Here are all the details from the Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct

Yesterday’s Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct was packed full of information regarding Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Here, we’ve collated all the information in one place. New Horizons is only a month away, and we were eager to see more of what we can expect. The Direct was presented by everyone’s favourite ruthless businessman Tom Nook. In it we got a glimpse of new island life, the basics of homeownership, details about new neighbours, land development, exploration, crafting and much more.

There were whole host of new features showcased yesterday, with many new additions to the series. That means even veterans to the Animal Crossing franchise has new and exciting things to sink their teeth into. Check out the official list of new stuff below:

Life on the Island: Nook Inc. confidently recommends a trip to a remote deserted island. On the island, life is as peaceful and relaxing as it gets. Since the island is deserted, everyone can create a new life from the very beginning. Time flows as naturally as in the real world, including seasons and day and night cycles that mirror real time.

DIY: By collecting specific materials around the island, residents can craft a wide variety of things, including tools and furniture. DIY workshops teach you how to enrich your life by crafting DIY recipes. As you become more familiar with DIY, you can even learn special skills like changing the colour of your DIY furniture or decorating them with custom designs.
NookPhone: Nook Inc. will provide some basic necessities and services, including your very own NookPhone. It has standard apps, like a camera and map, but over time, new applications will be added. The camera can be used to take in-game photos all over the island – even adding fancy filters is possible.

Nook Miles: Players looking for more concrete goals can take advantage of the Nook Mileage program. Fulfilling certain challenges and experiences will earn miles to pay off the cost of the getaway package or, eventually, to exchange for in-game rewards. Rewards range from in-game Nook Inc. merchandise and helpful items that can enrich your time on the island, to tickets usable to visit distant islands.

Party Play: With the Nook Inc. Deserted Island Getaway package, up to eight people can live on one island. In Party Play, residents can call up to three other players to explore the island at the same time. Whoever calls the others will be the Leader, making the others the Followers. It’s easy to change out the Leader, letting others quickly take charge. Any creatures or items found by Followers will be stored in a recycle box at the Resident Services building.

Land Development: While crossing rivers on the island is possible by pole-vaulting and climbing elevated land using ladders, you can also change the landscape by adding bridges and slopes. Once your island is fully decked out, you’ll receive a permit to freely pave your own paths, as well as perform major construction like changing the paths of rivers or building and demolishing cliffs.

Island Tours: These “mystery island tours” are at the whim of the pilot, so players never know where they will end up. Once on these smaller islands, feel free to gather as many items – like DIY materials and creatures – as you want and take them back with you to your island.

NookLink: With NookLink, which is part of the Nintendo Switch Online app, players can scan a Custom Design QR Code pattern from previous games Animal Crossing: New Leaf or Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer with a real-life smartphone and then download them to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. When connected online, it’s also possible to talk with friends who also have Animal Crossing: New Horizons with the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app, using the smartphone as a keyboard or for voice chat. NookLink will launch in March.

But aside from those new additions, there’s plenty of familiar features that will enthrall veterans and newcomers alike. We’ve summarised the biggest features below that you can look forward to on March 20, 2020:

Choose Your Island: Before boarding your flight to the island, you will choose the island from a range of options. Choosing to live in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, for example, will affect the timing of the seasons. When the seasons change on the island, so do the activities. For Northern Hemisphere residents, spring will just be starting when the game launches on 20th March, so residents can expect blooming cherry blossoms to show up soon.

Orientation: After landing on the island, residents will receive a helpful orientation session from the Nook Inc. staff. At this time, you’ll be provided with the tent that’s included with your getaway package. You can chat with other island residents about where you want to set up your new home and help them choose their home locations as well.

Resident Services: The Resident Services facility is available to support daily needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They provide services such as the sale of everyday goods, the purchase of unwanted items and helpful advice.

Become a Home Owner: The tent provided to you by Nook Inc. is great, but have you considered a house? Home loans have no deadlines, interest or assessment, and you can pay your loan back at your own pace. A house offers much more space than a tent and also includes storage space for any extra furniture and baggage. Once you own a home, you can channel your inner interior designer, setting up the walls, flooring and furniture however you like. You can also use extension and remodelling services to expand and customise your home even more.

Customization Deluxe: Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers more customisation options than ever before, from personalising the look of your character all the way down to skin tone, hairstyle and clothing, to placing buildings and items wherever you want on the island. You can even decorate the inside and outside of your home.

Airport: This is the first place you will land on the island. It’s also available to use 24 hours a day, beginning on the day after your arrival. At the airport, you can invite residents of other islands to your own island via the internet or local wireless. You can also travel and visit other islands yourself. Up to eight people can play on a given island at one time**, so feel free to get a good group together and make some fantastic memories.

Island-wide Broadcasts: At the start of each day, Mr. Nook, CEO of Nook Inc., will make a broadcast to all residents, updating them with the latest on important island events and advice about how to best enjoy island living.

Nintendo, via Mr. Nook also confirmed a whole host of additional updates for the future that gamers can look forward to. The first is that as time passes more and more residents will come and stay in your little piece of paradise. You can have a hand in where they set up their tent though and invite future residents yourself, so you’re still in control of your idyllic setting.

Seasonal events will also be coming courtesy of free updates throughout the year. The first free update will be on launch day, 20th March. By installing this update, you can celebrate Bunny Day with a special event in April. As well as this, new facility buildings will also become available, including old favourites like the museum, Nook’s Cranny and a tailor’s shop where you can purchase the latest fashionable designs.

You’ll be able to invite guests to your island and be a tourist in friends’ ones too. When you have visitors they may be able to give you items you don’t have, as well as partake in any current tournaments such as  Fishing Tourneys and Bug-Offs, which will pop up throughout the year.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons will also support Amiibo figures and Amiibo cards from the Animal Crossing series. You can also invite these familiar faces to Photopia, an island that exists in the game, where you can place models in creative photoshoots. Furthermore, if you own either Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile devices and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’ll receive special items in each game. Details of these will be announced at a later date from the Animal Crossing Twitter account.

And let’s not forget the absolutely gorgeous Animal Crossing-themed Switch that will be launching in conjunction with the game. For those still deciding on which Switch to get before Animal Crossing launches, this one is an absolute must!

Phew, that’s a lot of info! If you need any more, then head over to the official website. All that’s left to do is salivate over the box art, and wait for the next month to count down.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches on Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2020.