It's been about two weeks since the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' massive 2.0 update, as well as the Happy Home Paradise DLC, so hopefully most of you have had a good crack at it so far!
With two weeks of Brewster, Gyroids, home designs, and even the return of one Mr Resetti, we've all had the opportunity to settle in to a post-2.0 world, and so now we can ask you: What's been your favourite bit so far?
I'll go first, so no one else feels shy.
It would be too easy to say that my favourite part of the update is the entirety of Happy Home Paradise. That's cheating. But the new design tools — partition walls, counters, ceiling decor, soundscapes, and accent walls — have really re-awakened my love for interior design in the game.
Previously, it was all about using tricks to get the effect you wanted — simple panels served as partition walls, desks became kitchen counters, and so on. Now, it's much easier to create interesting, varied rooms with official tools.
It's fascinating how small changes can lead to big ideas. Creative people have already discovered new ways to use the new items and tools — making Glow-In-The-Dark Stickers into transparent window panes, using partition walls and accent walls to create a garden or balcony, and combining ceiling décor with floor furniture to make it look like there are curtains or lights inside them. You can see several new tricks in this video, for example:
And, since I'm the one writing this and I can bend the rules — I also really love the fact that many of the new 2.0 features are designed to let people ease back into the game.
The Beautiful Island ordinance lets me clean up those weeds in no time (and there's always Leif's island-wide weed-pulling service if it gets really bad), and Katrina's friendship boosts let me recover from the time I've spent away. Harv's Island gives me easy, daily access to Saharah, Kicks, and Redd, so it's faster to catch up on all the things I've missed, and Kapp'n's boat tours give me access to seasonal islands for mopping up all of the recipes and materials I didn't get.
And yes, all of those things cost money — but with the Nintendo Switch Online app, I can track turnip prices relatively easily, so I'll be a millionaire in no time. Probably. Fingers crossed.
But with so much to pick from, what are your favourite new additions to Animal Crossing: New Horizons — either in the DLC, or the free update? Let us know in the comments!
(And don't forget to check out our "50 Things You Might Have Missed" article for some ideas!)
Comments 38
the Happy Home Paradise blew me away. there is just so much to do in it! it's wonderful.
the free udpate is also very generous, and it makes me feel like there's actually things to see and do in my $60 video game, and I'm having fun with it!
I started the game over from scratch with some other people so I haven't reached/unlocked a good chunk of the update features yet, but I've been enjoying the addition of permanent ladders, being able to store duplicate DIY recipes in storage, the larger variety of furniture, and a few other things.
And I'm glad I picked up the Happy Home Paradise DLC, been having a great time with it! (and the extra home customization options that come with it)
Looking forward to trying out...pretty much everything I still need to unlock (the boat tours, the Roost, gyroids, etc.)
Both the update and the DLC gave the game a great breath of fresh air! I've been having a much more enjoyable time in this second run than my old town from last year.
I love the home design tools out of the options but to be specific I like the way happy home paradise is set up.
On my island I always wished I could have more than 10 villagers, and wished I could customize the shops.
Animal crossing on switch 2 should merge the concepts of happy home paradise and the base game.
Let me have 100 villagers, customize everything, and have more lively common areas!
Also I love the tropical aesthetic and vacation resort theme, let's stick with it
I like the small details like how they applause at KK's concert or they visit your house. The partitions are cool but I would like if you could hang things in them.
I don't get the shine furniture thing. What is it for anyway?
Happy home dlc is awesome, It's fun to make houses based on what the villagers want. The best part is the new furniture you can buy and it can even appear at Nook's cranny.
Brewster is cool but sometimes it doesn't feel blended with the rest of the island. One moment you see one of your villagers in the city hall and suddenly is drinking coffee out of nowhere. But I like it anyway.
The cooking feature is fun but haven't used it very much.
My favorite feature is not owning Animal Crossing - New Horizons.
NINJA APPROVED (just joking, not bashing if you like the game)
The Happy Home Paradise is really addictive. My hours in the game have been going up for that reason alone. I like the new cooking and farming too.
i loving the Cooking mechanic with the depth of the Crafting mechanic, and the new Gyriods are so adorable.
My favourite features are the Sleek ("Cool") furniture, Harv's Island (especially Cyrus and Redd) and the boat tours, if only for Star Shard Island.
Minor grumbles: CJ and Flick are still overlooked, and whilst Happy Home Paradise is good, it does highlight how small your own house is compared to New Leaf.
How do I get these new features? Not seeing them
Gyroids for me! It adds an element of weirdness that makes the game feel just a bit strange. Like it’s an another world.
To be honest the storage shed. As someone who finds designing hard and overwhelming it helps massively to just be able to access my entire inventory at once by carrying around a storage shed! Really helps me get inspired for ideas by seeing everything I have.
Five things i like from Happy Home Paradise :
1. Villager's house makeover
2. Farming
3. Cooking
4. Harvey's Island
5. Working at HHP island
One of the best free updates a game has ever received.
The DLC is a great value as well.
I like both simply for the fact that they added more content to the game.
One thing I don't understand however is the appeal of The Roost. While I'm an absolute coffee maniac in real life, I don't see the big deal.
@DarkTone have you updated your game? If it didn't update automatically, you press + on the ACNH icon on home screen. But many items you get over time. I am still waiting on tomatoes.
@Arkay I also love coffee, and the roost is not real coffee. But it does put my amiibo to good use.
I love Gyroids, Kapp'n, harv's island, climbable vines, the storage shed, and many other of the 2.0 features but number 1 is definitely putting DIY recipes in storage.
That is one of two quality of life improvements I wanted since day one. The second — only buying 5 of one thing at a time — was sadly not fixed. All I want is to buy 100 tomato starts without talking to the npc for an hour! Still.. all the other changes are great.
What can I say? As some one who has played the game almost every day since launch, this DLC is mind blowing. It inspired me to make major changes in layouts. The creative potential in this game and DLC is incredible.
And i love the pacing and economy. I can terraform a lot, but i still need to wait a day for certain items. Or, i have to bang on rocks for materials for crafting. The game is designed for the long slow play, and i love it.
Eventually I will return to my 15 minute daily island check up, i think. And maybe someday I will put the game down. But until that time I will slowly enjoy this experience like a piping hot cup of Brewster's coffee.
Oh, and another favorite: new K.K. songs!
for me
it is being able to alter the homes of my villagers
@dugan it says I'm on 2.0 but nothing new is opening up for me
I’m surprised no one has talked about the cheaper moving fees. It’s now only 10k to move the museum, shops , campsite and villagers’ houses. And only 8k to move your house. I also love the new items. I just got the dormant volcano on Nook shopping today
@DK-Fan oh the shine furniture thing is to make your froggy chair extra sparkly
@Pokefanmum82 been a lifesaver because I’ve been moving all my villagers houses so I can make my island look nice and before I was only halfway to getting all the money I need and now I only needed 100k
@Arkay It was much better in New Leaf where you had to figure out each Villager's favorite combination of coffee beans, milk, and sugar.
@dugan @LinktotheFuture ahh I see, thanks for the clarification!
I purchased DLC, but have been unlocking the free stuff. Might hit the paid stuff this weekend…
@DarkTone
You probably just need to keep playing the game and you should start unlocking some of the stuff.
Scootching. It's nice to put furniture closer together.
Still wishing for: being able to expand the 3 other main floor rooms.
SCOOCHING IS A GAME CHANGED; DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE SCOOCH. Also where is group yoga sessions those are great and very important
Still holding out for a revised physical release with the DLC included.
As for Version 2.0, Cyrus has been a long and painful wait. Super glad to be able to obtain all variants of furniture now. I’m hoping that Katrina will also make it a lot faster to gain villagers’ photos as I always replace a villager (with amiibo) upon receiving them.
I’m also tempted to go through most of the special amiibo characters at The Roost as those characters have unique dialogue.
Having daily access to Redd should also make it a lot easier to complete my art collection (though I suspect that I will have to buy a LOT of counterfeits in the process, though I want at least one of each of those too).
I’m still miffed that there still aren’t any more Nook store upgrades. The Able Sisters could have had a GracieGrace expansion too.
My six year old daughter hasn’t seen anything new yet. But then when you only get to play once a month for a couple of hours, I guess you miss out on a lot of things.
And I wished it wasn’t timed events, as she always misses those - the trick or treating sounded cool, but by the time you could access it, she was out actually trick or treating.
Still waiting to buy art, for KK to appear, and about a thousand other things…
@DarkTone I am sorry that it is not working. I forgot to mention that I think you need to talk to Blathers at the museum. I forget, but I think the whole thing is locked behind a dialog with Blathers, then he sends you to Kapp'n. I hope that helps!
@LinktotheFuture thank you for posting that, I also liked that aspect of New Leaf! I had a lined piece of paper with all the combinations hand written. Eventually I figured out all the favorites of the villagers. That was a fun mini game. That said, I am okay with the simplicity of New Horizons. If I remember, on halloween in New Leaf, you had to figure out which costume scared which villager. That was cool. But again, this is a different game. The other aspects of New Horizons more than make up for things missing from New Leaf, for me.
@zapswitch Really? I figured a lot of the updates would be there from the get go. Thanks for the reply
@Silly_G altohugh i would like one to, Nintendo doesn't really have reputation for producting GOTY style releases, so better just buy one... ( i even inlay now in the companion book.. pff)
@dugan I agree, New Horizons has plenty of great new stuff that make it a great game. Plus, I still have New Leaf if I want to play it.
Ironically Brewster was the only thing I knew of going into the update/dlc, and it's probably the one thing I care least about.
I love Harvs island and that I can finally pay attention to adding items to my museum as I'd either forget to check for Redd or he'd only have fakes when he came to my island.
The new items are also refreshing, and while pricey (in game) I'm getting a lot of the castle walls/gates to build a small castle area.
The ability also on Harvs island to change the colour of items is easily one of the best things. No more needing to head over to nookazon for a simple colour change.
New villagers seem pretty good. Had Marlo on the DLC island pretty early on and quite like him. Cephalobot is also great.
Bought the amiibo for Petrie and have her on my island.
Oh and villagers coming over to your place. It's a small thing, but I missed that when playing NH.
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