I received a copy of the game in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
Last year, like many people, my kids and I got really into Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I stayed into it- I have played it every single day since then! Zac {7} loves it so much that he has an Animal Crossing social club he attends online every week where he gets to play with other kids his age. Shane {12} however hasn’t played much since New Year’s- he just ran out of things he wanted to do. That’s all changed now!
Earlier this month, Nintendo released not only a HUGE, free update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but also added additional DLC {downloadable content} in the form of Happy Home Paradise!
This optional content does need to be purchased {unless you have a qualifying Nintendo Switch Online account- more on that below} but it’s SO worth it. It’s like a game on it’s own {though not literally, you do need to have the original Animal Crossing: New Horizons to play it} with the amount of content it has!
Read on to find out the top 5 reasons every Animal Crossing: New Horizons fan needs this DLC!
1. Interact with WAY more villagers!
One of the things I have always wanted to be able to do has been interact with more villagers. You can only have ten on your island at any given time, and most of my villagers are lifers- I’ve turned down their requests to move over & over. So with just a couple of spots that I’m willing to rotate villagers in, it really limits my chances to meet and interact with new ones. Even if you are someone who is willing to let your villagers move whenever they ask, that typically only happens once every few weeks and there are over 400 villagers!
With Happy Home Paradise, you can build vacation homes for every single villager in the game. Every day, you’ll find a handful of villagers on the beach of your Happy Home Paradise island, each with their own dream for their new vacation home. You’ll also find some in your facilities when you build those- I invited a diner at my restaurant to build a home yesterday.
While the villagers who appear on your island are random, it’s so fun when you see one you really like pop up! And if you own any Amiibo cards, after building a few vacation homes you’ll unlock the ability to invite villagers via Amiibo so you can make homes for your favorites!
You can also invite additional villagers to visit vacation homes you’ve made if you have Amiibo cards- I made the home above for Pango, and then when it was done, I invited several villagers and even Label over for a girl’s day at the spa!
2. Design facilities without opening up extra accounts!
Over the last 18 months, I have had to resist the urge to create several additional user accounts on my Nintendo Switch. Why? I wanted to use all the fun items I’d collected to make places like a hospital, a restaurant, a school and more. In fact, I’ve visited some pretty awesome Dream Island where people did just that! That’s still the way to go if you want those facilities on your home island, but there’s a new option now!
When you play Happy Home Paradise, you’ll build facilities for your resort guests- and as a bonus, they’ll actually use them! Each facility gets unlocked as you play more and more, and you’ll have the opportunity to assign jobs like teacher and chef to the villagers you’ve made homes for. And you can do it all without cluttering your own island!
3. You’ll unlock new DIY recipes faster- and get new items, too!
Have you noticed that there are SO many new DIY Recipes and Cooking Recipes since the 2.0 update? If you’re a big collector like I am, you’re probably trying to get all of those DIY Recipes. Every day on your Happy Home Paradise island, you’ll find a DIY in a bottle just like on your home island- and most of the time I’ve found new recipes! Be sure to check those beaches every day!
There are also a LOT of new items in the game, and your Happy Home Paradise island has it’s own little shop where you can buy items using Poki, the currency you earn for your work designing homes and facilities. This shop typically has 5 items per day, and they’re mainly the brand NEW items! I know personally my Nook’s Cranny has only had a few new items so far, so I’ve been stocking up at “work”! {They also sell souvenir chocolates, which you can gift to your residents and invite them to build a vacation home!}
4. There is SO MUCH more to do- it adds hundreds of hours of gameplay!
Admittedly, for the last several months my Animal Crossing: New Horizons game play was just minutes a day. I would do my dailies, say hello to my villagers, and that was about it- I had run out of things to do. But between the 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise, I have SO much more to do!
You can make a vacation home for every villager, and you can always go back and remodel it, too. As you play you unlock more abilities and more items, so it’s always worth revisiting homes! With over 400 villagers to create homes for {as well as some NPCs!}, redecorate them, and so much more.
5. Niko!
Niko is adorable. That’s it, that’s the whole reason.
Whether you’re someone who loves designing building, collecting items, or chatting with villagers {or all three!}, Happy Home Paradise is a MUST for any Animal Crossing: New Horizons fan!
How to Buy and Download Happy Home Paradise
You MUST have the full Animal Crossing: New Horizons game in order to use Happy Home Paradise. Once you have that, you have two options for getting the DLC:
–Purchase Happy Home Paradise from the Nintendo eShop for $24.99– visit the eShop on your Nintendo Switch to purchase!
-Get it for FREE with your Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass membership!
This is the newly added, top tier membership that includes Happy Home Paradise as well as a collection of Sega Genesis and N64 games. {Keep in mind you’ll likely want at least the basic Nintendo Switch Online account anyway so you can use the online features of Animal Crossing, like visiting friends’ islands!} In my opinion, it’s well worth the money to upgrade to the expansion pack but you’ll have to make that choice- and if you decide it’s not for you, you can just purchase the DLC outright!
What are you most looking forward to doing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise?
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