Nintendo LifeHow many hours do they have you clock playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons?
A quick review of my profile page shows ‘185 hours or more’ at the time of writing. For someone who routinely complains about not having enough hours in the day to play epic RPGs, someone who loves nothing better than a short, sweet, and finite 3-5 hour gaming experience, I’ve managed to put in a considerable amount of weather in New Horizons.
Average of 185 hours to more than 90 minutes a day, every day since the game launched in March. Obviously, a lot of that time was spent experimenting, gathering information and screenshots for guides, so the work benefit of diving every night is probably a factor that brought me back. Also, of course, I lock up.
I searched for my playtime after recently missing my daily visit for the first time since launch. I reluctantly broke my streak, but it was too late and the tiredness of watery eyes nullified my desire to search for Jolly Redd’s Treasure Trawler (now there is a Captain toad sequel if I ever heard one!)
Once the seal was broken, it was also easier to miss it the next day and the next. The wedding season took its toll on me and I was wondering if my time with the game was over. I noticed similar feelings popping up online; a progressive general malaise punctuated by the strange moan that went through the 400 hours played that apparently is not satisfied with the game’s value proposition.
While hating to play the game in a three-figure hour count is something I don’t think anyone does, the generally mixed reaction to updates raises an interesting question. Some players seem to take the existence of seasonal updates as a sign that the game is not yet “over.”
To a certain extent, they are not wrong. Compared to previous entries, which included all annual events from the start, New Horizons is not yet “content-packed” in the same vein. Travel back in time until October 31, for example, and at time of writing there won’t be a pumpkin or candy in sight, which will be coming up in a closer free update.
Delivering events regularly throughout the year has several benefits for both Nintendo and those who do not travel in time. There’s a new round of online media and audience interest generated equally every month or two that maintains a sense of awe and surprise throughout the game. From the developers’ point of view, it also eases the pressure by expanding the scale of the event content delivery time; it doesn’t need to crack before launch to include everything on day one. Being a more traditional gamer, I enjoy this slow and steady drip feeding approach, although there are some downsides.
Nintendo LifeOverall, Nintendo handles player expectations well; Look at how it handles the announcements of the incoming direct presentations, but the word ‘event’ is very broad. It includes short one-day events like the Rover’s May Day Maze (best for me so far), the two-week International Museum Day stamp rally, and the month-long wedding season (which soured my enthusiasm afterward. of the first days). Marking them through updates inevitably increases the expectations that are ripe for the race.
I can sympathize with people who have been disappointed, but Nintendo is hardly looking for an unfinished early access title for unsuspecting gamers. I could stop right now, never play again, and New Horizons would still be my GOTY comfortably. The fact that the game continues to evolve makes it even more interesting, especially for a Nintendo title. The arrival of new bugs (in the northern hemisphere) and the wetsuit in early July brought me back to the fold. I have to get those beetles and sea creatures.
Animal Crossing is not like other games. You don’t complete it, you don’t overcome it; You live it. That is the main reason why I have managed to adapt it to my life most of the days during the last months. It becomes part of your routine. “Sorry, I know we have to go out, but I have to go into Twin Peaks to buy turnips.” Those words came out of my mouth. Twice.
Nintendo LifeThe notion that New Horizons will finally be ‘full feature’ in March 2021 is felt absurd to me. However, perhaps most feel differently. Maybe there will be a wave of players finally picking it up after a year to get the ‘complete’ game.
Obviously, I’m not suggesting that players can’t be critical of the content, there are a lot of tweaks that could improve various aspects of the game, but I can’t understand why someone put up dozens or hundreds of hours on something and then moaning from lack of content, or feeling unfinished. In pure economic terms, it is one of the “best value” games I have ever played; Not even six months have passed yet and there are still many pending events.
It seems to be a classic ‘glass half empty / half full’ situation, but the first six months of 2020 have filled me with negativity for the year. Do people really feel like they’re getting an incomplete New Horizons experience? Let us know your thoughts on the survey and the comment section below.
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