So almost 3 months from release, how do you feel about the game?

[Shyria]

I love this game.
But I might be biased, it's the game that reunited me with the franchise as I hadn't played since WW.
I was probably 11 when I played WW, and as it was more than 15 years ago, I didn't remember much of it when I started playing NH.

I've spent some 500+ hours into it (thanks, quarantine!) and I absolutely loved it. I discovered the online feature, traded with other players, terraformed my heart out. I'm reaching a bit of a slow patch now, as I'm happy with my villagers and most of my island, and a bit stuck creatively speaking regarding what's left. But I still try and log on everyday to check my hybrid garden and chat with my villagers.

I don't think the dialogue thing is fair, I've actually been wondering if they added "summer" dialogues (not especially related to the season, just different) because I've been having some new lines almost every day! Maybe not a lot, but still, it amazes me that villagers that have been on my island since day 1 still manage to give me a line I haven't heard before... Granted, I more often than not don't talk to each villagers more than 5-6 times per session, but still.

I also think this game is gorgeous, and sometimes I find myself just walking around happily because everything is just so pretty, the sound design is better than ever and it makes for a great experience.

Now that I'm slowing down on NH a bit, I picked up my old WW copy to refresh my memory. I even bought NL because I was so curious! (And it was a good way to have several towns at the same time, even if not on the same platform haha)

I do think that NH has less of a "goofy" feeling than other games... In WW and now in NL, I always feel like putting on the silliest stuff I find in Able's or my villagers give me, while I dress more "stylishly" in NH, for example. Maybe it has to do with the graphics, or me being old haha.

I think the dialogues are blander, yes. But I also think some of the old dialogues were sometimes... Blehhh... Like villagers telling me how "girls are so different from boys, always talking about relationships and such, so complicated".... Like yep, thanks for removing that kind of stuff, I don't miss it.
I do miss a bit of sass and even full on meanie talk, but I feel that while it's overall less exciting, you can't go wrong with kindness haha.

Playing the older games again, I do find myself wondering why they removed some well loved characters... Like Pelly and Philly or Rooster...
Even if they do come back at some point, it does seem like a questionable choice to not have them there from the beginnings?
At the same time, kudos to them for trying to find new ways to make the game, and not "just" slap terraforming and moving lots on top of NL and calling it done.

I want to address the stress issue too; I don't think it's NH related, it has more to do with your playstyle I think. Terraforming can be stressful in NH just like plot resetting or resetting overall could be in previous games...

Ok, I know I tend to write a LOT I apologize haha, so for all of you TLDRer out there:

I enjoy NH a lot, and play it daily. I do expect more from it and understand the frustration with the update model, but I still like it the way it is.
It also made me rediscover previous games which I'm grateful for.

 

[Barney]

Switching to AC to break up my playthrough of the first 3 Doom games is still suiting me perfectly!

 

[niko2]

I'm loving it!™ I like a lot of the new more realistic furniture, the fact that we are able to decorate around the island and how easy it is to visit other players without the annoying adding them to friends thing. Yeah, I wish the dialogue were a bit longer, sometimes it's just a couple sentences and bye, more goofiness and crankiness would be fun but maybe times have changed, now the game it's even more "kid friendly". How would the public react now if a villager told you that you're getting fatter? lol
I might try to play WW again for experiencing some old dialogues but I'm afraid that I remember it really good because of nostalgia and I don't wanna ruin that...
Also I really hope they will release something similar to the tortimer island, it would be so much fun to play silly minigames online.

 

[Manah]

I hope it's just the wedding event that kilks my motivation right now (a whole month is WAY too long), but overall compared to New Leaf it's a very different game, and it feels a bit empty and soulless.

 

[Speeny]

I like it. But I think I prefer New Leaf overall so far. Though, it’s still early days. I have a rough idea of what I want to do with my island, but I’m taking my time with it and not rushing at all. Day to day my play sessions can be as long as a few hours to 20-30 minutes.

 

[Chris]

I think Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the best AC game. I felt that at release and still do now.

I am playing less, but not due to burnout. I have been more interested in other games recently—specifically Dynasty Warriors 8: XL and Horizon Zero Dawn—and then add to that a big work project I've been doing from home (in fact the deadline for that is today) and the result is little time leftover in my day for AC:NH right now.

 

[effluo]

I like it, but I’m not in love.

I feel like it doesn’t have the same charm as the previous games. I find myself so focused on terraforming and making a pretty town that I neglect my villagers sometimes. This game has so much potential and I’m looking forward to what comes. I just wish it came sooner. I love the idea of them wanting this game to go on for years, but I feel like they neglected putting things in the game just to dlc them later is.. stupid. I love getting updates and things but there is so much more I want. I don’t need 10 different colored cones or coffee makers.. I want more furniture and activities.
I don’t like that I am being forced to play the way Nintendo wants me to play as opposed to my own way.

That being said I do still really enjoy the game and play for hours every day. Like I said the potential for greatness is there. I just feeling like it’s just out of reach sometimes. I am excited for what comes next though.

 

[Mairmalade]

New Horizons added changes I wished we had in previous games (namely the freedom to restructure). However, nothing will top the experiences I had in the GameCube version and Wild World. I loved the dialogue and I could spend hours with friends. I had one of those Wi-Fi USB connectors I’d beg my brother to let me use on his PC so I could play with them.

In New Horizons, this has now shifted to watching my villagers enjoy their island life and island designing - both of which I adore. It’s fun to send letters to friends too. I still haven’t touched the interior side of things but plan to when I acquire more items.

Island designing is what kept me most engaged. I played for 4-7 hours each day when it first released and that has dropped to under an hour to check shops, talk to my villagers, and search for a few bugs/ fish. island renovations have encouraged me to play more, but I am feeling the burnout.

It’s a great game now that will continue to be improved with time. I’m looking forward to fall/winter and more events/items.

 

[JellyBeans]

I love the game, but I'm at a point where I need more updates to motivate me to play more. Part of the reason for my reduced play time is school work but the other part is partial burn out... I'll go on to do my dailies but I'm not spending hours decorating my island like I did at the beginning. I'm hoping there'll be some summer updates to keep me going + help talk me out of resetting!

 

[Hina]

Honestly I'm kinda torn. The game looks great and the design aspect is so big now its definitely still keeping me occupied and I still enjoy playing daily.

But they made a lot of choices that just don't make sense to me. We're missing so many furniture sets that were in previous games. On top of that the customization option is really lackluster, they removed options that were in NL and now just made color variants different items of which your island only seems to get one variant, basically forcing you to buy Nintendo online subscription to trade with other people if you want all the sets. The lack of items also makes the store feel very lackluster and I rarely find any new item in there, while i feel NL had something new almost every day.
QoL updates also feel very minimal. Upgraded inventory is super nice and was honestly long overdue but the clunky crafting system and the durability on tools all seem like very stupid choices and makes me wonder if they even played the game before release. Worst part about the tool durability imo is that the gold tools still break, they also add nothing new (aside from the watering can) so there's no incentive to actually get them and they don't feel rewarding to me at all, unlike in previous games.
Also other weird changes like Redd being a random visitor instead of coming once a week guaranteed, while he can also sell 4 fakes which would make filling the museum take ages without time travel, Leif being a random visitor and thus taking up a slot instead of having set spot in the store, the store only having one upgrade, no way to access storage outside of your house (although that makes sense it was still sort of possible in previous games).
On top of that the mobile game has gotten tons and tons of new items that weren't in NL but seemingly none of those are in NH for whatever reason.
I hope they'll continue to add all the missing content in future patches but honestly the base game shouldn't be this lacking in items and options as it is.

All that aside i do still like the game and still enjoy playing it daily, I'm glad they added so much more freedom in designing your island and there's lots of adorable clothes and way more clothing options before. I'm just kinda sad they removed so much that was in previous games.

 

[Arckaniel]

After playing it for a whole month straight, I finally settled down and I broke my record already as I didn't play at all yesterday lol, well to be fair I was busy with school works but I still usually find time before, but now I just didn't get the energy to play it, I still love it tho and I haven't even finish my island yet (even tho I'm 300+ hours in already, still a mess, not done with terraforming, I focused on trading that's why plus too lazy lol), will get back to it soon as I'm available

 

[JKDOS]

There are a lot of disappointments, but it's still Animal Crossing, which I love.

When Nintendo Switch starts getting restocked, I may buy a second Switch and copy of the game so I can have 2 islands.

 

[Cariad]

I'm enjoying it, still play a lot daily and still have things I need to do despite many many hours on the game.
Waiting for another update now though, I want something to be excited about like I was woth Redd coming back

 

[Manon_Despoina]

I love this game.
But I might be biased, it's the game that reunited me with the franchise as I hadn't played since WW.
I was probably 11 when I played WW, and as it was more than 15 years ago, I didn't remember much of it when I started playing NH.

I've spent some 500+ hours into it (thanks, quarantine!) and I absolutely loved it. I discovered the online feature, traded with other players, terraformed my heart out. I'm reaching a bit of a slow patch now, as I'm happy with my villagers and most of my island, and a bit stuck creatively speaking regarding what's left. But I still try and log on everyday to check my hybrid garden and chat with my villagers.

I don't think the dialogue thing is fair, I've actually been wondering if they added "summer" dialogues (not especially related to the season, just different) because I've been having some new lines almost every day! Maybe not a lot, but still, it amazes me that villagers that have been on my island since day 1 still manage to give me a line I haven't heard before... Granted, I more often than not don't talk to each villagers more than 5-6 times per session, but still.

I also think this game is gorgeous, and sometimes I find myself just walking around happily because everything is just so pretty, the sound design is better than ever and it makes for a great experience.

Now that I'm slowing down on NH a bit, I picked up my old WW copy to refresh my memory. I even bought NL because I was so curious! (And it was a good way to have several towns at the same time, even if not on the same platform haha)

I do think that NH has less of a "goofy" feeling than other games... In WW and now in NL, I always feel like putting on the silliest stuff I find in Able's or my villagers give me, while I dress more "stylishly" in NH, for example. Maybe it has to do with the graphics, or me being old haha.

I think the dialogues are blander, yes. But I also think some of the old dialogues were sometimes... Blehhh... Like villagers telling me how "girls are so different from boys, always talking about relationships and such, so complicated".... Like yep, thanks for removing that kind of stuff, I don't miss it.
I do miss a bit of sass and even full on meanie talk, but I feel that while it's overall less exciting, you can't go wrong with kindness haha.

Playing the older games again, I do find myself wondering why they removed some well loved characters... Like Pelly and Philly or Rooster...
Even if they do come back at some point, it does seem like a questionable choice to not have them there from the beginnings?
At the same time, kudos to them for trying to find new ways to make the game, and not "just" slap terraforming and moving lots on top of NL and calling it done.

I want to address the stress issue too; I don't think it's NH related, it has more to do with your playstyle I think. Terraforming can be stressful in NH just like plot resetting or resetting overall could be in previous games...

Ok, I know I tend to write a LOT I apologize haha, so for all of you TLDRer out there:

I enjoy NH a lot, and play it daily. I do expect more from it and understand the frustration with the update model, but I still like it the way it is.
It also made me rediscover previous games which I'm grateful for.

I resonate very much with your observations! NH is also my first AC game after extensively playing WW 15 years ago.. I don't really count NL since I played that for like two weeks before quitting (because life).

However, sometimes I am still nostalgic for all the silly options in the older games... I really liked those specifically because your house wouldn't look realistic but like some crazy mix of many different styles. While in NH, it is very much possible and prevalent to create showcase/IKEA homes (it is why I am going for a very different theme, but to each their own).

Can't wait to find my copy of WW again to relive the old days! Can imagine talk about the difference between boys and girls and stuff is very annoying.. that also annoyed me in the AC movie I recently watched ("boys will be boys" - I really don't like thought processes like that).

Anyway, I love NH and nothing will convince me it is a bad game. Unless they never add stuff like the Roost.. which they hopefully wouldn't dare to not add

 

[Loreley]

I'm not sure.
On the one hand, the game still feels like it lacks a lot of content. I miss lots of furniture from NL and I don't like the drip feeding update schedule that Nintendo is going for.

On the other hand, I don't think I've ever played an AC game as much as this one. Hundreds of hours of fun is definitely not something I want to complain about.

I cannot give it a 5 stars rating because of the lacking furniture, but anything below 4 stars wouldn't justify the amount of hours I put into it.

 

[Romaki]

Well I'm still playing it after 555 hours, so that's good. I'd probably put it under Wild World and over New Leaf, but of course there's lots of room for improvment. It just needs much more content, but the first three months were very entertaining for being the beginning.

I'm not feeling burnt out, but I'm slowly returning to other games. And I'm also just playing less in general. My island is still a mess, but that's fine. To me, a perfect island would just feel completed and I want it to feel less permanent than that. Just have areas and change them often.

 

[Bethboj]

I’ve only had the game for just over a month, I think there’s been one day where I haven’t played NH at all. That being said, there’s a lot that I feel should have been in the game from the release, such as mechanics from WW and NL (diving and the post office mainly) more furniture for sure and more NPCs. I also wish dialogue was abit different somehow, and their personalities tweaked a little. Currently I have 2 cranky villagers and they are anything BUT cranky. There’s quite afew little tweaks they could do in the game to make quality of life better too, but they have plenty of time to do updates I suppose.
All in all though regardless of wether the game should have had x or y it was released at a very difficult time and has helped a lot of people cope, including myself!

 

[wolfie1]

I still play every day but long gone are the times when I'd spend almost a full day terraforming the whole island. Now I'm waiting for new furniture items and new buildings. I refuse to decorate whole areas only to have to tear them down because they decided to introduce 4x4 buildings that only fit there half a year into the game and somehow are crucial if you want a given NPC character or new stuff.
I hope the following update addresses some QoL improvements and introduces new or returning mechanics that give it a much-needed fresh air.

 

[Onederland]

Honestly I haven't picked it up in like a week.

I miss my villagers sometimes, but idk - the process of booting up just to give a few villagers some gifts doesn't really strike me anymore. I logged in over 650 hours, and while my island is nowhere complete, it's complete for what I can do. If they ever allow more inclines, new furniture, etc, then i'm for sure back.

But until then, i've kind of moved on.

 

[Fendi]

I still enjoy it, and I guess my strategy of taking my time worked effectively because otherwise I would have been completely burned out of it. Obviously I don't play as frequently as I did compared to a few months ago, but I'm still interested to see what comes up in the future. I definitely still log on daily, but the average amount of hours that I spent is significantly lower compared to the past.

I'm definitely itching for an update though, to at least bring a new wave of excitement around, since I feel like it's time.