With the November 5 release of both Nintendo’s paid and free DLC, New Horizons becomes more than just another Animal Crossing game. By combining concepts from past installments and spin-offs like City Folk and Happy Home Designer, New Horizons is becoming the ultimate version of Animal Crossing, the most comprehensive game in the series’ 21-year history.
If you’ve been missing an element from past Animal Crossing games, there’s a good chance it’s coming to New Horizons on November 5. That’s when we get everyone’s favorite hang, Brewster’s Cafe. It’s also when Kapp’n returns, bringing with him the sea shanties that charmed us on the way to Tortimer Island back in New Leaf for the 3DS.
Kapp’n, master of all forms of transportation, also served as the bus driver that carried us to the titular city in Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii. That city was a hub where you could get a haircut from Harriet, buy furniture, or visit shoe salesman Kicks. Legitimate art dealer Redd even had a shop there. Now Kicks, Redd, Harriet, and more will have shops on Harv’s revamped island. It’s not quite a city, more like a large flea market, but the idea is the same, and in true Animal Crossing fashion, we players get to pay bells to make it happen.
Not only are we getting content from previous games, but we’re also getting what’s effectively a sequel to Animal Crossing’s most successful spin-off, Happy Home Designer. The $25 Happy Home Paradise DLC basically adds an entirely new game to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. In the DLC we’ll be helping villagers realize their own personal vacation homes, listening to their requests, and doing our best to create an island getaway that suits their needs. The DLC even carries over the original game’s use of Amiibo, allowing us to pick and choose who’d we like to design for, from nobody villagers to big names like Isabella and K.K. Slider.
Nintendo is consolidating all the good things about Animal Crossing into one massive New Horizons package. We’re getting a taste of the city, a taste of some fine coffee, a taste of home design, and we’re even getting the delicious taste of long-awaited froggy chair.
All of this, plus no sign whatsoever of the boring dumpster fire that was Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival. Sounds like Nintendo really has a handle on what fans of this quirky little franchise love, and they’re putting it all in one place.