Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise — Everything you need to know

Some exciting news for Animal Crossing: New Horizon fans dropped during the Oct. 15 Nintendo Direct. The game not only received a huge free update, but the game is also getting its first paid DLC with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise. If the game has gotten a bit stale, this new DLC may be just what you need to jump back into this island paradise. So, what does Happy Home Paradise have to offer players, and will it be worth getting? Here's what we know so far.

What is Happy Home Paradise?

Happy Home Paradise is a paid DLC package for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Players must own a copy of the base game on Nintendo Switch to play this DLC. The Happy Home Paradise DLC has players working as a resort developer to design the perfect vacation homes. Players will fly to "work" via the Dodo Airlines, where they will connect with Lottie's Paradise Planning. From there, you will meet with clients and work together to coordinate dream vacation homes from the inside out.

Happy Home Paradise: What can players do?

This expansion puts your villager to work designing ideal homes for Animal Crossing NPCs. They give you the details, and then you make it happen. It's like if House Hunters and Million Dollar Decorators had a baby, and they were catering to anthropomorphic animals!

Players will meet with each client to get their specific wants and needs, and that's where the fun begins. Select different islands, seasons, times of day, and build your client's ideal home. You'll have control of both the interior and exterior of the home. Furniture and other building materials will be readily available, and you can set to work.

You will be able to use the property like modeling clay to create whatever you desire. Even the lighting and ambient noise can be adjusted. It's a blank canvas for you to make your client happy.

Happy Home Paradise: Building your paradise made easy

If building customized homes for clients wasn't enough, then listen to this perk — quick construction. Yes, you can quickly build and move things around with ease, unlike before! The building tools are made easy, both inside and out. Players can place furniture, change perspectives in the building tool, and more. Plus, you can use the building mode outside the home. This makes building paths, adding trees, and setting up your home a breeze!

What's more, is that you can take these skills with you off the clock! More on that later.

From there, you can build and expand homes in new ways. You can add divider walls, pillars, and paint singular sections of walls for stylish accents. This can help change the structure of these homes. You can also alter the lighting and add soundscapes to really make each home unique. Finally, you can polish your furniture to give it that little extra shine.

Of course, clients aren't just one and done. You can revisit clients and update their living space with new furniture. You can also recommend that they share a vacation home!

Yep! You can use your compatible amiibo and design vacation homes for specific Animal Crossing characters.

Your design prowess isn't limited to client homes. You can help Lottie spruce up the workspace and help design facilities. Clean up the vacant building to make Paradise Planning the place to be by adding schools, restaurants, and more. As they say, if you build it, they will come; with upgraded facilities, NPCs will come by and use the facilities you've fixed up.

What is the Happy Home Network App?

This app can capture your amazing designs and build a portfolio of your work. By clicking on the app via your Nook Phone, you can check on your clients at any time, and then use this to show off your designs with others online. With Nintendo Switch Online, you can share your designs and see what other players are doing too. If you see something you like, you can follow designers and see what they do next.

Happy Home Paradise: Work hard for the money

You aren't just doing all of this work for free. Players will get paid for their efforts in Poki. This currency can be used to purchase rare items that may not be available on your island.

Not only can you get rare furniture, but you can bring home your designer prowess. Add pillars, partition walls, and counters to your home back on your own island getaway. You can also play with the lighting, soundscapes, and polish your furniture.

If you want to get your other villagers interested in building their own vacation home, you can give them souvenirs purchased at the Paradise Planning island. Of course, if your designing skills become legendary, you might be able to remodel your residents' homes, though not all design features will be available (like room size adjustments.)

Happy Home Paradise: What does it cost?

Unlike other Animal Crossing: New Horizons updates, this DLC package must be purchased. You can buy the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise for $24.99 starting on Nov. 5, 2021. Pre-orders begin on Oct. 29.

Here are a few other things to be aware of. First off, you must own Animal Crossing: New Horizons to use this DLC. Also, to access all the modes and functions, you may need a Nintendo Switch Online Membership. Also, the DLC package may not be available in all countries.

If you don't want to drop $25 bucks on the expansion, there's another way to access this DLC. If you upgrade to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. This new membership plan also includes N64 and Sega Genesis games, but it is a bit pricey. An individual membership is $49.99 per year, while a family plan will set you back $79.99.

Happy Home Paradise: The expansion we needed

After such a long wait, this is the expansion pack players were waiting for. What an exciting way to shake up the formula and add something new! Along with everything announced at the direct, there will be plenty more content to come. As we discover more information, we'll be sure to update. Until then, we're just excited about this long-awaited release.