I've been thinking a LOT about Animal Crossing New Horizons since i've started playing it: about the aesthetics of that game compared to previous entries in the series, about the politics of having a deserted island that you can model to your own liking...

I'm very conflicted on this game, because it's so pleasing and beautiful and soothing, i can't put it down. But at the same time i feel that it's very different from what i enjoy about Animal Crossing?

(i've only played New Leaf before (i mean i played Wild World on a friend's device a long time ago but that was like, for one week & i don't remember much about it))

I love Animal Crossing because it's a game where you have to get used to the life in a new town, you have to get to know your neighbors, your surroundings... And eventually you support your local shops, you help the town development and you take part in the community's life.

But in the new game it's the opposite: YOU create everything, YOU decide where the villagers should live (and even WHO gets to live with you), YOU build the island and noone gets to disagree with you. There's nobody to negociate with, YOU are in power.

(except if you're playing in local multiplayer, but it's still the PLAYERS who are in control)

In others words, in Animal Crossing, you eventually feel like you belong in your little town; in New Horizons however, your town belongs to you.
And that makes a huge difference that i can't bring myself to enjoy fully.

I don't want to do all the things! I want to answer a few questions and get a character and think "well, this is me now" and not be able to chose and change my face whenever i want.
I want to chose where my house should be, and if i did wrong well too bad, i'll deal with it.

The other reason why i love Animal Crossing as a concept is that it's very much a game about boredom; once you're done with the tutorial, you can do whatever you want but you're never pushed in one direction...

... and you can do things at your own pace, or never doing them altogether.
I've played New Leaf for ~500 hours and my house still has only 3 rooms, i haven't completed my museum...

I play Animal Crossing when i'm bored: i chat with villagers, sometimes Ozzie will give me a short task to do like bringing him a fruit or whatever; i go in my house, i wonder if i should decorate it differently, i leave it the way it is for now...

i catch one or two fishes that i sell for basically nothing, i give the money for the construction of the windmill i started building a year ago. Then i close the game & i'm happy.

In New Horizons, i always have EVERYTHING to do: fossils! Recruiting a new villager! Eggs (urrgh)! Crafting! Fishing! My fishing rod broke! Ordering my windmill by mail for tomorrow! More eggs (aaaaaah)! Nook Miles: hit a rock! Catch 3 bugs!

I get that it's "the beginning" of the game, but i'm constantly supposed to do stuff and constantly rewarded for doing stuff and constantly incentivized to do more stuff. It's fun, but it gets a tiny bit tiring (and paradoxically addictive).

And this time too, i'm never forced to do anything, i could do stuff at my own pace... But the game, and also social media, encourage me to keep progressing.
I'm at the point where i can't wait to have "finished the story" so my life on my island is finally peaceful and boring.

Animal Crossing New Horizons couldn't have come at a better time; but it's also the worst time, because everyone is playing the damn game, evryone is making huge progress constantly, and if i don't make progress at the same pace i'll get spoiled or i'll feel late.

Which is the worst thing that can happen in a game that you should be playing when you want, at the pace you decide.

So i'm praising the components of the game that keep things slow: i just built a new bridge, but it won't be finished until tomorrow! That means i can breathe and relax for today, yay.
I'll have a new villager, but he'll come later! Guess i'll just wait until then, yay!

And i'm trying my best to help keeping Animal Crossing slow, too: tarentulas islands? Not for me! Time travelling? I understand people who do it but i don't want to do it myself. 100 baits to catch the stringfish before the end of March? Oops, guess i'll wait until next year hehe

I'm enjoying Animal Crossing New Horizons, i really am; but it's such a complex beast that i can't bring myself to LOVE it right now.
Maybe it'll grow into my heart with time, we'll see. I'll keep playing and i'll keep overthinking about it.

Sorry for the ramble, i just have so many different feelings about this game & i felt i needed to write them down to let them out of my head. I hope it makes some sense!
Have a lovely Sunday, it's sunny here and on my island too, i hope you're having a beautiful day too

So i've been re-reading this thread & i feel like i was pretty negative about the game... So i just want to take some time to share some aspects of it that i like, because i'm still really enjoying my time in New Horizons!

I think that giving clothes to villagers & watching them wear them instantly is still giving too much control to players, but it's nice and it can be very, very funny (i'm sorry Sandy) https://twitter.com/Remi_Tootata/status/1246135064833867783

The villagers themselves are nice & varied as ever, and i love talking to them, they're so cute and goofy and stupid and fun. All their new animations are lovely as well! I love seeing them walk around with a sandwich in their hand, or singing on the plaza <3

THAT GAME IS GORGEOUS. I remember seeing New Leaf in 2014 and thinking "i don't know how they can improve on it", but while i still love New Leaf's low-poly aesthetics, i ADORE everything about New Horizons. The props! The wind effects! The bugs!!! The sky over the day!

I can't stress enough how good i think this game looks. The dev team nailed so many details, from the colours to the animations to the weather and it gives this game a wonderful vibe. I'm sure 60% of the reason why i play it is because i just want to watch it.

The multiplayer can seem a bit basic at a first glance but people all over the web are making incredible stuff like outdoor games, town tours, social gatherings. See that list of games: https://twitter.com/doougle/status/1243803562766827520 or the interview of @house_house_ yesterday for @nowplaythese in AC!

The time i thought ACNH was really unique was when @okaybenji was having an estate sale & i came to buy him a train set & a book; it was night at my place but the beginning of the afternoon on his island. I distinctly thought that no other game had gave me a similar experience.

And above all else, at the end of the day it's still an Animal Crossing game: you *can* decide to progress slowly (even if it means you won't get famous on Twitter), you can take things one at a time and leave weeds on your island because they are very pretty, and that's fine.

Tom Nook will want you to develop your island quickly, but really if you don't listen to him you won't lose much, it'll just take a bit longer and that's what Animal Crossing is all about. And that's what i'm trying to remember for my future sessions.