Back in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, players could get a new reaction every day from the axolotl, Dr. Shrunk, by giving him fruit at his club. However, in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the good doctor is nowhere to be seen so far, although he might appear in a future update. To get reactions in this game, players need to look much closer to home.
But what are reactions? They're the little emotion animations performed by players and villagers alike. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons there are 44 reactions in total to collect. To use a reaction, players just need to press ZR to pull up the reaction ring and select a reaction to perform.
To unlock these reactions, one of the villagers on the player's island must run up to them wanting to talk to them. It's a general rule of thumb for players to not run away from or ignore any villager actively wanting to talk to them as they will most likely want to share something good with them. After Day 3, these events might be the teaching of the first four reactions: Joy, Delight, Greetings, and Surprise.
After these initial reactions are taught, the order of the rest of the reactions to be received will be completely random. However, players being kind to their neighbors and talking to them on a regular basis will make them more likely to want to run up and talk to players. Reactions received also allow for players to have a new method of interacting with their neighbors and NPCs. By using a reaction near them, they will react in turn.
Once there are too many reactions to fit on the reaction ring, players can pick and choose which reactions they want there. The maximum amount of reactions on the wheel at one time is eight, so players should really prioritize which expressions they like the best. To swap a reaction out of the wheel, select an expression with the X button.
Expressions are also useful for Harvey's Island, Photopia. This island is where Animal Crossing: New Horizons' amiibo functionality lies, as both amiibo figures and amiibo cards for Animal Crossing characters can be scanned in for photo opportunities. To get the characters to pose in certain ways for these photos, players must already know the reaction they want for the character.
Reactions are a very welcomed returning feature in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While obtaining them isn't as consistent as it was in the past, receiving any truly feels like a welcomed gift from players' new neighbors.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.
