sparkle sparkle
#4
I found time to play the New Horizons update this weekend. Well, I guess since it was released earlier than it was supposed to be, I was actually pretty on time. I really haven't touched the game in months, and when I get the Animal Crossing itch I go for New Leaf or even Wild World instead. I went in not really wanting to do it because despite the hours I've poured into it, it's ultimately a very disappointing game for me.
But I have to admit, it's not a bad update! The little details, like the return of group stretching, brings the game closer to its original concept, I think. Small daily routines are really important to making Animal Crossing feel like Animal Crossing, and I think that's why New Horizons felt like such a strong departure from that. Because instead of small daily routines, there's just a lot of endless grinding.
Harv's island feels kind of tacked-on, even though I know it's the same as the city in City Folk, but could we leave the camper vans in Pocket Camp? Was it not supposed to be a remote island anyway? This part of the concept is kind of confusing to me. I like the gyroids and cooking.
I haven't unlocked the Roost yet so I'll save those thoughts for when I have them. Overall, I don't think New Horizons will ever become the game I wanted it to be and I probably need to get over myself. But I would have been completely satisfied if they just ported New Leaf to Switch, maybe adding just one or two new features. Well, I don't feel like the game is better with terraforming or the week-long tutorial at the beginning, so definitely not either of those. I'm glad that the update didn't add any annoying new NPCs though! And I guess if I treat New Horizons like its own separate thing, it's not too bad. Actually, come to think of it, it kind of feels like MySims? I wonder if that series will ever reappear?
I also gave Chouquette and Astible new faceups recently. I tried different things, and I'm not totally happy with them (as usual), but I'm out of MSC so the next attempts will have to wait! It's a shame Oscar Doll isn't around anymore, I liked their eyes a lot :( This is going on this year's holiday cards.