In a bit of a dilemma, asking for opinions (:

[Katya01]

Hi everyone! Here's the back story about my dilemma,

This year I bought a switch lite and a copy of animal crossing so I could enjoy during quarantine, at the time I had convinced myself that I would not need to buy a full switch because I never play with others and I wasn't going to dock it to a TV (oh how I wish I could dock it). Anyways, after playing animal crossing for over 500hrs I now feel kinda unmotivated, my island is not complete (I have a european theme which is quite difficult for some reason), as much as I love my island I'm stuck. Should I restart my island or am I just burnt out completely? I don't plan to buy any other switch games for my switch and I want to dock it, do I buy a new switch? or sell my switch lite and giveaway my animal crossing lively hood with it? I don't know how I feel about deleting 500hrs worth of gameplay but will I learn to love the game again?

Anyways, if you actually read this far your an amazing person and I would love to hear your opinions.

 

[tajikey]

I don't really have any advice to give, but thank you for thinking I'm amazing!

 

[Chungus]

I feel you so much, my dude. I bought a second Switch just to have a second island, but now I'm planning on selling it because I ended up not caring about the island anyway and it's just too much of an investment.

My advice to you is to keep one Switch. If you get the second Switch, sell the Switch Lite. That way, you won't be susceptible to buyer's remorse!

As far as the island goes, I think a European island sounds neat. Maybe focus in on specifics in Europe and you'll have a better idea as to what you can and can't do with your island. It could give you fresh inspiration, too! Don't give up yet! New Horizons is a cute little game that's sure to give you joy later down the road if not now.

 

[Khaelis]

If you answer "yes" to these three simple questions, restarting is an acceptable thing to do:

1. Do you have zero attachment to your current island?
2. Do you feel like you would be motivated if you restarted?
3. Do you feel like there is nothing you can do with your island, no matter what you do?


Also, if you answer "No" to the first two, but answer "Yes" to the third.. its likely burn out.

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

You're also amazing! ^o^

Personally, I would first step away from the game for some time. If you have played a lot in a relatively short amount of time, you could very well be experiencing burnout. There isn't a quick solution to burnout other than taking a break.

If you find yourself missing the game after a break (no matter how short or long), then the next question I would ask myself is, "Am I still happy with how my island looks?" Depending on your answer, it may come close to restarting your island (e.g. flattening your island and overhaul your existing set-up).

As for the Switch Lite versus Switch question, I recently thought through this myself and ended up opting for the regular Switch. I got my original Switch Lite at the end of April, as the regular Switch was still very much out-of-stock at the time. Since the announcement of the ACNH edition Switch coming back into stock, I sat on the "should I switch?" question (pun intended) for two weeks. In the end, I opted for the regular Switch because I value my eyesight (I have pretty bad myopia). As a bonus, I'm glad that I can now play on a monitor to fully enjoy the beautiful aesthetics of the game and discover small visual details that I literally did not see on the Switch Lite. I also play Smash Ultimate, which is also much easier on a larger monitor. I only play these two games. XD

I ended up reselling the Switch Lite to a friend. Otherwise, a lightly used one can sell for up to $250, from postings I've seen on Facebook Marketplace.

 

[niko@kamogawa]

In terms of your island dilemma, I am not a big fan of resetting. All those achievements and stuffs in your catalog will disappear! It's definitely painful to get those things back in my opinion. My advice is just to take a step back for now. It's worth catching a break every now and then.

For your second concern, I won't even consider buying a new Nintendo Switch. (In fact, I rather wait for the next generation instead.)

And I am not amazing at all! I don't strive to beautify my island. I am actually the worst example of an Animal Crossing player. (I am more of a collector and trader. So my aspiration is to help people rather than hogging the spotlight.)

 

[Xara]

hm. i might be interpreting this wrong but,, your feelings of being stuck seem to be stemming from the difficulty in trying to execute your european theme. it’s a lovely theme but i can understand how inspiration can sort of fall flat with the current lack of furniture. that being said, you’ve said that you love your island and so, i personally wouldn’t reset. if your main issue is with your theme, maybe try and conjure up a different theme? it might be a bit frustrating to tear down and rebuild everything again but maybe it’ll help you feel less stuck and give you some motivation to play.

but if you’re not super concerned about the theme, maybe take a break from the game for a while? burn out is completely normal and valid, especially since we’ve had loads of free time since it’s release, so maybe it’d help to step away for a bit and focus on other stuff. either way, the decision is entirely up to you and i wish you good luck with whatever you decide to do c’:

 

[kayleee]

I’ve read stories of people who have successfully transferred their island to a new switch by contacting Nintendo and having them walk you through it. So if the biggest thing is being able to play docked, you could always get a regular switch and transfer your 500hr island to it.

 

[Monokuma73]

Hi everyone! Here's the back story about my dilemma,

This year I bought a switch lite and a copy of animal crossing so I could enjoy during quarantine, at the time I had convinced myself that I would not need to buy a full switch because I never play with others and I wasn't going to dock it to a TV (oh how I wish I could dock it). Anyways, after playing animal crossing for over 500hrs I now feel kinda unmotivated, my island is not complete (I have a european theme which is quite difficult for some reason), as much as I love my island I'm stuck. Should I restart my island or am I just burnt out completely? I don't plan to buy any other switch games for my switch and I want to dock it, do I buy a new switch? or sell my switch lite and giveaway my animal crossing lively hood with it? I don't know how I feel about deleting 500hrs worth of gameplay but will I learn to love the game again?

Anyways, if you actually read this far your an amazing person and I would love to hear your opinions.

Let's start from hardware... I bought Switch for my GF, and week after for me. My decision was simple from the very beginning - only Switch, no Switch Lite - for two reasons:
1. Switch gives a choice, if you want to play as handheld, you playing - want to play on bigger screen, no problem.
2. I read quite lot about controller problems, but if we have a Switch - re can repair / replace them, but not so sure about Lite, as everything is just one piece.
My GF prefers to play in handheld mode, however we have both docking stations connected with two different TV's and when I'm playing alone, I'm playing on my TV, when we playing together - playing on hers.

I'm almost 500 hours already, and had one "fresh start" already, and now I'm playing a bit more than one month on my new island. I have to say, fresh start was an adventure itself. I made some different decisions, I choose different layout, I decided to do other things differently.
I wish you could say more about lack of motivation - and for me there is no straight answer if your burnt completely or you should restart, or maybe to choose another option.

I can tell you my opinion, as I do prefer to play (anything) on bigger screen than a smaller one. In the past I enjoyed small screens, or maybe it was sufficient for me for some reason, as I stared from the very first GameBoy with monochromatic LCD screen and I had fan, but now - maybe I'm not demanding, maybe visual is something important to me, I don't know.

Another question you should ask yourself is: do you sill like AC and you are tempted to play? Maybe, if you haven't done this already - just watch some AC videos on big screen and compare what you feeling just looking at the big screen and the same time at the small one in console.
I personally had another issue... maybe not issue, but some inconvenience - during the night (handheld mode) was too dark for me. It's more realistic, maybe even nicer looking - but as this is not a horror game, building scary atmosphere is not necessary and if we are focus on terraforming / creating / placing / farming / whatever we doing, it's better to see more than less.

In daily basis, I'm not only playing AC on Switch - but sharing my time with Dragon Quest Builders (first one), and this gives me more - I'm not burnt in DQB and I'm still enjoying ACNH.

 

[meela]

I've restarted two islands, I am on my third now. I reset my first island because I wasn't happy with the name or layout, I just kind of picked the first thing I saw as I had just got the game. The second time I reset, I reset because I picked two south river mouths and it was a nightmare to terraform anything cute on that island

I actually think I would probably keep resetting too. I find it fun to do the tutorial missions for the first 2 weeks, and I find it fun to decorate a fresh landscape wherein I have no plans, just ideas. I even pick different dreamies to go on the new islands too!

Some people will have one island for their whole playtime however long that will be, some will have many islands because they have reset multiple times. It's all dependent on how you wish to play the game.

As for resetting an island with 500+ hours, I didn't regret any of my island resets (I regretted the island layouts I picked, or names, etc) and I enjoyed my time resetting each time. If you truly believe it will get you back into the game, you should go for it!

As for buying a new switch, I am planning to go from a switch lite to a docked switch. I bought the animal crossing switch and am waiting for it to arrive, but I'm 99% sure AC will be my only switch game. I think you should only buy a switch if you feel you are going to play it regularly and consistently, just so your money is not wasted

 

[BalloonFight]

I'm all for resetting your island *if* you have several good reasons to do so. It seems like instead of resetting though, you may just need a break from AC. Take a bit of time off in order to have the desire to play again, and possibly come up with some more ideas for your island. Resetting when you're stuck just seems like a recipe for regret in my opinion.

 

[John Wick]

I restarted after only four days, and was going to quit, but I gave it another shot and six months later I'm still playing. (I was really overwhelmed at the time.)

I would only restart if you really want another switch, and are comfortable with going through it again, though folks here can help you with whatever items you need.

It sounds like you really want to start again in a state of mind where you're 100% happy with it.

Then if you get another switch you can start playing the way you really want to.
To keep you in it for the long haul!

 

[Crowsie]

I recently added a new islander to Mnemosyne, and I gotta say... Going through the process of catching her up (I intend to turn her house into a hotel) has talked me out of restarting my island for the foreseeable future. It's not something I'd take lightly, as while I'm pretty nostalgic for the early-early phases of the game, there's a lot of tedium when you've gone through all of it already. Even with time traveling.

Honestly, it depends on what you want and your play style. If you're the kind of person who tanks AC for weeks on end, playing for 5-8 hours a day, then I think a reset wouldn't be so drastic. If you're like me, the type to play for maybe 2 hours tops throughout the day, then maybe you should hold off. I think you'd get burnt out again before getting to where you want to be. I'm also biased, as far as AC goes I've always prioritized working with what I roll and making it mine over resetting until I get the perfect show-offable thing. The only thing I'll ever reset for is apples.

As for the switch... Maybe hold off on that too. The key to all of this may just lie in playing something else for a few weeks. That's what I do when I get burnt out.

 

[Corrie]

In my opinion, it sounds like burnout. 500 hours is a lot. I've only got 160 hours in mine and I feel burned out. I'd suggest just stepping away for a breather. Get invested in something else and who knows, maybe by the time you come back to it, you'll get a new spark as your island might feel new. You don't need to buy or sell anything just yet. I'd think about it for a little while longer to avoid doing things based on your current feelings as they might not be permanent.

 

[moo_nieu]

Sorry you're going through this! This would be a really tough decision for me. I think if you have the money and want to dock your switch that badly you should buy another one. You can always keep your switch lite to hold onto those original island memories and sell it if you stop caring about it.. Alternatively, maybe you could return the new switch and game if it ends up not being worth it? (I assume you'd be able to return it within 30 days or something but I really have no idea so if they are returnable) Either way good luck to you If you do decide to start fresh, you'll always have us to help you get your items back!

 

[Pintuition]

I totally get your island dilemma! I too kind of burned out of my original island on my switch lite. There were too many features I wanted so I ended up investing in the ACNH switch that was just rereleased. I ended up making a mental list of the pros/cons of investing in it and found in the end, I'd enjoy having a second island. I also figured since there's going to be no vacations or anything fun to spend money on this year, why not, right? So far I'm excited about the game again and it's really helped to have a second space to create with a much less limiting theme this time.

Of course resetting is always an option, but I'm not sure you'd be any happier with that. You'd still have the lite and not be able to dock but you'd lose all your items/progress. I would really sit down and ask yourself what ultimately you want. That way you can come up with a game plan to figure out if you'd sell your current switch or reset. You could always start dismantling your island and go with a new theme. That could be a practice run to see if you'd really like a new switch or not. It's certainly a hard choice!

 

[Honesta]

If it helps, I don't regret buying my switch lite... But I do wish that a full switch had been available when I bought it, so I will likely buy a normal version and give my lite to my kids or sell it. As for the game and my island... I had an island I had terraformed, moved everything and had 4 star (5 star is so hard to get imho) and I burned out. So I took a month+ break from the game and when I came back, I considered completely restarting, but all that will do is allow you a new town hall placement. What I did is I just started my decoration over and even did some layout outside of the game so I didn't touch my island until I found a setup I like. (A mistake I made with the original terraform I did was I just placed things randomly and hoped I would fall in love with it... I did not.)

That all being said, burnouts on games happen and the best choice is to not make one yet. Step back from the game as much as you need to to not feel all the less than fun feelings that come alongside a burnout and find something else to occupy your time... Even if it's just chilling on the forums with us! lol, and when you're ready and are sure about whatever choice you make, and I mean 150% sure, do the thing that makes you happy! If you choose to restart, this place is the best place to help you out!

Also, uhm, thank you but did you know that you are mega awesome as well?

 

[NicksFixed]

On my island, I have an arcade area. At the end of it, there's a stall with a Bamboo Steamer Basket, Accessories Stand and, on the ground next to it, a pearl oyster in a container. Now, they might seem like completely random things, and anyone visiting would probably pass them by unnoticed, but here's the thing:

Last year I went to Vegas for the first time [I'm Irish] ... In the [vast] lobby of my hotel was a small tourist-trap stand selling cultured pearls. There was a basket full of oysters on the counter, you took a metal tongs and picked out an oyster. Then you tapped on it three times with the tongs, chanting something, and they opened the oyster to see what colour pearl you got. You could then have that pearl set into a piece of jewelry. I bought a silver ring, set with Hawaiian wood, and a silver pearl that apparently symbolises love ...

Point is, those four items of furniture mean something to me. Noboy else might understand why they're there, but I do !! If you find your inspiration drying up, draw from you own experiences ... If that still doesn't work, ask here !! There are lots of lovely people here who will help you out with ideas and opinions. My dream code is DA-8180-7538-3145 ... It's by no means paradise, but it's mine and it's mostly based on places I've been to: Paris, Spain, Reykjavik and home, Ireland, to name a few ... You may not recognise them, but I do ... Make your island your own, a place that you like visiting every day because it brings back good memories ... It might never be perfect, but it'll be yours

 

[SleepyMimeko]

I agree with TheSillyPuppy. Sometimes when you feel stuck in a game, it's best to shelve it for a while and play something else. That is what I normally do. I go through my gaming backlog and find something that I have but haven't played much since ACNH came out. My go-to is normally Dragon Quest Builders 2, since I only cleared the farm island on that game.

I'd keep the switch lite if you're used to playing on portable systems like ds or 3ds. I play on my switch always
docked because I get migraines from staring at a small screen for so long. I remember seeing in one of the trailers this summer that they are working on save data transfer and will be done by the end of this year. I don't know if that's still the case, but hopefully they'll have it working when you're ready to go back to AC.

 

[nananc]

500 hours is a lot - I also have 500 hours logged. I don't remember any other game where I put in more hours. I had 60 hours in Stardew, and maybe 50 in Red Dead Redemption. By the time I'm done with Breath of the Wild, I will be putting in maybe 100 or so hours. I think, unless you redo your island or the develop team has decided to add another 100 fish/bugs, you probably have done most of what you could with the game. I've also maxed my friendship with most of my villagers, so the dialogues are also done.

If you want a new dockable switch because of its versatility, then go for it. But, I do recommend other games on the Switch, since Nintendo has been putting out amazing games. For a casual player, I recommend Luigi's Mansion, and Mario Odyssey. In any case, a docked switch is better for repair and playing different types of games. But if you want a new switch for Animal Crossing, then that might be a stretch.