Free camping game by Nintendo
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a free mobile game created by Nintendo for their popular Animal Crossing game series. In this game, you manage a campsite where anthropomorphic animals from the Animal Crossing series.
Features
Pocket Camp is all about managing an area similar to the Animal Crossing series. Unlike other titles in the series, Pocket Camp focuses on a small campsite rather than an entire town. You can fully customize your campsite with a wide array of items, themes, and villagers.
You can also fully customize your character’s appearance in the game. This includes outfits purchased from the marketplace. Outfits can be put on in the items menu, just like if you were placing furniture.
You gain these items, themes, and villagers as you progress through the game. You progress by raising your camp manager level, a stat-based on leveling up your character, much like in an RPG. You gain XP by completing challenges, which unlock a wide array of in-game content.
The game also has a feature that allows you to transfer items to another Animal Crossing game. By linking your Nintendo account with Pocket Camp, you can transfer items to Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch.
Drawbacks
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has received severe criticism since its release. The overall style of the game is different from the rest of the Animal Crossing series. It’s also more restrictive, confining the player to a small plot of land rather than a town or island.
The game is also heavily littered with in-game purchases and loot boxes. It was shut down in Belgium due to these loot boxes.
Another drawback is the fact that the game stops rewarding your progression after level 120. This is less than halfway through the game’s leveling system, which goes to level 345.
Competitors
In terms of competition, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has some relatively strong competitors such as Castaway Paradise and Seabeard. Castaway Paradise is almost a tribute to classic Animal Crossing games. Seabeard has elements of Animal Crossing but also mixes in pirate action and dungeon crawling to create a unique experience.
Our take
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a compressed version of the beloved Animal Crossing game franchise. Despite Nintendo’s efforts, the gameplay is lacking in substance and will quickly lose the charm of its core gameplay over time.
Should you download it?
No, there are alternatives that better emulate the Animal Crossing experience. For a more exciting social detection game, you can try Among Us.
