Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans are no strangers to the multitude of furniture and customization options offered by the series. Many of these items come with subtle hidden features, and with all the new content thrown at players this summer, some of the latest additions may have gone by unnoticed.
This summer delightfully consisted of a nonstop series of updates to AC: New Horizons, which introduced players to not only new creatures and items, but new features altogether. With all the ongoing additions to the game, some of the smaller nuances can easily get lost, but fear not: here are some neat touches that may have been missed this summer.
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The Horseshoe Crab has been lurking in island waters since the introduction of diving to AC: New Horizons. Although the quirky critter is worth a decent amount of bells, the sea creature really shines when players place it on their islands. The Horseshoe Crab is actually able to be placed like a Snapping Turtle, which is to say, they will appear as free-roaming creatures, rather than in a tank. This is already noteworthy in and of itself, but if a player goes further and interacts with a Horseshoe Crab, they will discover that the critters enjoy flipping over onto their backs.
The Vampire Squid makes the cut for being another interesting sea creature to place. Although the spooky squids will still appear in a tank, they at least take advantage of the sci-fi style cylindrical tanks used for rarities like the Barreleye. What’s more, if placed (or caught, or shown off) at night, players will discover one of the scary squid’s secrets: they glow. Act quickly though; Vampire Squids are scuttling away after August.
Giant Isopods are an interesting addition in that they offer a sort of middle ground between the Vampire Squid and the Snapping Turtle/Horseshoe Crab in their uniqueness. The sea creature, when placed, appears in a container. However, rather than a fish tank, the Giant Isopod takes shelter in a a large, deep, tray. Not only is the “tank” unique, but also the Giant Isopod rests on its edge, cutely peeking out over the edge.
Seaweed is here for being simple and functional. Although Seaweed may feel like another useless version of Sea Grapes, or Sea Stars, they do place on the map in a unique way. Seaweed functions much like the in-game pile of green leaves, or pile of cherry blossom petals. The weeds appear in a tangled mess on whichever tile they’re left on, and will react to being stepped on.
The runner-ups to the list are undeniably Pearls, the Pirate Beard, and all things Mermaid. In other words, basically everything introduced by Pascal the philosophical sea otter. While the introduction of sea creatures had obvious perks, like offering new creatures for the museum, players were quick to discover hidden bonuses, like the scallop-loving Pascal. In exchange for a scallop, Pascal will sometimes appear and leave the player with a unique random present. Although he may not always give an amazing prize, he’ll occasionally gift players a DIY for lovely pearlescent Mermaid-themed gear, or a scaly mermaid princess dress.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now on Switch.
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