My copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been in my possession for six weeks.  A copy of the game was sent to me by Nintendo for review at the end of February, and I've been playing it almost every day since then.  According to my Nintendo Switch Lite, I have more than 120 hours of playtime remaining.  While this is less than some, it is still a problem, and it is one of the issues that I have noticed since my review was published. Animal Crossing Bells can be bought at the most reliable shop mtmmo.com!I don't have a problem with the fact that I haven't played as much as others; rather, the problem is that I feel the need to compare in the first place.  New Horizons does not have any explicit goals after the initial tutorial experience, which lasts approximately two weeks of daily play.  Nintendo wants players to be able to make their own decisions about what to do.  And while I haven't put much effort into achieving a 5-star rating for my island, I'm beginning to feel compelled to do so as I see others displaying theirs on social media platforms like Twitter. When I wrote my review of Animal Crossing: New Horizons before the game's official release, I had no idea how much social media would influence the way the game played.  When Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, social media platforms were already in existence.  However, they were not as common as they should have been.  More importantly, posting a screenshot from Nintendo's dual-screen 3D portable was significantly more difficult than it was for posting a screenshot from the Switch.  Of course, that didn't deter me from doing so:Despite the fact that the Switch makes it easier to post screenshots and videos, social media has also benefited from the. . . I don't want to use the phrase "found its stride. "That suggests that it is taking a leisurely stroll into the future.  Social media has spread to more areas of our lives than at any other time in history.  And as a result, even in Animal Crossing, it is now easier than ever to succumb to the fear of missing out. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a new take on the franchise. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is not unique to New Horizons.  I'm not going to rehash her argument, so please read it as well.  To that end, I'll point out that Nintendo has made some subtle changes and additions to the Animal Crossing formula that make New Horizons feel fundamentally different from the original. In my review, I mentioned that New Horizons allows for longer play sessions than the early game in New Leaf.  I believe this is correct.  And this is generally regarded as a positive development.  There is no restriction on your ability to fish, catch bugs, travel to an island for resources, or decorate your home.  However, you can now also collect crafting materials and DIY recipes, decorate your surroundings, and complete quests in the style of achievement-based games.  Alternatively, you could try to obtain all of the items during a timed event, as some unfortunate individuals have done:In addition to providing players with more things to do, the new features in New Horizons alter the rhythm of Animal Crossing.  In New Leaf, players had a limited number of options for how to "progress," and this limited their ability to explore the world.  You could make improvements to your home, add to your museum, design ACNH Items, and interact with your villagers, to name a few options.  The mechanics of New Leaf were more straightforward — and, in my opinion, worse — than those of New Horizons. The lack of intrinsic rewards in everything, however, led many players to believe that New Leaf provided them with more latitude in deciding their own course of action.  New Horizons, on the other hand, can frequently leave you with the impression that you could be doing something more productive with your time. Sure, you could go fishing for a while, but you shouldn't let the day pass without getting your mats ready in case you need them to get the most bells possible from a particularly popular item in the store.  Alternatively, you could spend your time completing your daily Nook Miles challenges in order to accumulate enough Nook Miles tickets to travel to an island containing rare loot. Please do not waste your time. The mechanics in New Leaf were even more meaningless and tedious.  However, it is because of this that they were able to function well within the framework of Animal Crossing, which is supposed to be free of structure.  It's a bit of a paradox.  However, in Animal Crossing, you do things because you believe they are important, despite the fact that you know they aren't.  You can still make those decisions, but in New Horizons, Nintendo has stepped in and made some of its own decisions for you to consider.  With the help of reward loops and constant feedback, it created progression paths.  In some ways, this can feel alienating for people who have grown accustomed to previous Animal Crossing games.