playing New Leaf i don’t actually think the villagers are any better than in NH. i certainly haven’t fallen for any of them the way i did for Pashmina in New Horizons. but you depend on them a lot more: for furniture, to buy your things in Re-Tail, to suggest Public Works Projects, and to provide most of the gameplay via Requests. it feels a lot more interdependent and more like a community
in New Horizons your daily tasks are given by notifications on your phone. you can make and customize furniture on your own. you don’t have to talk to anyone and they’re not as central a part of the gameplay loop