Animal Crossing: The First Big Expansion is Going To Pull Everyone Back in

Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched in March 2020 to rave reviews, with players sinking hundreds of hours into the game as they sought an escape from lockdown and now it is finally getting it’s first expansion. A year and a half on, and the player base has dwindled significantly. Many have grown bored of the current content, having completed almost every aspect of the game. That is all about to change with the newly announced DLC Happy Home Paradise.

The Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct boasted several updates to the game that longtime fans of the franchise have pleaded for since its release. Missing characters such as Brewster will have his hip cafe, The Roost, finally open on November 5. Happy Home Paradise also sees the return of Lottie, the home designing otter, as she guides players on this new journey. The new DLC is exactly what players have been begging for as they’ve completed every aspect of the base game. A lack of substantial updates has been one of the main criticisms of Nintendo’s post-release support. With this update being so big, it kind of justifies that lack of content thus far.

Indeed, the expansion looks to be so big that it doesn’t really feel like an expansion at all. It feels more like a sequel to the much-loved Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for 3DS. $25 will grant players with a totally new Animal Crossing experience for the Switch. Designing has always been a big part of the Animal Crossing franchise and although New Horizons greatly improved the logistics of designing, Happy Home Paradise takes this further. New freedoms are granted to players when it comes to adjusting the size of houses on a whim, moving around fully grown trees, and even making changes to lighting, music, and wall partitions.

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This new DLC promises control over the Animal Crossing world that has never been seen before. Want to thank hard-working Isabelle and create an over-the-top vacation home for her? Go for it. Not only are these new design features going to be available in the expansion, but players are also going to be able to take the new techniques they learn and apply them directly to their own island. Animal Crossing devotees who may have sunk hundreds of hours perfecting their islands in New Horizon will no doubt want to start again from scratch and be rushing to start Happy Home Paradise. The new expansion is bound to launch Animal Crossing back into the cultural zeitgeist as players flood back into the game.