Fans both old and new have been catching bugs, growing trees, and decorating their homes since Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out in 2020. No matter if islands have been restarted, or built into a sprawling metropolis, there are still some Animal Crossing secrets to discover.
There are a lot of new aspects to the game as well as traditional and nostalgic ones from previous titles. Whether a veteran player or a newcomer to the Switch title, there are always little Animal Crossing New Horizons secrets to learn! Here are some that we have found.
Updated March 22, 2022, by Holly Alice: Two years after the release, Animal Crossing remains as popular as ever. 2021 saw a huge update to the game along with an optional DLC where players can design vacation homes for animals, as well as new seasonal items coming out through the months. While a lot of players have explored every nook and cranny in the game, there are still more secrets and hidden items that some have missed in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
20 The 3:33 AM Alien Message
Most people play Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the day. This is only logical, really, but the night is not only filled with different bugs, fish, and calming music but holds some secrets too.
At 3:33 AM on Saturdays, players watching their TV will be confronted with a UFO floating on the screen, interrupting the previous static. The alien comes forward and speaks in the same strange language as the villagers. The picture flicks between this and the UFO, and then at 3:34, it returns to the white noise.
19 Wasps Hate Party Poppers
Listen, even veteran players will run into issues sometimes - such as the tree-dwelling wasps. Those dastardly clouds of insects will drop from trees when least expected, but there is another way to disperse them that doesn't involve swiping them with a net.
So what is this magical defense? Party poppers! The very same that are sold by Nook's Cranny! If a player holds one and shoots it at an incoming swarm, they will be frightened and disperse before getting a chance to sting sensitive players.
18 Gyroids Come With Shelving
The Gyroids were a very welcomed return to the Animal Crossing series, and they had a swish makeover. There are more types of them this time around, and they're customizable with new color palettes.
But that's not all - not only are they placable on top of furniture items, or on the floor, but they can be put on walls as decorative items as they will automatically have a small shelf. Fun fact: they can even slot nicely into standing items to make it look like they're fused together.
17 Good Horoscopes Mean Many Bells
Sometimes Isabelle will tell players that she's been reading her horoscope again. This isn't just idle chitchat - it means that in the game it will be a good luck day.
In past games, this had more sway as to the goings-on of village life, but in New Horizons it can be especially useful to bag a big load of Bells. Specifically, find the glowing spot that allows players to bury a bag of Bells. The more, the better. In a few days, it will blossom into a tree and will triple the amount of Bells buried. On these specific days, try and bury 99,000 Bells - then thank us later!
16 Get The Animal Crossing Switch In-Game
There are quite a few Nintendo Switch items available for characters to decorate with, including different colored Switch Lites, and the original consoles. There is also the special Animal Crossing edition, too.
Some players worked out that there is a way to get it without spending the Bells, which is nice. If players actually have this Switch console, the item will get mailed to them automatically. Or, if the special Joy-Cons are attached to a Switch, this will also work to get the item for free.
15 Fish And Bugs Can Have Different Styled Cages, Or None At All
The large encyclopedia of critters that are catchable in Animal Crossing usually appear in cages, if placed down as an object. However, a lot of players were shocked to find out that was not the case for every bug and fish. In fact, creatures like the snapping turtle and the odd horseshoe crab are placed with no cage at all!
There are actually a lot of bugs and sea creatures with unique cages. Ants live in an ant farm, the goldfish come in a bowl, crickets are in a wooden cage, and butterfly fish have cylinder tanks.
14 Digging Up Entire Trees
Cutting down trees has always been part of the game, but now players can actually, easily, relocate them! All they need to do is eat a lot of fruit (up to 10). This powers up players to be able to do what would be impossible otherwise.
If players eat a lot of fruit and use a shovel on a full-grown tree, they will uproot it and put it in their pocket! This means fruit doesn't need to be planted, and then waited on to see if it grows - trees can easily be removed or placed elsewhere. This also saves a lot of ax durability as players won't need to meticulously chop each and every tree.
13 A Recipe In A Bottle Shows Up Everyday
Every day, be sure to check the shores of the island because there will be a message bottle. Players get one daily and each bottle has a DIY recipe card inside along with a cute little letter from a far-off villager. There is also a bottle on the island added in the Happy Homes Paradise DLC.
It is already a good idea to walk to the shores of the island daily to also see if there's a visit from Gulliver or Gullivarrr. Also, fun fact: While the bottles certainly go with the island theme, message bottles were actually first introduced in Animal Crossing: Wild World.
12 Some Nook Miles Challenges Are Hidden Until They're Achieved
There are Nook Mile achievements for almost everything in the game. More and more cards appear in the menu as players progress and unlock them, but there are some that will never be seen unless the action is already performed. This includes getting bitten by tarantulas or accidentally losing a balloon present in a river, lake, or ocean.
So, be sure to try new things all the time! Don't be afraid to write letters, dig holes, and get bitten by various creatures—scary as that sounds!
11 Rocks Can Be Destroyed
Rocks are more than just a Bell resource in New Horizons. With the crafting mechanics, players can harvest rocks for clay, iron, and more. Or, if the placement of the rock on the island isn't right, it can be broken and will respawn somewhere else.
Just eat a lot of fruit. Once powered up by fruit, use the ax or shovel on the rock, and it will shatter and be destroyed. Players also don't have to worry about where they will get resources from, as a new rock will appear on the island in a couple of days.
10 Current Villagers Affect Villagers Staying At The Campsite
Besides their designs, villagers can have one of eight personalities. These personalities are snooty, jock, lazy, smug, peppy, cranky, normal, and sisterly. The personalities are gender-based too, with boy villagers being smug, jack, cranky, and lazy personality types and girls being peppy, normal, snooty, and sisterly.
If there are all personality types on the island except for a jock, then a lot of jocks are going to show up at the campsite. So if players are missing any personality types among their citizens, be prepared to see a lot of that type come to the campsite.
9 Different Villagers Teach Different Emotes
Want to learn each and every emote? Then it is best to have one villager of each personality type live on the island for a good period of time. Every personality type has different emotes they can teach.
Emotes taught by Normal villagers include Glee, Pleased, Fearful, Sadness, and Daydreaming. Peppy villagers teach Mischief, Happiness, Aggravation, Sleepy, and Curiosity. Snooty villagers teach Love, Amazed, Sighing, Thought, and Intense. Sisterly villagers teach Confident, Laughter, Cold Chill, Apologetic, and Disagreement. Lazy villagers teach Pride, Shyness, Mistaken, Bashfulness, and Sorrow. Jock Villagers teach Flourish, Sneezing, Distress, Shocked, and Encouraging. Cranky villagers teach Agreement, Worry, Inspiration, Sheepishness, and Bewilderment. Lastly, Smug villagers teach Showmanship, Dozing, Heartbreak, Smirking, and Resignation.
8 Using A Toilet Actually Does Something
Toilets have always been an item in the series. Players can sit on it, and it automatically flushes when they get off of it. That was all.
New Horizons decided to make them have an actual function. Say players have eaten a lot of fruit, but do not want to be powered up anymore. Go to the toilet in Animal Crossing! After sitting on it and getting off, the fruit meter goes down. This is convenient if players accidentally ingest any food items, but don't want to worry about digging up or breaking anything.
7 Emoting At Villagers Makes Them Emote Back
After starting a new game, it takes a couple of days for a villager to teach characters their first emotes. Once they're unlocked, they may just be used for pictures and playing with friends, or thanking people while trading on Nookazon. However, emoting at villagers will have them emoting back! It is pretty cute.
Acting out the emotions in front of NPCs also gets a reaction, so go and smile at Isabelle, wave at Harvey, and counter Wisps' shock with some of the character's own!
6 Talk To A Neighbor While Stung To Learn Medicine Recipe
If players get stung by a wasp, their face becomes messed up. They can either wait until the next day for it to disappear or buy some medicine from the store and use it on themselves.
New Horizons has, however, offered a third method that will save a lot of Bells and ugly face time in the long run. Speak to a villager after having been stung, and they will provide a DIY recipe for medicine. It is a very easy one too - it only requires the wasp nest and three weeds.
5 Nook Shopping Has Seasonal Items
Nook Shopping can feel old after the first week or two of playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Once shops are fully upgraded, then Nook Shopping feels even more pointless. However, there is a seasonal tab that changes about once a month with some interesting items that often relate to holidays and other sorts of cultural events.
These items are ones that never appear in the island shops, so they are only available on Nook Shopping! The shop should be checked at least once or twice a month so that the player doesn't miss out on the exclusive items.
4 Days Reset At 5 A.M.
A lot of players are curious about this, so may have looked it up already.
If players time travel by changing the settings on their Nintendo Switch, Animal Crossing will play out in real-time. Every day will have new items in the shops, possibly new neighbors, and more things to do. So, a lot of players get curious as to when the day resets. The answer is 5 A.M. Animal Crossing follows the old saying "The early bird gets the worm." So, pay off the debt at 4 A.M., and homes will be upgraded in the next hour!
3 Stone Axes And Iron Axes Are Very Different
Unless the plan is to deforest the entire island, players will want to invest in a stone ax. Stone Axes will not cut trees down, but they will allow wood to be harvested from them. Iron axes will let players harvest resources too, but will cut the tree down as well. This is also true for rocks. If players want to harvest from rocks, stick with the stone ax. An iron ax will break the stone.
Our advice: always have both kinds of axes on the tool wheel!
2 Certain Bugs Only Show Up On Stumps
Some minimalist or tidy players make the big mistake of not having a single tree stump in their town. It is a mistake to dig them all up because certain insects will only appear on them. So, if players plan on filling up the bug section of the museum, they are going to want a stump to check on every day!
Bugs that spawn on stumps include the Citrus Long-Horned Beetle, Rosalia Batesi Beetle, and the Violin Beetle.
1 Press A To Wish On A Shooting Star
Veteran players will probably already know this secret, given that this is the same action as previous Animal Crossing games. If players feel like watching the sky at night, they might see a shooting star. Be sure to press the A button the moment it flies past!
Pressing A makes the character clasp their hands together and make a wish. Previously, an un-seen NPC named Wishy The Star would send players furniture the next day, but New Horizons gifts the player with a meteor fragment for every star wished on.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available on Nintendo Switch.