Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

When Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp came out, I was blown away by how it managed to look even better than the most recent mainline game at the time, New Leaf. The fundamental structure of the series was obviously modified to allow it to be free-to-play, but it still has all the right pieces to make it feel just like its console counterparts. The developers brought over the models and animations straight from the main series, making this look far more like a true mainline entry rather than just a mobile spinoff, and the Animal Crossing "feeling" is largely there too, with villagers' corny monologues and near-infinite debt ceilings fully in-tact.

Pocket Camp differs from its mainline cousins in a few ways in order to support the new pick-up-and-play model. First, you don't actually have access to a whole village in this game. Instead, you manage a campsite and can travel to different islands to collect resources and interact with villagers. These little separated islands make it easier to have a complete set of things to do while still allowing each of your tasks to be accomplished in only a couple of minutes. Second, you don't have any permanent residents at your campsite. When you encounter villagers on the islands, you can complete their requests (in exchange for crafting resources), which improves your relationship with them. Doing so opens the door to see what furniture they really like, and if you craft all of their preferred furniture, you can invite them to visit your campsite or cabin at any time. With over 200 villagers to befriend, you will have a lot of options for visitors pretty quickly 

Finally, there are microtransactions everywhere. This change is the only one that really hurts the experience for me. None of the purchases seem necessary to enjoy this game, but they can be extremely invasive, and come in so many different forms. There's a premium currency that can speed up crafting or be used to create premium furniture items, there are loot box "fortune cookies" that drop exclusive items from unique furniture sets, and there's a monthly subscription service that unlocks a bunch of quality-of-life improvements. The pricing on all of these is pretty steep, so I have completely abstained from making any purchases, but I still believe that I have had a full game experience. The game still advertises these sales constantly, which can be bothersome, but I don't really feel like I'm missing out on anything by not making a purchase, which I appreciate.

I don't think Pocket Camp is a great first Animal Crossing game since it relies so much on trying to call back to the full-fledged titles instead of doing its own thing. However, it can be a fantastic supplemental piece for existing fans, offering bite-sized bursts of familiar gameplay with fan-favorite characters and graphics that are nearly indistinguishable from the mainline series. If you're hoping to "complete" this game, but you don't want to fork out a bunch of money, you won't have a very good time, but if you just want a little Animal Crossing fun on the go, you really couldn't ask for much more than Pocket Camp.

The game is available for Android here (as of 1/1/22): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nintendo.zaca&hl=en_US&gl=US
The game is available for iOS here (as of 1/1/22): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/animal-crossing-pocket-camp/id1179915619

Popular posts from this blog

Meow Tower: Nonogram Pictogram

Image
I seem to have a thing for mobile games about cats, and I am a huge fan of Nintendo 's Picross series. Normally those two interests don't overlap, but Meow Tower changed that. Combining the fun of befriending cute cartoon cats and solving intricate number puzzles hooked me immediately. While it's technically not a Picross game, seeing as that is a Nintendo trademark, the nonogram puzzles are still the same, and I loved being able to play them on my phone. Granted, there have been plenty of options to play these kinds of puzzles on the phone for years, but Meow Tower  sets itself apart from the rabble thanks to its stellar aesthetic. The developers behind this game are true artists. While it's a solid, straightforward nonogram game at its core, Meow Tower just looks so much better to play than any of the numerous generic options that crowd the app stores. The bubbly sticker-book style used for the art and menus gives Meow Tower a lot of charm and personality from t
Read more

Space Lich Omega

Image
Inspired by the ever popular Candy Box and Candy Box 2 , Space Lich Omega is an browser-based RPG adventure with an almost entirely ASCII display. However, it chose to step away from the established fantasy style of it's inspiration for a more science-fantasy theme. I ended up having a fun time with this game, despite its need for a little polish, thanks to the unique story and hilarious pop-culture Easter eggs that can be discovered throughout the different explorable locations. Despite the crude-ish interface, I never had any trouble navigating throughout the game. I actually ended up beating it in a relatively short time, especially when I had my gunk production going all out, allowing me to jump my health up enormously. Although I did need to do a little grinding every now and then for an item that I missed, that didn't interfere with my enjoyment too much. Ultimately, this is no Candy Box , but it still has its merits and is worth playing if you ever find yourself in
Read more

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Image
Reusing game engines has proven to be pretty popular in the Zelda series. It offers developers a chance to craft more experimental and risky games, as the initial investment on the engine was covered by the previous, more traditional release. As a huge fan of A Link Between Worlds , I was ecstatic to learn it was getting a pseudo-follow-up. My excitement only grew when Nintendo sent me an early-access demo, and I somehow had no concerns that this was another multiplayer-focused game, despite my preference for solo play. Since the previous multiplayer Zelda games had pretty functional single-player modes, I anticipated that I could expect the same here. Unfortunately, that wasn't an entirely accurate assumption. Like its predecessors , Tri Force Heroes is level-based in order to accommodate its multiplayer focus. All of the stages are designed like dungeons, so they hold up really well for puzzle-solving challenges, but they lack a lot of the same charm you can find in Four Swor
Read more