What is everyone's opinions so far now that it has been over half a year since release?

[Antonio]

Animal Crossing New Horizons released on 3/20/20 and since release, I have enjoyed this game and still continue to notice little details that make me extremely happy. What do you guys think now that it's been a little over 6 months since release?

 

[Aurita]

oof long post incoming..

Honestly the fact that I’ve put in around 600 hours within the first 6 months of release already gives it a high rating! Although it is not perfect, I’d give it ️️️️️ but really it’s more like 4.5 rounded up for how much joy it has brought me despite its flaws.

there are little QoL changes that would easily bump it to 5 stars such as bulk crafting/shopping, durability indicator, etc. but coming from new leaf, there are some aspects that I miss like Brewster, more furniture, mini games, etc. as the updates are rolling in, I’m holding onto hope that they’ll get patched in some day

i personally love the new villager models & clothing sleeves on them!! watching them playing in the plaza & interacting with each other gives me warm feelings the museum is insanely beautiful and I love the ability to terraform & decorate outside (even if it’s a hassle at times)! The work & effort they put into the little details amazes me, like I love hearing the different path sounds from different shoes & seeing little footprints of my villagers. overall, this game has been a gem in this weird year and while there is still room for improvement, I still love it very much

 

[Mezzanine]

Deleted

 

[Peach_Jam]

4.5 stars! docked .5 stars simply for the QoL aspects that need improving, but overall a successful and loved game imo cx

 

[Rizzice]

Maybe at 4 stars for me, but I quit a few months ago.

Still waiting for more design slots, until then I feel like there's nothing else I can really add to my island without removing anything first :\

 

[Your Local Wild Child]

I’d have to put it at around 4.5 stars. It’s an awesome game that could be even better with quality of life changes. I do love what is offered, however.

 

[Dio]

I like New Horizons but I do wish that villagers acted not so nice all the time. In New leaf, villagers were able to actually get angry/sad based on your choices (Not how its portrayed in New Hoirzons). Choosing certain dialogue options for example had a more interesting way to punish players last I remembered from the little bit I played. This made it so much more interesting to interact because you always had to think of how you wanna behave. I do think that terraforming is a great aspect as well but one little problem is the fourth level glitch. I feel like we should be able to have four levels to terraform normally as it would allow ppl to come up with a lot of new ideas. Other than that its fun for me and I still plan to play it a good amount of time (at least until when Cyberpunk comes out) so I give it a 4 out of 5

 

[KittenNoir]

I am enjoying the game a lot I’m very keen to see what they do with the game in future and hope they bring back old favourites. I am looking forward to Xmas to play as I haven’t tt to it yet to enjoy it in real time

 

[bestfriendsally]

i have yet to get it this christmas & play it......

 

[Fye]

Overall:
I gave it four stars for now but I'm sure it'll get that last star within a year, or by the time the last update rolls in. I've been pacing my island development so I still have a few more places to furnish + all the beaches and I doubt I'll get bored of the game any time soon and I don't mind waiting for the bi-monthly updates. Now to break things down into the aspects I look for in an animal crossing game:

Visuals:
the visuals are AMAZING in this game. I adore the felt look of the furry and feathery animals, the slick look of beaks/horns/octopi/plastic-y villagers, the way everything looks a little darker and soaked when it rains, etc etc. The wind makes the island feel so alive, and the bugs are as beautiful as ever.

Villager dialogue and interactions:
I'm still sad that they toned down the villager personalities so much, especially the snooties and crankies. I get not making them explicitly mean anymore, but they could at least be generally rude or unfriendly in the beginning and then warm up to you as you get closer to them. Otherwise it might be time to change their personalities to aunts and grandpas. The Normals also seem pretty vanilla in this game, and if we only get tiny glimpses into their niche interests and hobbies. But they're still fun to talk to regardless, and the villager-villager interactions are hilarious.

Things to do:
Terraforming and outdoor furniture are game changers. I've already spent countless hours on building, breaking, and rebuilding my cliffs and rivers and I'm not even done yet! And outdoor furnishing opens up worlds of possibilities since we can now make our own outdoor cafes, libraries, farms, etc. And then you can keep adding little miscellaneous items here and there to make the island feel more lived-in. Other than that, I'm pretty satisfied with shopping, fishing, bug catching, diving, wishing, collecting materials, and crafting along with interacting with villagers. But I'm still waiting for them to introduce Brewsters and maybe even new to NH buildings that let us interact with our villagers in a new way. I'm sure I'll rate this five stars by the time the updates are all out and we have more NPCs!

Events / Hollidays:
I've loved most of the events we've had so far and can't wait for the ones to come. The only reason this is missing a star is because of the dreadful "egg day" stuff. I'm mildly upset that it overlaps with the already-too-short cherry blossom season, but obviously theres nothing that can be done about that.

Items:
Love that they added a new flower species - and windflowers turned out to be my native flower too! I'm loving all the interact-able furniture like vending machines and basket balls, the bug models, and the stalls. Though half of my stalls are full of custom-design hats so I really hope we get more food related items in the game. As many people have already mentioned, the furniture selection is pretty limited but I'm assuming they'll add more in due time. And until then I'm happy with crafting and customizing.

 

[rezberri]

i already talked a bit about my feelings about ACNH in a different thread so i'll be bringing some of those thoughts over to this reply as well.

ACNH is a really good game and i'll continue to play it until a new mainline animal crossing game comes out, but despite that i still give it a 3/5. it has a lot of room for improvement imo, but the new features it introduced to the series have been really nice and i can't ignore that. i rated it so low because most of what i like about the game is superficial but most of my dislikes are something i've noticed after repetitive play, which i think is detrimental to a game that's about playing every day. im still hopeful that updates will fix some of my issues with the game, but not all of them can be.

Spoiler: Likes

- the pathing tool is 10/10
- we can actually place and move buildings
- furniture outside??? always dreamed of this
- the terraforming tool is a natural progression for this series
- having up to 4 cliff tiers is cool
- the clothing in this game is just a huge upgrade, both for us as player characters and our villagers. they actually have sleeves now!!
- i love backpacks
- the graphics r amazing
- making qr codes has gotten a rly good upgrade (new clothing bases, more colors, transparent pixels, etc.)
- i like the idea of seasonal recipes & crafting materials
- the museum is beautiful
- the villager photos all look rly nice compared to ACNL's
- you can actually see your shoes
- the different tools are lovely (elephant watering can is baby)
- u can have a lot of people visit ur island at once which is fun
- the emotes are fun and i like that we can use an app to type to ppl or hook up a keyboard to the switch

Spoiler: Dislikes

-lack of furniture (& sets from previous games). for a game that adds the feature of placing furniture outside, there's a surprising lack of it imo
- not much variety between villager house interiors based on personality (Eugene and Raymond being an example. why does Eugene have an office?)
- no true "randomize plot placement" option for peak chaos and callback to ACNL
- the villagers & gameplay feel weirdly hollow (it feels like if ur not decorating ur island, then why r u playing the game, that's how hollow it is sometimes)
- the fact that the game's being updated for like 3 years allowed the game to be released without having all its content (where's Brewster, Nintendo? where is he!!!)
- there isn't really any achievement things (that are showable, like ur nmt reward things are all kinda private) except for completing your museum & island, so there isn't really any "game given" goals to work towards (not necessarily a bad thing, but man. there's like no structure here to me).
- the game forces u to use online play if u want to get all the fruits and 100% your catalog which is really annoying.
- there's no visit a random dream address visiting option
- all the random island vendors could have been a permanent, changes-stock-everyday shop that we could to fly to or place their shop on our island but instead they're not and it annoys me.
- it lacks a lot of the charm & features from previous animal crossing games (i want random visitors to my house!! i want hide & seek!! i want island minigames!!!)
- can't even put things on, or access, the 4th cliff tier. we could just not be allowed to put buildings up there man, i want to put trees and flowers there!! it looks nekkid
- i'd like more npc-run buildings on the island. it feels like everything's being shoved into the museum but we don't rly need that. sure it'd take up more space on our islands but man. if the cafe is put inside the museum i will be mad like how can it even fit in there??? there's literally no room for it. it's surprising how even tho we have a nook's cranny on our island, the museum may end up getting more upgrades than it lol
- only one animal crossing island per switch is so stupid and dumb. i will never like this limitation and will actively wish for it to change
- the fact that u cant even transfer over ur ACNH save data to another switch is also stupid and scary bc if ur switch is stolen, so is ur hard work.
- u cant even use ur finger or a stylus to easily select and place items in ur inventory. they could have at least let the switch joycons function like a wii remote and let u drag and drop things if u docked ur switch but nooo u have to go thru every single item like a heathen.

 

[Jessi]

i already talked a bit about my feelings about ACNH in a different thread so i'll be bringing some of those thoughts over to this reply as well.

ACNH is a really good game and i'll continue to play it until a new mainline animal crossing game comes out, but despite that i still give it a 3/5. it has a lot of room for improvement imo, but the new features it introduced to the series have been really nice and i can't ignore that. i rated it so low because most of what i like about the game is superficial but most of my dislikes are something i've noticed after repetitive play, which i think is detrimental to a game that's about playing every day. im still hopeful that updates will fix some of my issues with the game, but not all of them can be.

Spoiler: Likes

- the pathing tool is 10/10
- we can actually place and move buildings
- furniture outside??? always dreamed of this
- the terraforming tool is a natural progression for this series
- having up to 4 cliff tiers is cool
- the clothing in this game is just a huge upgrade, both for us as player characters and our villagers. they actually have sleeves now!!
- i love backpacks
- the graphics r amazing
- making qr codes has gotten a rly good upgrade (new clothing bases, more colors, transparent pixels, etc.)
- i like the idea of seasonal recipes & crafting materials
- the museum is beautiful
- the villager photos all look rly nice compared to ACNL's
- you can actually see your shoes
- the different tools are lovely (elephant watering can is baby)
- u can have a lot of people visit ur island at once which is fun
- the emotes are fun and i like that we can use an app to type to ppl or hook up a keyboard to the switch

Spoiler: Dislikes

-lack of furniture (& sets from previous games). for a game that adds the feature of placing furniture outside, there's a surprising lack of it imo
- not much variety between villager house interiors based on personality (Eugene and Raymond being an example. why does Eugene have an office?)
- no true "randomize plot placement" option for peak chaos and callback to ACNL
- the villagers & gameplay feel weirdly hollow (it feels like if ur not decorating ur island, then why r u playing the game, that's how hollow it is sometimes)
- the fact that the game's being updated for like 3 years allowed the game to be released without having all its content (where's Brewster, Nintendo? where is he!!!)
- there isn't really any achievement things (that are showable, like ur nmt reward things are all kinda private) except for completing your museum & island, so there isn't really any "game given" goals to work towards (not necessarily a bad thing, but man. there's like no structure here to me).
- the game forces u to use online play if u want to get all the fruits and 100% your catalog which is really annoying.
- there's no visit a random dream address visiting option
- all the random island vendors could have been a permanent, changes-stock-everyday shop that we could to fly to or place their shop on our island but instead they're not and it annoys me.
- it lacks a lot of the charm & features from previous animal crossing games (i want random visitors to my house!! i want hide & seek!! i want island minigames!!!)
- can't even put things on, or access, the 4th cliff tier. we could just not be allowed to put buildings up there man, i want to put trees and flowers there!! it looks nekkid
- i'd like more npc-run buildings on the island. it feels like everything's being shoved into the museum but we don't rly need that. sure it'd take up more space on our islands but man. if the cafe is put inside the museum i will be mad like how can it even fit in there??? there's literally no room for it. it's surprising how even tho we have a nook's cranny on our island, the museum may end up getting more upgrades than it lol
- only one animal crossing island per switch is so stupid and dumb. i will never like this limitation and will actively wish for it to change
- the fact that u cant even transfer over ur ACNH save data to another switch is also stupid and scary bc if ur switch is stolen, so is ur hard work.
- u cant even use ur finger or a stylus to easily select and place items in ur inventory. they could have at least let the switch joycons function like a wii remote and let u drag and drop things if u docked ur switch but nooo u have to go thru every single item like a heathen.

I agree with this 100% basically sharing all my likes and dislikes from this game.

 

[Flygon]

I have a lot of thoughts, and most are echoed by the community. But I think I do have a bit of an individual spin to put on the overall situation.

This game was released unfinished. This was part of the plan. They have a smaller dev team (read: cheaper) putting out updates, and they get revenue from the game. And so far, this tradeoff has been fine for ME PERSONALLY. I still think it's game studios taking advantage of us, but I'll be around long enough to experience all the new content as it comes in. I will get the full value of my money eventually, but many will not.

The updates are probably the most important thing 6 months in. And for me, it's been a mixed bag. I do really like the content they've put out, but there are some pretty basic things that need to be upgraded that haven't gotten any attention. The biggest sticking point for me if that all the new furniture has been very seasonally-themed, and generally had low versatility. I want them to at least give us all the old sets/ furniture from past games, if not some more new stuff. There is a remarkably low variation of furniture for a game with a large focus on decorating.

To throw in another wrinkle, t's difficult to say what the updates would have been like without corona. Japan has an even worse work-from-home infrastructure than the US, making it possible that the updates have been slimmer than originally planned as Nintendo adjusts.

I think this game has good bones. It has a solid gameplay loop, and quite a bit to do for a long time. But I won't know how good the game really is until they finish it, apparently at least 2 years from now. In the meanwhile, I'm still willing to give it a 4/5. I'm addicted. But I don't think that's an objective rating, I'm just still enjoying the game despite its flaws.

 

[Dunquixote]

I am pretty concerned even though the Halloween update looks promising. I feel like even at half a year, there should be a lot more furniture and maybe a bit more features. I personally would rank it as low as 3.5 and as high as a 4. I admit that I shouldn’t have had high expectations, so I am in part to blame.

The overall game is an improvement to NL - in my opinion - graphics and features wise like being able to decorate outside (no rugs though :/), move buildings for a fee, terraform, shop on a phone app, more room for villagers, etc. I think for the most part this outweigh some of the negative aspects of the game.

Things that I think were better in NL and HHD along with my issues with NH:

0- Nothing was locked behind a subscription. The fact the qr designs and other features are locked behind that ticks me off since not everyone can afford the low subscription price of $19.99 or want to (I can’t but fortunately had a gift card). I fear that they will eventually either introduce a gacha system or make content paid dlc only.

1- Furniture selection and customization options (why can’t I customize the antique bed like I used to be able to? or use custom outfit designs on the look). Also the fact that nook mile objects weren’t customizable and we have to trade for the different variations. I like trading and have met a lot of nice people because of this but for those without a subscription, it sucks if you’re stuck with a color you don’t like (i know I’d hate it if I was stuck with the pink drink machine).

2 - room size and no third nook expansion. When I unlocked the last upgrade to nook’s cranny, I honestly didn’t think it was much of an upgrade to tell you the truth. My bigger beef though was the room size in our houses even at max upgrade. so disappointing especially when you go to harv’s studio, fill the room up and come back to recreate the room...

3 - dialogue, interactions with villagers as well as items. they added some interaction for the rep to the furniture in HHD (they were cute but not the greatest in my opinion but still better than no interaction), so I hope we’ll get more options eventually. I loved the hide and seek, fetch me this villager within an hour and just overall dialogue better (or at least for peppies. Puddles just doesn’t seem the same in Nh)

4. storage for diys and more storage upgrades: we do have more pocket space which i am extremely grateful for, but I’d like enough space to save every unorderable/non craftable and some craftable furniture.

5. custom design space - need more.

6. Let us make another character without needing to make another account

I also feel like the swim speed in NH is more sluggish than it was in NL.

In spite my low rating, I am having a lot of fun still though I am slowing down since I ran out of ideas and everything i come up with at harv’s studio doesn’t fit or looks the same as another idea.

I might post again if I think of anything else that I forgot.

 

[buny]

the game has its flaws and sometimes im frustrated with some things, but basing the rating on enjoyment i had to give it 5 stars. I have almost 500 hours, and i'm always having a good time when i'm playing. Maybe i'm being overly generous, but as i said, i decided to base my rating on enjoyment and not think too much about it. If i were to really think and judge it more objectively i think it would be 4 stars. One star taken out because of the lack of items and furniture mostly. I have my complaints (as with everything) but overall i just play too much to justify a lower rating lol

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

10/10! Or 5 stars. I've put over 1,000 hours in to the game, so obviously I like it a lot!

I like that there are updates to look forward to. Things I am hoping for: café + Brewster, kapp'n/tortimer/tortimer island + the mini games returning, katrina, the police station, more of the old furniture coming back, and perfect fruit + bananas

 

[Rosch]

Still feels incomplete because of the missing characters and items. But otherwise, I wouldn't clock in 600 hours if I wasn't enjoying the game, right?

 

[Skandranon]

it has been really fun, but since the game is so picky about 5 stars I feel justified docking it 1 star for the minor things they could improve to make things nicer

 

[saucySheep]

I like it a lot ! : )

Only things I would add:

1. shopping cart for able sisters so i could buy multiple items of the same type at once.
2. little arrow marks for the terraforming app so i could see where exactly im about to hit.
3. more house exterior customization options.
4. more shops.
5. better villager dialog.
6. being able to use money from your ABD bank account when using the Nook shopping app.

other than that it's great, i give it 4 stars

 

[trashpedia]

Honestly? It's 3.5-to-4ish/5 stars for me because so far, it's super good but needs a lot of improvement if it's going to be 5 star.

My only gripe so far is that there's not much daily activities you can do at the moment and that the updates wear off pretty quickly.

Here's what I would add in order to make it 5 stars imo:

• More Nook Upgrades, maybe add Kicks into the Able Sisters
• Brewsters
• More villager dialogue - Maybe add more zodiac/hobby/aspiration-related dialogue since it's confirmed they do have a zodiac sign, a dream job, and a skill or hobby they do. I would love it if they made you play little minigames like they did back in the older games and maybe have more longer and complex dialogue.
• Room dimension customization and house exterior changes
• Town hall customization
• More furniture - I feel like the island tours feel sorta similar and that's mainly due to the fact that there's just not enough furniture to go around. It would immediately be 6/5 if they just added stuff from Pocket Camp.
• Bring back the tropical fruits like durians, mangos, and bananas.
• More buildings - I feel like they're trying to cut down on less buildings because of people saying they don;t have room on their island but I feel like mine could go for some more buildings tbh. They should be additional additions like the Police Station or the Reset Surveillance center.

So far, the game isn't too bad but things could be so much better imo.