Animal Crossing: New Horizons review

Exceptional

by Wenxuan Hu

Chillin. Not much more. 7/10

uh

As a long time fan of the AC series, this game improved on many aspects of the past iterations - namely graphics, multiplayer, and customization. But it's definitely lacking in a few things. Villager dialogues become really dull after a few days, there's SO much text to scroll through, nobody insults you anymore, everything is grind grind grind. I miss the spontaneity of the original game, the sassiness of my villagers, the terrifying gyroids, the sense of discovery, and when the achievement of paying off Nook actually felt like a huge accomplishment. However, if you like a cute DIY experience this game is perfect for you! 

With a little too much hand-holding, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a pleasant, serene game that gives hours of fun. It’s a DIY experience, however, since there are so many ways to play. This game offers a brief relief from the stresses of modern life, and the long wait for its release was well worth it.

https://www.gamingonline.info/animal-crossing-new-horizons-review-2021/

Its so hard to divorce the experience of playing this game from the feeling of early quarantine, back in March and April 2020.  It was an escape outside, to visit friends, host parties, share and communicate and decorate and shop and travel.  Has a game ever released at just the right moment in a more universal way before? Did Nintendo start the pandemic to make it so? Yes.

very good game my boyfriend gifted it to me i love him

I love the implementation here, allowing me more flexibility in designing the island and some of the new additions. Despite me liking it a lot for a few months, I found myself wishing it was more engaging. After a certain point I found I was logging in just to say hi to villagers that would repeat the same lines. There's just not enough variability to the villagers dialogue, nor is there a way to engage with them in the game other than giving them gifts or the occasional errand. Also, did they ever fix the first villagers house issues? Your first few villagers will always have a bland house so it's not beneficial to keep them even if you love them.

It's a good game, and I can't complain about many months I got out of it, but it leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I'll check it out soon just to see what's going on.

I played this every single day during lockdown, enough said. It makes past versions seem a bit lacking due to the ability to decorate outside but New Horizons is also taking its sweet time with releasing all the NPCs.

This game is a system seller, the reason i bought my Switch!

Exceptional in some ways, mediocre or even frustrating in others

Seriously overhyped. Boring, tedious, bad building sim.

As much as I enjoyed the first handful of hours, this game made me extremely frustrated throughout the island resort grind. The big draw to New Horizons is the progression. On this deserted island, it's very easy to see the progress you're making and gives a sense of pride to your new home. About half way through, the grind begins. The game is no longer about progressing your island, but about grinding for turnips, buying and selling, and going through tedious chores. What makes me the most angry is the blatant lack of quality of life. Giving fossils/bugs/fish/art to Blathers is so incredibly slow and if you already have all the fossils, you're still forced to go through lengthy dialogue to get worth out of those fossils. I also had my roommates play on my Switch and they were frustrated because they didn't have as much power on the island as I did. Going to a friend's island feels like it would be shorter to just drive to their house to see it. Again, really enjoyed the beginning, but because of the purposefully slow gameplay and poor multiplayer, this is a game that I left as soon as I reached my goal.