Why I stopped playing Animal Crossing New Horizons
In my last article, I raved about how excited I was to play Animal Crossing New Horizons. I reminisced about playing Wild World, long before Pokédex Radio was even an idea. Ah, yes, those were the days. My own small town or island away from it all. A getaway from the big city life and the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. A serene escape from the norm, or so I thought.
In comes Stardew Valley, a very similar type of game to Animal Crossing, yet a bit more focused on the farming sim aspect of the game. I’ve never played Harvest Moon, but I hear it’s a lot like that. Stardew Valley introduces you as a jaded white-collar employee who probably feels under appreciated at your job. Sounds about right, so far so good. You happened to inherit your grandfather’s farm and decide to throw caution to the wind, leave your job, home, family and friends to start anew in Pelican Town. Both Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley have very similar premises on the surface, but are very different games when you dig deeper.
Enter Tom Nook, the raccoon loan shark
Where do I begin? Let’s use New Horizons as a reference, since it’s the most recent Animal Crossing game. You decide to leave the world to live on a desolate island with two other animal vacationers, but low and behold, you have to pay for the trip and housing costs. This getaway ain’t free, and Tom Nook is looking to collect. So you make some in-game currency by completing tasks and pay off your debt to Tom Nook for the flight and tent. Next thing you know, he’s offering to upgrade your home and quality of life (storage, space, etc.). Now, of course you can’t refuse. The initial tent you live in has only 30 slots of storage space. Now, I can dig minimalism, but that’s insane. You must upgrade. Be warned though, you’ll be in debt to Tom Nook again, and the cycle continues.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve always enjoyed playing Animal Crossing, but that doesn’t sound like a getaway to me. Sounds like a bit of indentured servitude with a hefty splash of Nintendo childlike innocence. Maybe I’m being too harsh.
Inheritance, living debt free and fighting Joja
Okay, fine. You inherit your grandfather’s farm in Stardew Valley. Technically, you didn’t have to pay for it, so you don’t start out the game owing anyone. Great, right? Financially speaking, yes, that’s amazing. Unfortunately, upon arrival to your grandfather’s farm, you find out it’s trash. It’s now up to you to fix things up… if you want. You don’t necessarily have to fix the farm. You don’t owe anyone money, so you’re not obligated to pay anyone off. Zero debt. You do happen to find out the company you left is in Pelican Town trying to open up a shop. This seems to be the underlying motivation to continue playing the game. The threat of big corporate interests looms over Pelican Town and its up to you to stop it.
Final thoughts
Both Animal Crossing New Horizons and Stardew Valley are both amazing games and I’ve played over 300 hours between them. Whether you prefer the animal townsfolk of Nintendo’s Animal Crossing franchise or the small town vibe of Stardew Valley, there’s a game for you.