Preview: Animal Crossing : Happy Home Designer @ EGX 2015

A game developer once told me you could make a whole new game by taking a small element of an existing one and simply expanding it. Which is pretty much what has happened here with Animal Crossing : Happy Home Designer. This latest entry in the Animal Crossing franchise takes its popular interior design element and fleshed it out to make it the main emphasis of this title. AC:HHD was released in Europe on 2nd October.

The EGX demo had you playing as a yellow-haired male character. You had the freedom to either explore your immediate surroundings (which appeared quite similiar to New Leaf’s shopping district). Or you could opt to work on a project, which is what I did. I was offered the choice of three different types of businesses, and ended up choosing the hospital.

The game art is as kawaii as you’d expect!

Familiar NPC Isabelle escorted me to the new building which was decorated with eva.com.au furniture sets and, as anyone who knows anything about this title will probably guess, I was then tasked with populating the building with furniture. All the familiar furniture sets from the main series appeared to be there, already unlocked.

You are charged with the task of ensuring you include certain items (such as tables etc). Once you meet the minimum requirements you’re free to leave.

Happy Home Designer looks alot like New Leaf. We are OK with this.

Graphically ; Happy Home Designer looks virtually indistinguishable from the flagship 3DS Animal Croossing game ; New Leaf. Which is very much a positive as New Leaf is one of the console’s prettiest games.

I didn’t get a chance to see the game’s accompanying Amiibo cards in action sadly, as a result of arriving before the staff had really figured it out. The website says that these cards can be used to summon Animal Crossing characters via the game’s ‘amiibo phone’ item. Once summoned you can design a home for them, involve them in house-warming parties, and even assign them jobs!

Amiibo functionality has been a theme among the 3DS titles this year, and Happy Home Designer is no different! This game’s Amiibos come in the form of cards!

In conclusion I’m not really sure how I feel about this title. The pros are that it looks amazing, and the residents you can interact with are as charming and funny as always.

In terms of cons ; I must admit I found the furniture adding and arranging uninspiring. It’s as if having the entire inventory unlocked from the start diminished the value of the pieces somehow. I could be that the game isn’t well-suited to being played in a convention environment. Or, perhaps, that I’m simply not among the game’s target audience (the title is aimed at a young audience). I am disappointed, however, as I had high hopes.

If you disagree with my opinion, or have any comments to make in general, please voice them in the Comments Section below!

Official Website : http://animal-crossing.com/happy-home-designer/

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This post was written by helenbaby, posted on November 4, 2015 Wednesday at 9:00 am