Animal Crossing: New Horizons Hefty Free Update Lacks Several Key Features

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of those games that holds a special place in many people's hearts, allowing us to while away the hours tending to our cozy little island without a care in the world.

After nearly 6 years since the game initially launched in March 2020 (a cursed year, for SOME reason), fans were shocked when the free 3,0 update was announced, seemingly out of nowhere.

This new free update is set to launch on 15 January, and adds some much needed quality-of-life features and additional areas of excitement for the existing player base.

Specifically, the update is set to add a new facility in the resort hotel, within which you'll be able to decorate the individual rooms for guests and welcome tourists to your island for the first time, who are keen to explore everything that you've created.

You'll also be able to start afresh on Slumber Island, terraforming and building upon the new location with friends and family, as long as you have an active Nintendo Switch Online membership.

It's a genuinely encouraging update with plenty to get into, but some fans think that there's still a lot more the developer needs to do to address major issues with the game.

Fans Share Their Developer Requests for Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Nintendo

Over on Twitter/X, one fan shared an extensive list of things that they would like to see implemented in Animal Crossing: New Horizons moving forward, with none of the requests covered in the scope of the pending update.

Those include everything from a path to indestructible tools to top down terraforming, similarly to the camera angle we use when sorting out our own houses in the game.

The comments were quick to agree with the OP, as they highlighted the areas they feel need addressing most urgently.

“Villager dialogue is a huge one, my villagers have been stuck saying the same thing for 3 years,” one comment read.

“Big agreement on all except for island size expansion and seamless online connectivity. But I also don't disagree with them. I just don't bother about these myself lol,” another added.

A third just wants an entirely new release, saying, "Yup. There’s a lot missing from Horizons I hope to see in the next game. I was actually pretty disappointed to see they’re updating this one as opposed to releasing a new game sooner.”

Remember - there were 7 years and 4 months between Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so we probably won't be getting a new game any time soon.

If you're returning to your Animal Crossing island after years, keep scrolling to find a few things you can pick up for free.