What keeps you playing?

[katineko]

Hello,

Despite the complaints out there about dialogue, QoL, contents, and variety in NH, what causes you to come back and keep playing? I know there are some who have completely dropped the game, but I am torn between NH and NL. There are little aspects I like in NH that NL doesn't have and vice versa, but I tend to like NL a bit more because of the soundtrack, dialogue, and nostalgia. I also miss mini games.

So what are some of the things that make you want to hold onto NH? I would love to hear your feedback

 

[rubyrubert]

Making my island perfect. It's pretty addicting to me. I'm almost 500 hours in and my island is still pretty imperfect. I also need to catch all the fish, bugs, fossils, etc.

It's unfortunate that the dialogue can get repetitive and that there's no minigames for multiplayer though

 

[ahbramey]

I think especially with the update, the game has a lot of replay value. I recently came back to it after not playing for roughly a year and I'm having a great time. The Paradise Planning stuff has also added a lot of value to the game for me. I've been redoing, like, everything on my island! A big part of it is nostalgia too since I grew up playing all the Animal Crossing games.

 

[nightglow]

I like decorating outside and seeing the villagers interact with it. If the next game has more dialog and villager to item interaction that would be awesome.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I guess getting villager photos is the only thing that makes me come back but I am almost at the point where I nearly got them all and I might put this game down for good when I'm done.

 

[zissou]

I alternate between obsessively designing (my island, home, and in HHP) and just running around, talking to my villagers, and enjoying small-town life.

I find designing stressful, so the game has never been a stress reliever for me, ironically. I guess I just like (1) having a cute, peaceful place where I can be creative (2) having a pocket utopia that I can drop into whenever I feel like it. I live in a crazy, crowded city so I enjoy the quiet, small-town feel that AC provides.

 

[Khaelis]

Creative drive, I guess. The completionism in me also likes collecting stuff.

 

[Croconaw]

I play for the villagers. I like all of my villagers.

 

[Pokeking]

1. Complete the museum with just artwork left.
2. Finish growing all the flower types and quantity I want.
3. Having the villagers I'd like to see in my town and then decorate my in game room with their posters.
4. Get all DIY and crafting them all.

 

[CrankyCupcake]

I've played Wild World and New Leaf. I tend to play an AC game for 2-3 years before boredom sets in. Personally, I think New Horizons is the best AC game, so it may last a little longer.

Repetitive dialogue doesn't bother me. Play any game long enough and everything becomes repetitive. I play AC because I love the animals. But I don't depend solely on the game to keep it interesting. In my head, little stories keep popping up about what my islanders are doing, have done, will do. I amuse myself easily.

Making screenshots is another thing that keeps me playing. I'm always looking to capture those special moments that surprise me. It can be dialogue I've not heard, an animal's reaction to an uncommon gift, a room I've decorated that I feel inordinately pleased about or a beautiful sunset. I keep a photo journal here on the Bell Tree that I enjoy updating. Sometimes I go back to look at the early journal entries and it feels good to remember the fun times I've had with those animals who have moved away. Nothing to do with the fact that my memory is like a sieve.

 

[BluebearL]

Well for the first time since I've been playing the game, I finished my island. It is terraformed, decorated, and cultivated just as I like it. As a result, I don't play nearly as much. Beforehand, I took very long breaks (3-6 months) and didn't really do much on it. Since finishing it, I go on maybe once a week when I have the time and check to see if anyone is moving out (I love villager trading lol), do a bit of maintenance with flowers, sticks, and any new Lily of the Valley's, grab a coffee and play the DLC. Beyond that, I don't really do much. I guess what keeps me playing tbh is the fun of interacting with others online, being able to show off my island that way, and conducting trades. I've always really enjoyed that stuff. In my mind, ACNH is a game for sharing- (items, island tours, etc). It's a bit of relaxing fun every now and then, but I don't feel like I need to play when I don't want to. I got my value for money out of it long ago.

 

[mouthrat]

one thing i like to do on animal crossing is make little tasks for myself to keep myself interested in the game. of course every day i do my daily tasks, but then i start/work on a bigger project. for example, today i started working on my garden for all of my crops. once i get all the different types of crops in the game, i'm going to start a fruit orchard. so i guess you could say i mostly stay playing for the productivity and the satisfaction of finishing big projects. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[LambdaDelta]

just about nothing of mine is finished, even as lots of progress has been made since I got this game when it came out

only exceptions I'm aware of are the house payment on my main (but not any of my alts) as well as the majority of the museum wings (art wing is still missing 4 pieces, iirc)

 

[katineko]

just about nothing of mine is finished, even as lots of progress has been made since I got this game when it came out

only exceptions I'm aware of are the house payment on my main (but not any of my alts) as well as the majority of the museum wings (art wing is still missing 4 pieces, iirc)

Has the villager dialogue, and their interaction with furniture and/or items improved since the update? Would you say that the update brought it up to about NL level? i ask because I may start a New Leaf town along with my NH island
But maybe they would be too similar? I haven't really finished much in both games either.

 

[Rosch]

I still haven't found the top 10 villagers I want. Also, I'm still working on my island. Furthermore, the day just feels incomplete when I haven't played the game. Just short bursts of 15-20 minutes is enough to fill that hole in my day.

 

[Silkfawn]

HHP is what keeps me playing.

I've been playing the game since mid 2020, the new update made me come back and I made some big changes to my island with the new items, but I'm done with that now!

 

[azurill]

There is a lot that keeps me playing. Both of my islands still need work to make them the way I want. I like getting villagers photos. I want to finish the nook mile achievements for all 4 of my characters. I will eventually go back to HHP and make more houses. I don’t mind the dialogue eventually you will see it all but I still see some new things being said by villagers. I still don’t know my permanent 10 villagers for either island but would love to see as many villagers as I can. I have a list of daily things to do each day.

 

[Nodokana]

What keeps me playing Acnh is the goals I have set for myself. I really enjoy decorating and collecting items. With the new 2.0 items, I've been redecorating rooms and around town. I'm pretty busy with three islands.^^;

 

[RollingAntony]

The complete experience, I guess. Sometimes, I simply enjoy the chill gameplay like watching the residents do all kinds of stuff and talking to them, doing all the little quests-thingies with C.J. or Wisp, etc. The daily stuff in general is nice, finishing the Nook Miles stamps without excessive grinding is fun. I don't know, the community feels are strong and I grew to love all the NPCs.

I also want to complete the catalog as much as I can, and thanks to the 2.0 update adding more than one thousand of items, I'm once again, far from finishing it. I'm slowly integrating some of the new items to the island so any new item is an opportunity waiting to be unleashed.

It's just a really great experience.

 

[Manah]

Doing the daily tasks on all my characters and completing my collection. I will have a full catalog and DIY book at some point (minus the photos for now, but maybe I'll get on that later as well)

Yes, full catalog means fully unlocked set of posters as well. Might be hard because of the new NPC cards, but every normal villager I can't invite via amiibo I'll get from islands/the campsite before I settle on my final 10 villagers, so that will keep me busy for quite a while.