Does Hokko Life still look desaturated/have mascot villagers?

[Shazza]

Howdy! I've been looking about for details on HL since I've had it on my wishlist for a while, and the very sudden negative review bombing had me do a little digging.

Something that has set me off a purchase is the fact the game from 2021 actually looks better than it does today. Like there's this desaturation/too-bright/blurry filter over everything in the current version, and the re-design of the characters is.. too mascot-y?
Obviously a personal taste dig, but for what's clearly meant to emulate animal people they come off as people in costumes too much, particularly with the patchwork textures.

If you're curious, here are the videos I used for visual comparison.
Please let me know if the 2022 video is for whatever reason not actually indicative of Hokko Life gameplay in 2023; it's extremely difficult finding raw footage as a lot of content creators either only uploaded last year, or play with obvious mods/additional shaders.

2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwMaCX28xFg

2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oyEPNLbJnc

[spielerinchen]

there is weather & seasons in Hokko, which changes the lighting a lot, so what you call "mods/additional shaders" is probably a better light at that day. some days have very murky lighting, there is also fog & rain.

also the animals are made not along real animals but stuffed, plushies. the dev was originally inspired by Toy Story. so, yeah, they are indeed "maskots".

but yes, the general color palette of the game is rather pale, pastelly, cozy. you can add more clear colors with your objects, also change your own clothing but the NPCs will remain as they are.

[Shazza]

Originally posted by spielerinchen:

size snip

Thank you very kindly! A shame to hear about the villagers given the original designs, but I can certainly see why the change happened. The explanation of weather changing the colours also helps - I'll keep it on my wishlist and keep on digging, hope y'all have fun. <3

[Jaynixo]

Unfortunately the negative reviews are mostly from players that expected AC 2.0. Yes, Hokko is inspired by AC and only similar due to the fact it has anthropomorphic villagers, but also takes inspiration from many other games in the life sim genre, but it does offer a lot of different features and mainly focuses on the designing aspect. If you're a creative person, it's perfect for you.

A lot of what Hokko is now, has been implemented from feedback by the community and the community testers. There isn't any mods or shaders available.

The images you saw from the first video are from very early development - there are many games that change over time, and mostly for the better. In this case and in my opinion, Hokko is visually pleasing and fun to sink in many hours.

Not for you? That's fine, there are many games available! :)

[Shazza]

Originally posted by Pennox:

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Holy moley! Thank you so much for clearing so much up - the bit on weather absolutely explains why some playthroughs looked so stark-different from each other.

I was very drawn by the idea of making your furniture ala. MySims! But, a lot of complaints surrounding it seem stem from a (non-disclosed) bunch of saving issues, a limited amount of personal saves (which would be a nightmare for me, I'd want to create custom pieces for all my residents and that would be a LOT of space!), and limited online uploads (which is a shame, but understandable).

Could I bother you in asking if there's personal save limit for furniture/outfit creations? Or any plans on increasing the online upload cap?

Reading over a lot of the recent negative reviews with the "AC 2.0" bit in mind certainly puts things into perspective; people love to find the smallest detail to hone in on for an arbitrary con.

Seriously, thank you a million for entertaining my likely silly questions. I've noticed you've been quite active through the community, and it's always amazing to see devs who engross themselves with their game to this level.

[Jaynixo]

Originally posted by Shazzamon:

Originally posted by Pennox:

snip

Holy moley! Thank you so much for clearing so much up - the bit on weather absolutely explains why some playthroughs looked so stark-different from each other.

I was very drawn by the idea of making your furniture ala. MySims! But, a lot of complaints surrounding it seem stem from a (non-disclosed) bunch of saving issues, a limited amount of personal saves (which would be a nightmare for me, I'd want to create custom pieces for all my residents and that would be a LOT of space!), and limited online uploads (which is a shame, but understandable).

Could I bother you in asking if there's personal save limit for furniture/outfit creations? Or any plans on increasing the online upload cap?

Reading over a lot of the recent negative reviews with the "AC 2.0" bit in mind certainly puts things into perspective; people love to find the smallest detail to hone in on for an arbitrary con.

Seriously, thank you a million for entertaining my likely silly questions. I've noticed you've been quite active through the community, and it's always amazing to see devs who engross themselves with their game to this level.

Hokko was in Early Access for just over a year, so those complaints may have been made within that period in terms of save files. With every EA release, they come with risks.

You can make multiple save slots and create many designs on the PC version, unfortunately with the console version it’s very limited but it has improved since launch last year. In your personal store, there are 8 podiums to use to showcase your creations.

If there is anything else I can answer for you, do reach out anytime on Steam or the official HL Discord :)

[Shazza]

Howdy, just figured I'd follow up before I skedaddle.

I did give Hokko Life a try! It just didn't wind up clicking for me, but I can absolutely see what people are talking about who love it.

Wish y'all the best, and have left a (hopefully) glowing review outlining my experience. <3

Thank you again for being so helpful!