At the beginning of the pandemic, everybody played Animal Crossing: New Horizons. My sister who rarely, if ever, plays games, got heavily invested in it. All my friends got it and played it daily, and naturally, so did I. But then things started to get a bit better, and everybody had torn through the more limited amount of content (compared to past Animal Crossing games,) leaving many islands weed-filled and abandoned. Then, the 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise updates were announced, and people started wondering whether it was worth revisiting their deserted island homes. Well, after dumping three weeks of time into the new update, I’m here to answer that question.
There’s a whole lot of content that was added with the 2.0+DLC update, from plenty of new items to new villagers and crafting mechanics. Being able to grow vegetables and make food with them is already a big addition, as is the ability to fund a whole mini-main street of stores on Harv’s island. That, and you can now go to mysterious islands with Kapp’n to find new vegetables and plants, as well as Gyroids to decorate with. You can also grab coffee now, which is great. All of these things add up, each taking maybe a few minutes a day, until you’ve got a ton of new stuff to do– a great feeling that I desperately missed after the first few months of New Horizons.
When I play Animal Crossing, I typically have a daily routine that I do. That routine ran thin after a few months at most, but the new stuff has completely reinvigorated my routine. Each day, I’m still excited to grab a coffee, check out a mystery island, check Harv’s Island for new haircuts and art, and to decorate some houses. I even noticed lots of tiny additions that make things easier, like Isabelle announcing island visitors at the start of the day, or being able to squeeze by tight areas. It’s like a breath of fresh air has blown through New Horizons, making it the game it was always meant to be.
Longtime fans will also be happy to see some old-school NPCs come back. Tortimer runs a storage service on Harv’s Island and even dresses like Cornimer for Autumn, while Katrina does fortune-telling there. On most days, you can learn new hairstyles from Harriet too, making Harv’s island a pretty nostalgic place for Animal Crossing purists. I’m just stoked that Nintendo basically added a Main Street like in New Leaf, as it lets me buy art, plants, shoes, and wallpapers, as well as customize my items, on any given day.
“If you’ve ever enjoyed interior and exterior decorating in Animal Crossing, this is the expansion for you.“
The Happy Home Paradise expansion is probably the most exciting addition. You basically go to another island where you work for Lottie, who has you designing vacation homes for all sorts of Animal Crossing villagers. There’s actually a pretty pleasant little story that goes with the expansion, as you grow closer to fellow workers Nico and Wardell. There’s also a real feeling of satisfaction that comes with making your favorite villagers, even if they aren’t from your village, grand second homes using any items you want. Plus, you can buy exclusive items using a new currency system, meaning you can bring the fruits of your labor home with you.
The upgrades are spread out nicely, so you get one or two major upgrades after every few houses redesigned. This even encourages you to go back to houses that you’ve already designed, to make them even better using the tools that frequently are added to your repertoire. One upgrade lets you section off parts of the room using walls, while another lets you build counters and pillars. These might seem mundane, but they really shake up how you decorate. If you’ve ever enjoyed interior and exterior decorating in Animal Crossing, this is the expansion for you.
So is it worth revisiting your old island getaway? I’d say, absolutely. Even if you don’t grab the DLC (which I highly recommend,) there’s a whole lot more to do around the island. There are new friends to make, meals to cook, and projects to fund, and that’s without diving into home decorating. There’s never been a better time to play New Horizons, and since this was the last major update to the game, this may be as grand as it’s going to get.
