11 Things You Might Have Missed From The Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Direct

You can play a tape in the main plaza to do morning stretches. The mini-game will have you use the Joy-Cons’ motion controls to move your character’s limbs around. Your neighbors will all join in, too, even the bad-ass barista himself, Brewster. It’s nice to know he won’t be locked behind his café counter all day.

Nintendo announced new ordinances that will augment how your island operates. One example mentioned in the Direct was the ability to make all your villagers wake up and start their days earlier. You know what else you can apparently do? Reduce the number of weeds that constantly sprout up, via the “Beautiful Island” ordinance. Finally, a little less yard work.

Animal Crossing players have been desperate for more robust fencing options since the game’s initial release 37 years ago (or rather, last March). They even tried hacking them in. A year and a half later, Nintendo is finally saving them the trouble. Players won’t just have the option to pick from different color fences either: Log, bamboo, metal, and other materials will also be options. Even ice, in case you need to keep out some White Walkers.

You might have heard that K.K. Slider is dropping some new tunes when the free update hits. What you might not have realized is that some of that music includes Chillwave tracks. Is the remixed hipster genre pioneered by Toro y Moi’s Chaz Bundick and others completely made up? Animal Crossing’s spotted troubadour says no.

The beloved European decor from Animal Crossing: New Leaf will be back in stock. Inspired by the late-Baroque period, it’s full of dark woods and ornate designs, and in the year 2021 is a sure-fire way to make your home look ‘gramable-as-hell. Based on the Direct, the fancy lamp, sofa, chair, and a few other pieces are confirmed. It looks like the Ranch set and some other styles will be returning as well.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 2.0 update is adding a ton of new ingredients and recipes. In addition to a bunch of savory dishes, there’s also a whole dessert section. You can also adorn your baking space with precious little jam jars and other knickknacks. The Happy Home Paradise DLC will let you design your own restaurant, so it seems like it’s only a matter of time before players start reenacting their favorite kitchen nightmares in multiplayer co-op.

Nintendo also revealed light fixtures, hanging shelves, and a ton of other new custom furniture options. This includes carnivorous pitcher plants, as seen in the above screenshot’s white pot hanging near the corner. They drink water and eat bugs. Will they keep your home pest-free? Time will tell. In either case, the addition of a bunch of other plants, including hanging vines and glowing weeds, will let you go full Poison Ivy.

The Happy Home Paradise DLC will let you polish anything and everything for the villagers whose homes you’re designing. Applying polish will make the objects briefly sparkle, and hopefully bring the simple pleasure of a job well done.

While the Happy Home Paradise DLC is about designing vacation homes on other islands, Nintendo also said you’ll be able to take your skills, knowledge, and experience back to retool your neighbors’ existing homes. Improve some, resign others to squalor. You can’t fix the interior design taste of your friends, but maybe you can finally help Raymond turn his office into an actual home.

The DLC also introduces new villagers. There’s Niko, a tiny monkey in an even tinier straw hat. He’s already far and away the internet’s new favorite, but he’ll be working alongside his colleagues, Wardell and Lottie. Easier to miss were Shino and Sasha, who will also be included in the upcoming Series 5 Animal Crossing Amiibo Cards.

The Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct only mentioned it for a second in passing, but players aren’t the only ones getting new items and abilities next month: villagers are getting upgraded as well. They’ll now be able to drop in on you, in your home, unannounced. “Rare is the video game door that seeks to actively frighten,” wrote former Kotaku editor, Kirk Hamilton, back in 2017. It just got a little bit less rare.