Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo's new light-hearted community-management sim, has recently reached its first month since release. Using the Animal Crossing: New Horizons's real time system, that means that players who started on launch day have been growing their island village for over thirty in-game days now.
The Animal Crossing series is known for its steady progression and layers of gameplay, with new elements being introduced piecemeal as specific conditions are met. New Horizons is no exception, though it is focusing more on updates to introduce new features, rather than having them all built in on day one.
The latest of these additions, and the largest for the new title so far, is called the Earth Day update, or New Horizons 1.2. First announced during a Nintendo Direct on March 26th, the update adds a pair of new characters that each bring new game-play features with them, as well as a variety of smaller additions. To help players both old and new to know what to look out for in the new update, here's our complete breakdown of everything included.
Leif the Gardener
The first returning character to find their way to player's islands in the Earth Day update is Leif, a green-thumbed Sloth with a flair for flora. A new travelling vendor in New Horizons, Leif will appear randomly in the Resident Services Plaza after it's been upgraded to a full building. In honor of Nature Day, Leif will visit the island more frequently between April 23rd and May 4th.
Leif made his first appearance in the Animal Crossing series in 2012's New Leaf, where he ran a shop called the Gardening Store, providing seeds, fertilizer, and house plants. Leif no longer has a whole store in New Horizons, but his inventory is much the same, focusing on seeds and the new shrubs added in 1.2.
As a bonafide gardener, Leif's wares are unique, and the seeds he sells can't be bought at Nook's Cranny. He also offers to buy weeds from the player for 20 Bells each, which is twice as much as they fetch anywhere else. It's unknown what Nook thinks about this competition, but at least players can be sure of what they'll get when they plant one of Leif's seeds, something that can't be said for 1.2's other new arrival.
Jolly Redd's Treasure Trawler
Leif isn't the only returning character in the 1.2 patch, nor is he the longest series veteran. Redd, a dealer in dubious artworks, has also been re-introduced, along with his new boat, Jolly Redd's Treasure Trawler.
A crafty and sarcastic fox, Redd has been around since the very first Animal Crossing game, and has maintained the same role in the community all the way through. Specifically, Redd sells rare items for well over their normal price. He has also been known to engage in dubious practices like charging players to enter his shop, or requiring them to be invited by another villager.
As Animal Crossing's premier black-marketeer (or Redd-marketeer), Redd has sold a lot of different items over the course of the series. It was only in 2012's New Leaf that he began to specialize in works of art, a role he continues into New Horizons. Players should be a little wary however, as many of Redd's artworks are forgeries, and the crafty fox isn't above telling a few white lies to make a sale.
Art Gallery
While it's possible to display Redd's dubious artworks anywhere on the island, Blathers the Curator is also interested in them. Talking to Blathers after installing the update will cause him to comment that he'd like to open a new wing in his museum, entirely dedicated to artworks.
Currently the only way to help Blathers to fill out this wing is by buying art directly from Redd, so players who want to do so will need to keep a close eye out for the treasure trawling fox.
The art gallery wing of Blathers' museum is a staple of the Animal Crossing series, having been around since the very first title. In fact, many players were surprised to find that the gallery wasn't a feature at the release of New Horizons, as it has been in many other games.
Small Changes and What's Missing
The Earth Day update also included a variety of smaller changes which players should be aware of. The first of these is a reduction of the interest rates at the ABD Bank, which has been introduction to counter time-travelling interest scamming. In compensation for the reduction, the bank has provided all players with a free Bell Bag Rug, by way of apology.
The new rug can also now be purchased with Nook Miles, as well as the Nook Inc. shirts that Isabelle, Timmy, Tommy wear. In addition, players who download the update will receive a World Map from Nintendo along with a letter of thanks for downloading. Finally, Switches have been renamed Light Switches, presumably to avoid confusion with the console itself.
All in all, the Earth Day update has brought more changes to New Horizon than any patch so far. However, there are still popular characters and mechanics from previous games that fans are anxious to see in the new title. Some hints have already been dropped that these features are on the way, as villagers have been heard mentioning Brewster the coffee-shop owner. As for others like Swimming and Diving, Gyroids and Club LOL, only time will tell if they've made the cut.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out now for Nintendo Switch.
