A special Direct on 15 October unveiled details of a massive update coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons on 5 November. The presentation, which was initially announced during last month’s Nintendo Direct, also introduced paid DLC, called Happy Home Paradise. Here are the specifics of what we saw.
New Locations
First off, we got to see The Roost again. It’s a familiar sight to fans of the series, and Brewster, of course, is behind the counter. He’ll serve coffee to the player character, your friends, and other characters who may decide to visit (such as Isabelle). You can also invite various characters to The Roost via an Amiibo kiosk.
Kapp’n the sailor (who has also appeared as a taxi driver and a bus driver) will make a return. He will ferry you to various unique islands, and these places might have a different season, a different time of day, or unique plants. His sea shanties from New Leaf will also return, presumably along with his irritation if you decide to skip them by mashing the A button.
Harv’s Island is also getting some updates. Vendors such as Sahara and Kicks will set up shop, and Reese and Cyrus, the two alpacas introduced in New Leaf who made their reappearance in last year’s Wedding event, will help you customise more items. Harriet the hair-dressing poodle also returns with new hairstyles.
Changes To Island Life
New Horizons gets a bit more interactive with the addition of ‘group stretching’ in the plaza. This allows you to participate in real-life light exercise with the other islanders. It’s not quite Ring Fit Adventure, of course, but it looks like a fun way to utilise the Switch’s motion controls (or the buttons, if you’re not feeling so active).
New Leaf’s Island Ordinances will also make a return, along with more exterior design options for houses, and an expansion of the current storage space, from 2400 slots to 5000.
More Nook Miles Content
The Nook Miles catalogue is getting new items and recipes, along with a Pro Decorating licence that allows you to place items on the ceiling, create new lighting, and add an accent wall. Most interestingly, we’ll be getting DIY recipes for cooking, and the ability to grow and harvest ingredients to cook with. This places New Horizons closer to farm simulation games such as Stardew Valley, and opens up a lot of new possibilities for players.
A Pro Construction licence is also available, allowing you to increase the number of bridges and inclines to ten each. The presentation showed off many more minor quality of life improvements. These include new fence recipes, additional camera capabilities (such as the ability to take a picture with an islander), 11 new hairstyles and reactions, and outdoors storage.
…And Even More Content
This section of the Direct included more miscellaneous things that did not fit anywhere else. K.K. Slider, everyone’s favourite singing dog, gets 12 new songs. Gyroids are coming back, too: planting and watering new ‘gyroid fragments’ causes them to grow into fully-fledged gyroids. Furthermore, Nook’s Cranny is going to have new furniture in stock, and a new DIY recipe will allow for ladders to be placed on cliffsides permanently. It also seems as though your islanders may just turn up at your house unannounced, like in previous installments. This was usually quite charming, but occasionally unhelpful if you were trying to redecorate.
This update will be Ver 2.0 of the game. It will be the last major free content update for New Horizons.
Happy Home Paradise DLC Unveiled
Just when we thought there was nothing else to see, Nintendo revealed this. Happy Home Paradise is the successor to the 3DS’s Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, in the form of DLC for New Horizons. You’ll work according to your client’s brief, choosing the island for their home to be located on, and the interior and exterior decoration. There’s a wealth of design options: partition walls and counters, a range of lighting options, soundscapes for the rooms, and polishing (which adds different effects to furniture). You also have the option to design a school, hospital, or restaurant, and characters will use the facilities.
Happy Home Paradise places a focus on online networking, too, with the ability to upload your designs and to visit those made by other people, as well as have them visit yours. The DLC includes Amiibo support, allowing you to design homes for characters such as Timmy and Tommy, as well as standard islanders. There is also a level of connectivity with your own island, meaning you can use similar techniques on your own home, invite your islanders to the archipelago, and eventually remodel their houses.
This DLC will cost £22.49 and will also release on 5 November. Pre-orders will open on 29 October.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack
The end of the presentation mentioned the new Expansion Pack for NSO, and more information came after the Direct. While the current base service costs £17.99 per year for an individual membership, the Expansion Pack (which includes the base service plus access to Nintendo 64 and Sega Mega Drive games) will cost £34.99 per year. It will also include the Happy Home Paradise DLC at no additional cost. The new service launches on 26 October.
New Amiibo cards releasing on 5 November were also revealed, featuring islanders that have not been included before.
This is a huge update, and with the Happy Home Paradise DLC adding an entirely new dimension to the game, players are going to be kept busy for a long time to come. This is, without a doubt, an exciting time for Animal Crossing fans.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Words by Mia Chitty