On Nov. 2, Nintendo surprised “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” fans by releasing the 2.0 update early. The update and paid downloadable content (DLC) “Happy Home Paradise” were originally set to release on Nov. 5 worldwide.
Back in October, Nintendo hosted a livestream announcing the “Happy Home Paradise” DLC and some of the new content coming with the 2.0 update. The livestream seemed promising, and many fans of the series were impressed with the announcement.
Now that the update is finally out, it is safe to say Nintendo did not disappoint.
With the update, Nintendo brought back some of the fan-favorite characters from previous games in the “Animal Crossing” series such as Tortimer, Kapp’n and Brewster. Many fans were also excited to see the return of gyroids.
One of the most exciting parts of the update was the addition of 16 new and returning villagers that players can now invite to their islands.
There are also over 9,000 new items that came with the update, according to a datamine by users NWPlayer123 and Trundler on villagerdb.com. It is important to note the datamine counts each colorway of items as their own item. However, there is still tons of amazing new content for players to update their islands with.
Outside of new items, there is also a ton of new content to play with in 2.0, even without the paid DLC.
One of the biggest new additions to the gameplay that came with 2.0 is farming and cooking. The cooking system works similarly to crafting DIYs; however, instead of using a workbench, players will need some sort of kitchen set to cook their food.
There are a variety of new recipes for players to discover and cook. Players can get crops to farm either by buying them from Lief or occasionally can stumble upon them while traveling to mystery islands with Kapp’n.
Another big change that came with 2.0 is the new and improved Harv’s island. Players can now visit a few different caravan vendors when they go to Harv’s island, after paying some bells (the in-game currency) to get them to set up shop.
Some of the rotating visitors that can come to players’ islands will now set up a permanent shop at Harv’s island. Players can help donate to bring Lief, Sahara, Redd and Kicks to Harv’s island in addition to still visiting their islands.
The paid DLC “Happy Home Paradise,” also has a lot to offer. “Happy Home Paradise” retails for $24.99. It was also included at no additional cost for people who bought the Nintendo Online Plus subscription.
The DLC focuses primarily on home design. Players will become an employee for Paradise Planning and work to help “Animal Crossing: New Horizon” characters build their dream vacation home.
The gameplay is fluid and adds a fun story element to some of the new interior design features introduced with the free 2.0 update. Additionally, there are new design features exclusive to “Happy Home Paradise” such as partition walls, counters and pillars.
However, if the design aspects of “New Horizons” don’t appeal to you, “Happy Home Paradise” probably won’t be as interesting. There isn’t much to the DLC outside of home decor.
That being said, there is a ton to do with the free update. Even for players who decide not to purchase “Happy Home Paradise,” it will take a while to run out of content.
Nintendo truly knocked it out of the park and turned “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” into what feels like a whole new game. It is clear they listened to the community and delivered so much of what the player base felt was lacking in “New Horizons.”