Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

The newest installation in the Animal Crossing series was just released within the past 24 hours to both the App and Play Store. I registered beforehand and got the app today, so I wanted to share a bit about what the beginning of the game looks like for players, and what to expect from this new game!

All uploaded screenshots are taken from the Version 1.0.0 of the game, so expect it to grow and change a lot as time passes! By the way, this game requires an Internet connection to play.

The game starts with KK Slider asking us a question! 

I'm not exactly sure of the significance of this question, but I think it might pertain to the landscape of our camping site? If you have any idea about this, leave a comment below! I chose the option 'I'd like to go far, far away.'

After that we are taken to a screen in which we can design our character. We have the option to select hairstyle, color, eye type and eye color.

I wanted to model my character off me, so I gave her red hair and brown eyes! I noticed that for eye colors they only listed natural hues such as blue, green, brown and black. I thought that was interesting! 

Once we confirm our character, we head off to our campsite! 

We get to see some pretty views and appreciate the games detail in making our starter campsite. We also get to see our camper, which we learn more info about later on.

We get to meet Isabelle, who welcomes you as the official camp manager! Our character is surprised by this, like in all Animal Crossing games where we are handed a leadership position out of nowhere, but accepts it pretty easily.

At this point, Isabelle asks our name (10 characters max!), and once we input it we have one last chance to change it before it becomes permanent.

From there, Isabelle explains the situation regarding the campsite. Essentially, you do errands for locals in order to raise your friendship with them and invite them to your campsite! Isabelle asks the player what their ideal campsite is, and that also selects who their first visitor will be. 

I chose 'Natural' as my theme, which means I got Goldie!

After the initial setup of our campsite, Isabelle directs us to the map feature, in which we are instructed to go visit Goldie in a newly unlocked location. When we click the new location we can see this screen before choosing the travel there. In this screen, you can see there is a quest/task that Goldie would like us to do, which she is offering a reward for. 

Once we head to the new location and speak to Goldie, we can click the option 'Need any help?' and she will give the character more details about what her desired task is. 

Goldie wanted me to get her an apple, so I walked over to a nearby tree and got an apply for her. Once I handed it to her, I got a 'Request Complete!' pop up which showed my rewards. Most of the time rewards consist of bells and some sort of crafting materials for our campsite!

With the materials Goldie gave me, I can craft my first item! 

I head back to Isabelle and meet Cyrus, who is a furniture crafter. At this point the player unlocks the craft catalog. Crafting this couch not only helps decorate our campsite, but also is a key factor in getting Goldie to come to our campsite. For all guests, one piece of furniture that they like has to be placed in the room in order for them to visit the campsite. Once they leave, that item can be removed with no problem.

       

 We are now prompted to place the couch somewhere in the campsite. In future interactions, you can have the piece of furniture auto placed for a visit, and then removed when the person leaves.

Once all the requirements are taken care of, the 'Host Animal at Campsite' sign will become clickable.

After all this, Isabelle will congratulate you for completing what essentially is the tutorial, and give you the new player starter pack!

A button with Isabelle's face on it is now available in the upper right corner of the screen. When tapped, you're taken to a goals page in which you can receive various rewards for completing in game goals. Stretch goals are goals for the game as a whole, while timed goals change after a few hours.

Now the game is officially in full swing! All the areas on the map become unlocked, and we are able to meet other animals. If you see a check next to an animals bubble, it means I currently have an item they are looking for in their current task/quest. Each place offers different activities to do, such as fishing or catching bugs.

My Review

The game design will be familiar to those who've played Animal Crossing before. Like the other games, this game has a day and night cycle. Similar to the role Tom Nook played, this game has OK Motors, which is where you can customize your fan and expand the interior! 

A unique element to this game is the interesting friend system. You can meet friends by giving your code, or simply run into them while you're walking around different areas. To be honest, it's so early on in the game that I'm not exactly sure what the friend dynamic is for, however you are able to add friends to a friend list, visit their campsite, and give them 'Kudos'. Not sure exactly what this does for now, but as the game grows and improves I think I'll get a better idea of the friend system.

A common mobile game feature that this game has are the timers. There are timers that the fruits on trees run on, and they are activated after you shake a tree. It takes 3 hours for the fruit to regrow before you can harvest more, which essentially elongates the game because fruits are a common item for tasks/quests. 

Another timed feature is crafting. I'm in the beginning stages of the game so crafting objects only takes a few minutes or less, but as the player advances crafting items could take hours if not overnight in some cases. 

This is where Leaf Tickets come in, which is where the Animal Crossing team profits.

Leaf Tickets are used to speed up in game transactions and they can be purchased in game by tapping the 'More' tab. Leaf Tickets effectively find a way for the AC staff to cash in on the game, as Leaf Tickets can over missing crafting materials, regrow fruit instantly, speed up crafting time and provide access to Shovel Strike Quarry, where you can dig for minerals.

In a way, Leaf Tickets somewhat eliminate the entire point of AC, which is the waiting. Though the game runs on real time, using a Leaf Ticket can effectively make any moment a time where fruit could grow, things could be made or guests could come over. The 'pay to win' aspect makes the game feel a little bit like a greed play.

However, this can be easily ignored. The game is fun and it's not totally necessary to spend any kind of money. The game embodies the fun little pastimes of a full Animal Crossing game, without the everlasting guilt if you don't log in for a day.  I think the campsite theme is cute, and I'm interested to see how Nintendo plans to expand upon this game.

As for issues. many users have stated connection is a big problem, and I've experienced this as well. 

Even when I'm sitting next to my wifi router with perfect connection, the game might give me an error message. The screen took so long to load my phone screen auto-turned off.

Another issue is the activity drop that happens shortly after you hit level 4. They pump the beginning of the game with exciting, fast paced content to get people interested, but the rest of the game is very slow. It's one of those games you play, turn off for a few hours, and come back to. If you're into games like Neko Atsume, I'd recommend this game to you!

Thanks for reading! I hope this post was informative!