new horizons is decently fun now ok fine i admit it

11-28-2021Thoughts

I don't know what Thanksgiving is actually supposed to be celebrating. Did not enjoy turkey as I have a need to impose weird dietary restrictions on myself so despite the anemia I went pescetarian about three years ago. I do miss it. But I was glad to get to see family this year and even more glad to have some time to step away from work screens for a bit! I mean I did use that time to look at other screens but it's different when you're not forced to do it. Isn't it a little unfair that holidays give you time off, but work is busier anyway so you're just as tired? I want to go back in time a couple of months where I could take it easy!

It's been very cold and cloudy lately! I like this weather but I think since my daily routine is a little unstructured, I prefer when I can actually tell that time is moving when I look out the window. Lastly, this is a reminder to myself to put the doll in the dishwasher.

Ok so maybe it's not too late to fix a bad game

11-07-2021Thoughts

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?