Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp but without the microtransactions?

I have played a lot of Animal Crossing games growing up. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was a game I was really looking forward to when it was released in 2017. The concept seemed perfect: it was a free to play mobile game, meaning I could have my comfort game and all my favorite characters with me at all times of the day. However, after playing it for a while I realized that the game had a lot of microtransactions. In fact, a lot of the items in the game seemed completely unobtainable without spending money. For example, some of the items had to be obtained through time limited gacha banners, and this gacha could be pulled with Leaf Tickets, which would usually have to be bought using real money. Unless you were willing to put a lot of money into the game, you were stuck with rather limited options. This was frustrating, and I decided to stop playing the game after some time.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was shut down in November of 2024, and to replace this Nintendo released Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete the following month. The difference between these two is that the complete version is not free to play. Meaning that it costs money to download the game, but there are also no in-app-purchases. Since the annoying microtransactions were the reason I dropped the game originally, I decided to give the complete version a try.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete is easy to pick up and play even in shorter sessions, which makes it a good mobile game. The complete version uses a lot of the same mechanics as the original Pocket Camp. For example, it still has the limited items you can get through a gacha system. However, the Leaf Tickets, which you originally could pay for, have been replaced with Leaf Tokens that you get by playing the game. The game gives out Leaf Tokens and other in-game currencies quite generously. Because of this you do not need to worry about saving tons and tons of in-game currency, and all of the items actually feel obtainable even without weeks of grinding.

The game is also very cute and has the recognizable Animal Crossing aesthetics, alongside characters that are familiar to people who have played other Animal Crossing games before. It also has other familiar aspects for fans of the franchise, like fishing, catching bugs and harvesting fruits. Like other Animal Crossing games, Pocket Camp Complete also has seasons. There are items that fit each season, so it is fun to redecorate the campsite and change things around according to the season.

Besides the limited items, there are also limited events which make the game fun to return to, as there always is something new to do and something to look forward to. The gameplay itself is rather simple and mainly revolves around collecting items and decorating your campsite, which is very enjoyable and relaxing. However, if that is not an aspect you usually enjoy in games, then Pocket Camp Complete might not be a game worth picking up. It is also worth mentioning that some of the menus use really small icons. If you are playing on a phone, this can be quite frustrating at times, as it is easy to click the wrong thing by accident, especially if you have a small phone screen.

Overall, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete is a great game for everyone who is looking for a chill, slow-paced mobile game with simple gameplay and cute aesthetics!

Basic information:

Game: Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete

Publisher: Nintendo

Release date: 2 December, 2024

Pegi: 3

Photos: 

Featured image: official promo image: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Smart-device-games/Animal-Crossing-Pocket-Camp-Complete-2711347.html?srsltid=AfmBOoohwehziRUeN1GbRA-ectaiggYn4LmuKN6rOlRrF8-imLY9JNY6

Other photos are screenshots from Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete.

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