A couple of weeks ago, Nintendo hosted a direct that promised plenty of things for Animal Crossing players. And ever since, the world’s been blowing up with all the changes!
I’ll admit, I’m pretty terrible at keeping up with things like directs because they always happen when I’m working and/or in meetings. But the rumblings from this one got me interested, so I decided to do some digging.
From what I’ve gathered, the last major update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons is just around the corner, scheduled for November 5. And while that’s sad, it means the game—which is like a year and a half old now—will finally be complete.
So today, I wanted to share what I’m most excited for—though this is by no means everything that’s coming out!
Kapp’n’s boat tours
I’ll be honest, using Nook Miles to get to new islands lost its appeal for me long, long ago. So I’m looking forward to this feature, which introduces a familiar face from previous Animal Crossing games, because Kapp’n will take you to islands that only he knows about.
It opens a lot of new doors for island exploring, including finding ones in other seasons or times of day!
Island ordinances
This seems like a cool new feature that lets players choose unique settings for their islands, and reminds me a lot of the lot traits feature in the Sims 4. Essentially, you can elect to set one of four ordinances, and it does sound like you have to choose—you can’t have them all, which makes me sad.
I already know the one I’m going to set is the Beautiful Island ordinance, which means I won’t be punished so harshly with an island full of weeds when I’ve been busy for a week or two.
Ceiling decorating and accent walls
I am always one for a good accent wall, and though I never really felt like it was missing from the game, I’m really excited that this is coming to AC:NH! I’ll be interested to see how they implement it, given the current system is that you just select wallpaper from your inventory and apply to the whole room.
I’m also interested to see how ceiling decorating will work. It sounds like players will have the option to hang things that would normally hang from the wall on the ceiling instead, along with what looks to be new ceiling-specific lighting options.
Source: Nintendo
Permanent ladders
Wait. So you mean that all this time, I could have left that annoying portable ladder at home?!
Okay, so no. But this new feature means that from now on, we can! It lets you place permanent ladders on your island instead of ramps and stairs, which I think will be a nice change given that they’re much smaller and less unwieldy.
The DLC
This isn’t so much a feature, but it’s still worth mentioning! The other new thing that’s coming to AC:NH on November 5 is a paid DLC called Happy Home Paradise. From what I’ve read, it’s going to be around $25, which is pretty cheap for DLC these days.
And it looks incredibly fun.
Essentially, Happy Home Paradise lets you open a design consultancy on your island, where you can take contracts for random NPCs and design vacation homes for them.
For now, it sounds like this isn’t really connected to your own island; it seems similar to Harv’s island, where you basically just go build for fun. But I’ve seen tidbits hinting that you can take your design skills with you off the clock, so I’m interested to see if that will mean we get the ability to change villagers’ homes, too!
Admittedly, that would take away some of the random fun of villagers that live in cardboard boxes or like to put bathtubs in weird places, but for players like me who love to design, it would mean a lot more opportunity for creativity without tearing down the designs in your own home.
Are you looking forward to the update for AC:NH? Have another upcoming update you can’t wait for?
2 thoughts on “The final update: 5 things coming to Animal Crossing: New Horizons”
I’m excited about getting Brewster back on the island! I’m so excited to use the night owl ordinance as well. xx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
I know I hated Kapp’n after awhile but I really really miss his boat rides. I’m so excited we get them — and new fruits/veggies!