None of us could have predicted it — well, okay, one of us could — but Happy Home Designer, the spin-off 3DS game that trimmed Animal Crossing down to just the home decor mechanic, has effectively been added to Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Named "Happy Home Paradise", this paid DLC is basically a spin-off of a spin-off, which adds a ton of new content, mechanics, and characters to the game, alongside the Version 2.0 free update (if you want to know what's included in that, check out our round-up!).
Here's everything included in the DLC...
The Basics
Happy Home Paradise is a bolt-on to the main game that has you working in a resort that provides vacation homes to presumably loaded customers. The villagers will have specific requests — much like Happy Home Designer, they'll have furniture they want to include in the design, or perhaps a general theme they'd like to see — but it's largely up to you, the designer, to be creative.
Also like Happy Home Designer, there are a bunch of different plots to place the vacation homes on, ranging from sunny beaches, to autumnal mountain ranges, to snowy forests. You can change the season, too!
As you play, you'll unlock more design options, which can in turn be used back home. Villagers on your island might even request your services for their houses, too...
Importantly, if you buy the DLC through the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, and then you later cancel the subscription for any reason, you won't lose access to the new furniture, partition walls, lighting, soundscapes, and counters. You won't be able to visit the archipelago any more, though, but re-subscribing or purchasing the DLC separately will grant you access again.
Here are the brass tacks for you:
- Pre-orders for the DLC begin on October 29th
- The release date is the 5th November, same as the free update
- The DLC alone will cost $24.99 / €24,99 / £22.49
- The DLC will be included with the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, which also gives you access to N64 and Mega Drive (Genesis) games, and costs $49.99 / €39,99 / £34.99 for a year, or $79.99 / €69,99 / £59.99 for the Family Pass
- You'll be able to access the Happy Home Paradise content via the airport, by telling Orville you "want to go to work"
- It's completely optional!
New Content
Happy Home Paradise is centred around creating beautiful, lightly-themed vacation homes for characters who are looking for something specific. To that end, there's a ton of new stuff to discover:
New Characters
Wendell the Walrus seems to have a distant cousin: Wardell the Manatee, who appears to run the shop inside the Happy Home Paradise HQ. He's adorable, and we love him.
There's also Niko, the tiny, cute monkey who's wearing the HHP uniform, so we assume he's helping Lottie out, too.
Design Outdoor Spaces
Much like Happy Home Designer, HHP will let you decorate the gardens of your clients. You can put pretty much any furniture outside, and fence in a little front yard, too.
Design Facilities
Again, like Happy Home Designer (sorry, we're going to be saying that a lot), you can design facilities: Schools, theatres, restaurants, and more, which will actually come to life as your villagers do various jobs within them — presumably dictated by the items you add to the rooms. How cool is that?
Change Weather, Season, and Time of Day
Your house looks cute, but it would look cuter in Spring, don't you think? Or maybe a nice Summer sunset? Your wish is Happy Home Paradise's command, since you can change the time of day and the season to best show off your handiwork.
Embiggen Rooms
You can change the size of your clients' houses (within reason) to suit your grand designs. You'd think they'd all want the biggest house, but no. Sometimes small is cute!
Partition Walls, Counters, and Pillars
This one will make some of you weak at the knees: Partition walls can be added to divide up large rooms into mini-rooms; counter height can be changed; and pillars are entirely aesthetic, but break up the room a little bit in interesting visual ways.
Light Levels and Soundscapes
If it's more of a ~vibe~ you're going for with a design, try lowering the light level, making it a little softer and warmer, and setting up some ambient sound.
Polishing
This one's a bit weird, admittedly. You can "polish" pretty much every piece of furniture, which will sometimes give it an extra effect. The trailer showed off furniture sparkling, and butterflies flying around certain things, like plants.
Earn and Spend Poki
You'll get paid for your home decor work in Poki, which can be spent only at the Happy Home shop. Seems a bit like scrip to us, honestly — but the furniture you can buy with Poki is "rare", so we can probably overlook it this one time. We just really hope Wardell and Lottie aren't in league to be exploitative bosses.
Take The New Content Home With You
Once you've remodelled enough homes, you'll be able to take all that furniture and new stuff back to your island, where you can use it on your homes, and even...
Remodel Your Island's Villager Homes
...other people's homes. Once you're a renowned designer, your villagers might finally realise that they have awful taste, and look to you for help. GOOD.
Series 5 amiibo Cards
Series 5 will add 48 new amiibo cards, including... new villagers! And some returning ones that we haven't seen in a while, or who were previously only in the Japanese Animal Crossing games (in bold). Let's list them:
- Sasha (Bunny)
- Ione (Squirrel)
- Tiansheng (Monkey)
- Shino (Antelope)
- Marlo (Hamster)
- Petri (Mouse)
- Cephalobot (Robot/Octopus)
- Quinn (Eagle)
- Chabwick (Penguin)
- Zoe (Anteater)
- Ace (Bird)
- Rio (Ostrich)
- Frett (Dog)
- Azalea (Rhino)
- Roswell (Alligator)
- Faith (Koala)
So, there it is! The first Animal Crossing: New Horizons Paid DLC. Quite a lot of content for just $25 — but perhaps not what everyone was hoping for! Let us know your thoughts in the usual place.
This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bugs, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of critters leaving at the end of the month (unless you visit Kapp'n's Boat Tour islands, of course!).
We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.
If it's new content you're looking for help with, we can help you find gyroids, unlock Brewster's café, use the new Pro Camera App for selfies, enact new ordinances, get the beloved Froggy Chair, and even learn How to Cook.
And finally, Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch, if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game, and How To Buy The Happy Home Paradise DLC, too!
Comments 51
i finished both roundups and now i am going to nap forever
This DLC is basically the entirety of Happy Home Designer crammed into an existing game. It's well worth the asking price.
I think this is one of the most expensive pieces of DLC Nintendo has ever done (not THE most expensive, mind you). I do find it too pricey. But I'm also just not really sold on the new content being added, and even if this was free I'd still not be sure if I'd really jump back in.
Not that I think it should've been free of course, but like, 15 bucks tops. That would've been fair. I don't think this DLC is really worth 25. I feel like Nintendo is getting really greedy as of late. And people keep swallowing it, and thus they keep asking for more and more. Being a Nintendo fan in general is starting to feel like a premium service.
I do like some of the stuff they showed though. Being able to design villager homes is certainly nice. Just not 25 dollar nice.
I'll get the dlc later in December not in any rush to get it there's more then enough free content to hold me over
Do I need constant access to Nintendo Switch Online if I purchase the Happy Home Paradise DLC outright on its own?
@Alundra-1998 you don't need a Switch Online membership to buy stuff from the eShop
If I could step out of my brain, yes, it's probably too pricy, but I cannot step out of my brain, so I will pay whatever they ask without question. Animal Crossing is my drug of choice. I'm just happy the game is finally being given the attention it deserves, though I'm sad most of my friends have moved on and I won't get to enjoy this with them. A year ago would have been ideal.
@CharlieGirl When watching the reveal i joked about it being Happy Home Designer HD, at least it's not a standalone 60 dollar port
@CodyMKW I mean to access the area in the game after I have bought it or is it permanently in my game?
@Alundra-1998 if you just purchase the Happy Home Paradise DLC outright on its own then you should have access to it forever even without Switch Online
@CodyMKW Much appreciated. Thank you for your help.
But why does it look so bad
Definitely getting this. I really enjoyed Happy Home Designer.
It’s basically an entire game in itself! I found happy home designer so calming and chill definitely will be getting this one
@Yosher this is basically a new game, so an animal crossing game for that price is worth it
I put over 400 hours in New Leaf, over 500 in New Horizons. I didnt get HHD because it wasn't quite what I wanted. But i think I am getting this. It just looks so good, plus the option of bringing stuff back to my island!
I think Nintendo did it right here: a sizeable free DLC, and a paid DLC that provides even more. Yes, it would've been great if it came out a year ago, but as I look at all this content, and how it connects with the existing game, i must give the developers credit. It all looks so good!
Where’s the pigeon ?!
HHD in NH nice
@PushMyGran1986 To me Happy Home Designer felt like a demo for something that should've been in a main game. Now it's coming to a main game and we get to pay nearly half the price of the full game for it. Not worth it, in my opinion. But if you think it's worth it, by all means go for it.
@Yosher Honestly I don't see it. This new content offers what is esentially an entirely new island (sure, it's made of mini islands but in the end it's way more space) whith many new features to design in ways that there will be a lot more freedom than there's already in the game. Compared to other DLCs like Smash Bros characters, which people usually seem to think are fair priced, I find this one much superior and adding a lot more time to keep playing.
I think that if it really was the way that you see it, more than just 1% of people would feel that way, but just look at the like bar and dislike bar on Youtube. Even users that gave many valid points here previously to dislike or be disappointed with the game seem to be happy with both the free and paid DLC. Don't get me wrong, you are free to feel however you want, but there must be a reason why this is getting an almost universal positive reception from what I see and 25 dollars is actually quite cheap for someone like me, who almost always buys games on strong sales and stuff.
Even if Home Designer felt like a demo like you said, this is a bigger version of that game and cheaper than when that came out on 3DS.
they could have made this into a stand alone retail game but made it into a cheaper DLC pack which I'm am very pleased with
@roy130390 All fair points but it's simply how I feel. I can't help that unfortunately. I'm glad the majority is happy but that's not me. Maybe my price standards are just out of whack or something.
I want to see Boxing gym like on HHD and i will decide who will be the Animal Boxers. 😁
It looks better than the 3DS game, also I'm getting NSO Expansion Pack so I'll get this as well.
everything about this Update and the DLC is just perfect.
The part at the end about being able to take your skills and furniture home with you and then be able to design villagers houses in your own village has me stupidly excited
@Yosher It's barely more expensive than most other Nintendo DLCs and offers more content than some that are more expensive. Definitely a good deal in my book.
@Yosher Nah, it's definitely valid to feel that way, thanks for the polite discussion.
@KIRO
Brewster ?
@KBuckley27 Yup, I'm super happy that they took it and implemented it in NH. That's the best-case-scenario, if you ask me. NH really needed this.
@KateGray First thing I thought when I read the summary of the Direct was just wow, Kate is going to be super happy!
Dread, Superstars, Happy Home Paradise, Switch Online Expansion Pack. RIP my wallet.
If you get the dlc through online expansion pack do you lose the dlc if you dont renew the expansion pack next year?
Wow... what a cash grab. Even my partner who loves animal crossing said this looks bad.
It was not clear to me based on the info in the direct, but will the designed facilities be one of the new things you can "bring back to your island" with you? I see so many people making little cafes on their island and I can't stand the look of them because they're outdoor. But if I can put a cafe building down somewhere and design the interior, then I'm all for it!
I am buying it outright. I have enough to play to want the premium NSO. I will just the regular access and get the $50 sub later if they add more content later….
@rockodoodle im going to wait as well on the $50 sub as well see how it pllays out but im pretty sure it they ll add more stuff to it down the road.
Meh. The expansion price spoiled any interest in anymore Animal Crossing.
I think Animal Crossing has the design aspect on lock. I think more improvements in NPC development would be beneficial such as behavior/personality.
I also think Animal Crossing could benefit from having a little drama, conflict, or real world problems. For instance maybe introduced campaigning contest, where you compete against a NPC for public office.
Or weatherproof your home or island for stormy season by gathering supplies.
Maybe implement a scavenger hunt or race in a giant wild area in the game with caves and other natural areas. Maybe players have to prepack for the trip and survive in a short minigame.
Most importantly it needs to mimic things like Fortnite events or maybe smash's weekly sticker themes . Nintendo could do a f- zero or Pokemon theme event.
For me I plan on getting the expansion pack once Banjo is out. Maybe see what other games are out and maximise my 1 year of it. (This was before knowing about ACNH) so in my calculations this DLC is free for me knowing I was getting the expansion and i'm good to not have it longer than a year, as I will be onto other games anyway at that point.
Too little, too late.
@KateGray
What is scrip?
This is less than I paid for the original HHD and I loved that game, so I’m pretty happy with this announcement. And that it’s actually part of the main game this time so I can bring stuff I buy back to my main island is even better.
I love that they've brought back some more of the older villagers.
I remember looking at Roswells design a while back (he was a Japan only character) and thought it looked really cool.
Overall it seems like they're making some very big additions to the game.
Pretty good update but I doubt I’ll play it much, there’s just too much on the horizon and I already have sank a lot into this game. My fun in animal crossing comes more from collecting for the museum and I’ve completed that. I would love some dlc down the road with some new collectibles like capturing photo of migratory birds, locating constellations, or a botanical garden expansion in the museum.
I never knew Happy Home Designer had been a thing. Usually I'm up on most Nintendo news but that one completely missed me.
@Spider-Kev it's a currency that you can only use in the company shop. Imagine if Starbucks only paid their workers in Starbucks gift cards — it's a predatory business practice because it keeps the workers trapped in the company's ecosystem, and it's hard to get out!
@KateGray
So, you shortened the term conscription...
Got it.
If I purchase the dlc outright, do all user accounts on my switch get access to it?
@Anti-Matter that’s the critter! I actually bothered to read the whole thing and am glad he’s returning.
My sister and I have to duke it out over who’s buying HHP for Mom as a Christmas gift (she bought Mom the Switch Lite while my other sister and I bought the game).
A bunch of friends and I share the Family NSO subscription and we’re upgrading, so I’ll have it. 😊
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