to play for hours and stop playing for days, weeks, or months until I feel like playing again.

 

[Newbiemayor]

I just stop playing and take an indefinite break. Maybe I play other games, Maybe I stop playing any games and get invested in a book, Maybe I spend all my free time on a multi day chore, maybe I just hang out here I'll come back when I feel like it. That's how I was with new leaf and it's how I am now. I'm like that with pretty much everything tho so other people are probably different. I just feel like it's easier to hop in and play if there's not really a commitment like "If I come back I'm playing every single day for real this time!" But that's just me lol.

 

[skarmoury]

As others said, I take a break until I feel ready to tackle the game again I choose the games I play based on what I feel, so if I don't feel like playing ACNH then i just don't hehehe. No point in playing a game you're not enjoying at the moment, games are supposed to be fun and relaxing :]
I find that what gets me back to ACNH is when I look at pictures of different islands and I get a surge of inspiration. My twitter and pinterest is full of ACNH stuff so i do start to feel like going back to the game when i find pictures or themes that i want to recreate on my island.

 

[Chronos314_XD]

I just stop playing until I feel the urge to pick it up again, either I play for a couple weeks and get burnt out again or I play it religiously for months.

 

[Flower-Loving Punk]

This might not be the most helpful but it's been working for me the past two years! I just pick up another version of the game and play THAT until I'm bored of it. I started with New Horizons, went back to Wild World on a new cartridge, played that until I got to the penultimate house upgrade, got bored, got a Wii and played City Folk, currently on my third house upgrade but I've been getting bored of it so I just started AC Gamecube, and I've been playing that for about a week or so now.

When I get bored of AC Gamecube I'll probably go back to finishing all the technicalities and decorations of my NH Island. I have big plans that are taking forever so it is hard to stay motivated. Maybe someday I'll buy a 3ds if I can find a good deal and play New Leaf when I finish my Island.

What's really nice about the older games is the complete lack of control I have as a player. I can't put things outside. I can't change my appearance, My villagers come and go, so If I eventually complete the game and get super bored I won't feel as bad about resetting completely.

I have never reset NH because of how much time I sank into it over the pandemic, and how much time I spent collecting and making custom designs, over 1,000 hours. even though I kind of want to reset some things, because I can literally flatten everything and move anything I want, I just did that instead. HOWEVER!! That's what gave me the burnout. I have never felt burnout on the older games, I just get bored between things I want to do.

If you have a wii or an old DS (or a good computer) I'd highly recommend it!

 

[Briar]

I just play other games or do other things, and I play again when I get the urge to. I don't try to force myself to play or really try to do anything to stop myself from being burned out. I just wait for it to happen naturally

 

[Pate and Ketchup]

I have a problem with the game. I think it's a very good game, excellent even, especially since the last update, but I've never managed to get past the first five days. I give up before, I don't go to the late game, I never meet the last villagers, I never decorate my island. I love the first three days, and then my excitement falls like a soufflé. Look, on Wednesday I start a new game, but I know I'm going to give up after a few days. However, I want to go further! I want a beautiful island, nice and cute villagers! I'm tired of seeing beautiful images on the net, I want to create them!
And I'm motivated because I keep a theme in mind. Some villagers to hunt.
I was so excited the months before the release some years ago, but I never passed the first days...

 

[JellyLu]

I usually just take a step back from the game if I get burnt out. My problem is whenever I run out of inspiration regarding decorating my island, I feel like im stuck or my island is trash. I also tend to eventually feel like playing the game is a chore more than something to enjoy. When that happens, I step away to another game. Or, if I need inspiration, I watch gameplay from others to get the ball rolling.

 

[LambdaDelta]

I stop playing