acnh, mini review
So after a few months of daily play, I think I've arrived at an opinion of the new game. Like the sea bass, it's strictly a C+ compared to other games in the series, as things stand today.
New players have wondered if there's more to do in the game, and in previous games, there were. You could play NES games in the first AC, draw constellations in Wild World, visit the city in City Folk, and swim, brew coffee for villagers, and visit a nightclub in New Leaf. But not here, yet.
acnh, mini review
Nintendo has promised a ton of DLC, and I'm kind of hoping they follow through. New Leaf: Welcome Amiibo added a ton of quality of life things (that are missing from New Horizons for some reason, like sitting on rocks), and it's conceivable we'll get such a "service pack" here.
The event calendar is bizarrely empty, and the rotating carousel of visitors isn't sustainable right now when many of the visitors had dedicated shops previously.
The UI, flatly, needs improvement.
acnh, mini review
This is all to say, I think things get better from here, but the current release needs work I think.
I still enjoy it. I still love checking in with my villagers, building little sets for Cyrus and Reese, and overall decorating and making pretty things.
But the experience is much more staid, and it's really strange. Previous games had many more events, villagers would share more random slices of life, whereas everything here is purposeful and deliberate.
And it's _weird_.
acnh, mini review, ramble
One thing I'm hoping for is that they expand the island tours feature.
It existed in earlier games in the form of short minigames and a permanent mini island you could decorate, and those were neat. There's also a ton of potential for more interesting islands and to expand on Photopia (the Cyrus and Reese event has been cute, if a bit repetitive since it lasts all month). So hopefully those will pad things out a bit.
Also, villagers can do minigames, but it's rare now?
acnh, mini review, ramble
The most bizarre thing is my villagers never want to play hide and seek, buried treasure, item trading quests, or to compete in ad-hoc fishing contests or bug-offs. Those apparently exist, but in the whole time I've only had them happen twice.
Are these uncommon in anyone else's game, or did they really tone down the frequency a lot?
acnh, mini review, ramble
I guess, overall, it feels like they were given a very limited mandate, turned randomness and event frequency down to make it easier to put down for awhile, and will add and fix stuff later.
I hope they do, because there's a ton of stuff I want to play around with again.
acnh, mini review, ramble
Which I think is a concession that this is a good Animal Crossing for busy people. Everything is streamlined and compact, points of interest and decisions are heavily telegraphed and deliberate, but there really isn't a whole lot going on yet.
I guess I dunno if I'll stick with it. I did full year cycles in Wild World and New Leaf, and grew pretty attached to my villagers. This feels like more of a cardboard cutout of the experience, but I still love them to bits. 💜