Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains one of our favorite games to play during the lockdown, but it's no surprise that players are looking for new things to do in the game. Fortunately, Nintendo is well aware of this and implemented a recent update that added Leif, Redd, and much-needed museum expansion. It's safe to assume that Nintendo is likely to add more content updates in the future.
With a host of well-loved characters still missing from Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it's possible that we might still see them added in future updates. Here we take a look at five things that the game needs to have added or fixed with DLC, and five things we hope don't ruin the game.
10 Fix: Inventory
Something fans are desperate for is more inventory space, not just for their character but the storage space within their houses too. For the fashion-conscious players, your storage can quickly fill with all of your clothing. Despite getting more storage space when you upgrade your house, Nintendo has clearly underestimated how many items of clothing any one person can own.
Another helpful change when it comes to storage would be a storage box for mystery islands, much like the storage boxes for islands from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It would mean that players could bring back more items from their visits to other islands.
9 Ruin: More Nerfs
One thing fans really hope Nintendo stops doing is nerfing certain aspects of the game. A recent update nerfed the spawn rate of high-value bugs, as well as reducing the interest rate on bank savings. This makes it harder for players to make a profit by selling their bugs, especially at the increased sale rate if they sold to Flick.
For now, the spawn rates of fish have been left untouched and so players can still farm fish and sell to C.J. at an increased rate. Let's just hope Nintendo leaves it that way.
8 Fix: Customizable Museum Galleries
It always seems a shame when a franchise adds a new feature to one of its games but then fails to retain that feature in sequels. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, players were able to create their own museum exhibit room where they could showcase their favorite items. Not only was this a great way to show off your stuff to friends, but it freed up some storage space too.
In New Horizons, the museum has already had one expansion from an update, so it seems likely we might get another. Let's just hope it's the custom museum exhibit rooms.
7 Ruin: Gyroids
Gyroids are technically in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but not in the way fans hoped. Lloid is a gyroid that appears when you begin a construction project to take donations on your behalf. In previous Animal Crossing games, gyroids were musical furnishings that appeared in the ground after it had been raining.
It would be great if New Horizons added gyroids back in as furnishings, but let's hope they keep to tradition and leave them as items to dig up after the rain, rather than items that you have to craft.
6 Fix: Deep Sea Diving
Another feature that the franchise added in a previous title, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, but then inexplicably removed from New Horizons was sea diving. This feature added a new collection of sea creatures for players to collect and mixed up the usual gameplay by allowing you to go into the sea and swim.
The downside was that you needed a wetsuit, which was yet another inventory slot that you had to give up, but overall it was worthwhile as it was a fun little pastime. Hopefully, Nintendo will add this feature to New Horizons in a future update.
5 Ruin: Time Travel Restrictions
Time-traveling in Animal Crossing is a hot topic for players, with some being for it, and some being very against the idea. The fact is, this is how some people choose to play and enjoy the game, but they won't be able to continue to do so if Nintendo implements any more restrictions.
A new feature to New Horizons is that seasonal events are locked via updates, meaning you can't just time travel to December to access the Christmas event. If Nintendo furthers this by locking seasonal changes such as cherry blossoms, spring bamboo, or even seasonal fish and bugs, it could severely impact the game for many players.
4 Fix: NPC Characters
There are many NPC characters that are currently unaccounted for when it comes to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, while some have been added in recently, such as Leif, Redd, and Rover, there are noticeably many more still missing.
Though the original roles of some of these characters have become obsolete due to new game features, such as reactions being taught by residents rather than Dr. Shrunk, the NPCs could still be added in other ways. Much like how Rover appeared for May Day, whereas he used to be the NPC that determined your character's appearance based on questions in the opening train journey in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
3 Ruin: Lacklustre Events
One of the great things about New Horizons is that we keep getting new events to keep us occupied; the downside is that the events so far have been far from perfect. First, we had the Easter event that nearly drowned us in eggs, then we had the May Day event that was very anti-climatic. The only decent thing about the May Day event was the inclusion of fan-favorite NPC Rover.
It would definitely ruin the game a bit if the caliber of events didn't improve at some point, but we know from experience that Nintendo does listen to fan feedback as it nerfed the egg rate for the Easter event after fans complained.
2 Fix: Mystery Islands
While the mystery islands you can visit via plane are great, there's definitely a Kapp'n shaped hole in New Horizons that could easily be filled with a new update. This could tie in at least one old favorite NPC, sea diving, as well as offering something new for players to do.
Maybe it'll take some time, but it would be completely believable that Kapp'n could set up shop on your desert island with his boat day trips. It would fit in perfectly with the idea of New Horizons being an island getaway and perhaps Nintendo could also add that you could visit islands of the opposite hemisphere as an added treat.
1 Ruin: Paid Content
After Nintendo decided to mix things up from the norm with paid DLC for Pokémon Sword and Shield, we have to wonder whether it'll take the same measures with Animal Crossing: New Horizons. With the majority of people under lockdown enjoying the calm quiet of their island life in New Horizons, it would certainly be a good way for Nintendo to make more money.
On the flip side, it won't sit well with fans if a franchise that only ever had free updates decides to start charging for additional content. If Nintendo wants to make a few extra bells, it should release some New Horizons amiibo cards.