Animal Crossing New Leaf still holds the title of best Animal Crossing game entry for me by the way. I like Animal Crossing New Horizons don't get me wrong, just not as much. ACNH does feel like a finished game but just far from what I would call a finished Animal crossing game.

As a standalone game, it's a pretty good game overall. But it's missing way too much Animal Crossing core elements. Those will definitely slowly sneak their way in through updates, events, maybe DLC. But don't forget Pokémon Sword/Shield got a lot of shit for that mindset too.

Do I think ACNH deserves getting shit for it? Hell no. Do I think Animal Crossing New Horizons lacks content at release that should have been in the game since the start? Partially, yes. ACNH for now is not really among the big games in terms of quality for me. Tho, >my opinion<.

However, the game does a lot of things right and definitely deserves praise for it. And while it may not be among the big games in terms of quality, let's not forget the quality levels of the big games for Nintendo Switch have set their bar incredibly high. LOZ:BOTW, SMO, etc.

For example, it is often really hard for developers to find a balance between difficult intensities when it comes to games based around resources. I know this because a lot of games are doing it wrong. ACNH however has done it pretty well.

You are limited in getting resources fast but if you still work hard you can get actually more. Think about things like playing smart by planting more trees so you can harvest more wood, or completing the "quests" for Nook Miles and thus Nook Miles Tickets to get more from --

-- other islands owned by NPCs where you can get more wood, stones, etc. after you ran out of ways to retrieve those resources from your own island. Yes I'm leaving "time travelling" out of the window for this thread even though I do it and have no issue with people who do. Lol.

Then, the graphics and animations have increased drastically in terms of quality. Look at other Wii titles and 3DS titles, then compare them with their alter "Nintendo Switch" ego. The gap between City Folk or New Leaf and then to New Horizons is really big.