Yesterday, Nintendo held its third Direct presentation for 2021, giving fans much-needed updates on new and upcoming games on the Nintendo Switch. Luckily for Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans, Nintendo finally confirmed the return of Brewster in the game, who will be setting up shop in Blathers' Museum.
According to Nintendo, more will be revealed about the upcoming update to Animal Crossing: New Horizons in another Direct presentation this coming October. Although it is still a mystery what else is in store for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it is expected that the upcoming update will be massive, especially since the game is getting its own Direct presentation.
A Better Multiplayer Mechanic
One of the best features included in Animal Crossing: New Horizons at launch is multiplayer, allowing players to visit each other's islands. Additionally, multiplayer in Animal Crossing: New Horizons enables players to start a roaring turnip trade and take advantage of higher prices offered by Daisy Mae.
However, one of the most significant downsides of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' multiplayer component is that it isn't a seamless experience. Whenever someone enters or leaves the island, everyone is forced to stop what they're doing and wait for whoever is on the way in or out of the island. Multiplayer in New Horizons should offer a more seamless experience when visiting and leaving players' islands, rather than forcing every player to wait.
Allow Players To Visit and Explore Cities
Given that the central premise of Animal Crossing: New Horizons puts players in a village on a remote island, it is easy for players to feel lonely or isolated. While the mystery islands offer a change in the usual surroundings players are in, it would be nice to have a permanent location available that can be visited to explore and shop. The city could also include some characters from previous Animal Crossing games that are not present in New Horizons, such as Mayor Tortimer, Mr. Resetti, and Kapp'n.
One major update that Nintendo could introduce in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is city exploration. Veteran Animal Crossing fans would know that city exploration is a major feature in Animal Crossing: City Folk, allowing players to take a break from their quaint village and enjoy a night on the town. Similarly, Nintendo could integrate this feature into Animal Crossing: New Horizons, alongside new shops and city activities for players to engage in.
Integrate Happy Home Designer
Another prominent feature from a previous Animal Crossing game that Nintendo should integrate into New Horizons is a more in-depth house decorating mechanic similar to that in Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. For the uninitiated, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a spin-off game that allows players to open up a design shop and customize other villagers' homes.
Given the vast customization and crafting options available in New Horizons, integrating Happy Home Designer would be a welcome update that should improve the gameplay and add a new activity for players to take part in. In addition, the Happy Home Designer feature should also be integrated into the Happy Home Academy mechanic that ranks the player's design skills and rewards them if players meet their standards.
In the end, it remains to be seen what the upcoming update will bring to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. However, given that Nintendo is making the effort of hosting a separate Direct presentation for New Horizons in October, it is likely that the forthcoming update will be a major one. Of course, the return of Brewster in New Horizons could just be the beginning of more content updates headed to the game, especially now that it has been nearly two years since its release and many players are probably running out of things to do.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out now for Nintendo Switch.