My first Animal Crossing game, I found New Horizons to be a totally charming game. I think the first week or so of introduction the game has introduces all the game systems like crafting, collecting, and exploring islands well. The real meat of the game comes from personal player experience, this is essentially a sandbox for decorating your home and island.

Personally, I've always been directionless with these kinds of games. I'm not terribly creative when it comes to aesthetics, so I didn't actually spend too much time terraforming my island to be ideal. This, combined with the fact that I was always short on bells to buy all the furniture I wanted, led me to appreciate the game more in a sense of environment. I was more interested in the daily minutiae of collecting bugs and fish, talking to neighbors, and seeing what all happens in day to day life. Unfortunately after a few hours, it becomes pretty evident that villagers are a bit of a backdrop, with personalities that more or less blend together. I don't find it terribly surprising- there are over 400 villagers so giving each of them a handcrafter personality feels like a tall order. Still, it left me wishing that there was more dialogue, or some more smoke and mirrors to make it seem like they were more independent and living in the world.

One of the design pillars of Animal Crossing seems to be in the quiet, daily life. The players make their own stories through their experiences and interactions, and there is a sense of comfort in the routine of daily tasks. However, the interactions did feel a bit lacking. From what I've seen from previous games, they definitely knocked it out of the park when it came to home decoration. Overall I have very positive opinions of the game but I doubt I'll ever get into it enough to put together the island of my dreams.