One of the reasons island life simulator Animal Crossing: New Horizons has retained a consistently high player base since its release in March 2020 is the ability for players to live out their dreams in a tropical paradise. Animal Crossing: New Horizons lets players stay connected with friends around the world despite ongoing travel restrictions, decorate their house to their exact specifications, fill the museum with fish and bugs, and even collect their favorite animal villagers.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons sees players move to a tropical island after encouragement from the tanuki businessman Tom Nook. On the island, players can decorate their house, invite villagers to move in, participate in various festivals and other limited events, and even adjust the layout of the island itself. Players have used the large amount of freedom and options in the game to recreate famous buildings, towns from video games, and scenes from their favorite movies. A recently released DLC, Happy Home Paradise, additionally lets players build and design vacation homes for other characters.
On Reddit, a New Horizons player going by u/ennoire shared the completion of their long-term in-game goal: getting all four octopus villagers to move onto their island. Octopi are the rarest species in the Animal Crossing series, with only five total representatives and only four of those appearing in the latest entry. Octopus villagers include Octavian, a returning character from previous titles, Marina, the only female of the species, Zucker, who resembles the Japanese dish takoyaki, and the smug robot Cephalobot. Cephalobot was created specifically for New Horizons to address the lack of octopus villagers in previous titles.
Not only are octopi extremely rare, but the process of obtaining a specific villager can be a long and frustrating process. Potential residents can be met while visiting islands or ask directly to move in, but their appearance is random. With over four hundred total villagers in the game, it can be weeks or even months before a player sees their favorite eyeing up a patch of undeveloped land. The only way for players to secure a specific villager's appearance is by trading with a friend or purchasing a scannable Amiibo card.
Once villagers have moved onto a player's island, they must be kept happy with regular interactions, their favorite gifts, and fulfilling their often bizarre requests for new home decor items. A villager who is unhappy on a particular island may eventually decide to move out, and convincing them to stay can be difficult. As u/ennoire's Reddit post shows their character and the four octopi enjoying a photography session at the in-game photo studio, it is likely that this Reddit user will have no problem keeping their favorite villagers satisfied enough to remain on their island permanently.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is currently available for the Nintendo Switch.