There’s really no such thing as ‘completing’Animal Crossing: New Horizons.Part of the appeal of the game is that players can potentially put hundreds and thousands of hours into their Switch and still have more to do as the game expands and develops, and they change around their island.
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But the closest thing to a point of completion is whenK.K. Slidermakes his arrival. Tom Nook finally stops giving you tasks when Slider shows up to perform his concert, which will only happen after your island reaches three stars. The credits finally roll, and the game is sprawled out in front of you, ready for you to do whatever you like rather than have to run around after Tom Nook.
What next?
Updated February 10th, 2021 by Meg Pelliccio:Even after players have worked hard to ensure that their island is good enough for K.K. Slider to visit, there’s still plenty to do and keep them busy in everyday island life.
New Horizons is coming up to its first birthday and Nintendo has treated players to plenty of content updates throughout the past year, with permanent as well as seasonal updates to enjoy. Check out these 15 different things that players can work on after K.K. has performed on their island.
15Take Part in Seasonal Events
New Horizonslikes to celebrate plenty of holidays throughout the calendar year, whether they’re based on big holidays like Christmas — with the island hosting “Toy Day” instead – or smaller holidays that celebrate the changing of the season. With so much going on month in and month out, there’s always something new for players to try out and do.
Taking part in seasonal events is a great way to keep island life interesting, as well as adding to your collection of DIY recipes and furnishings since most events incorporate new crafting recipes or items as rewards.
14Get To Five Stars
K.K. Slider visits your island once it reaches a three-star rating, but you can actuallyget up to a five-star rating! It’s time to start working your space up to that coveted rating.
Talk to Isabella at Resident Services to find out what your island is missing. Place items around that are a combination of bought and made using DIY services, put up plenty of fencing, and plant as many flowers as you can. A five-star island can take time because it requires so much attention to detail.
13Finish Your Fossil Collection
Don’t abandon Blathers! Keep looking for those fossils. Five fossil dig spots will appear on the island every day, even after K.K. Slider plays, and others can also be found by traveling to mystery islands using Nook Miles Tickets.
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If players want to get really efficient, they can organize fossil swaps on their island where people can drop off fossils they have multiple of and pick up fossils they need. That’s a faster way to finish the collection.
12Collect All Bugs & Fish
It’s going to take a while to collect all bugs and fish, which means there’s plenty of hours of play to get out of the game. Certain bugs and fish are only available during certain seasons, which means you’re going to have to wait a while to get all of them (unless you time travel, of course).
Each month, the availability of the fish and bugs change, encouraging fans to keep playing all year round for completion’s sake. Additionally,some bugs and fish are a lot rarer than others, so it can take some hard work to get them all.
11Complete Your Sea Creature Collection
Though bugs and fish were present since the launch ofNew Horizons, sea creatures obtained via ocean swimming and diving weren’t added until a later update. Fans were delighted to have this feature back, as it debuted inNew Leaf but wasn’t included inNew Horizonsat launch.
This new category of collectible means there’s even more exhibits in the museum for players to fill, prompting them to collect each and every creature to keep their museum looking perfect.
10Upgrade Your House Fully
The house upgrades are something that many people prioritize when they start playing, and others leave their house to the side and only really finish it after the rest of the island is complete. What you prioritize is up to you but essentially, players can keep taking out loans for their house to expand the size of it, with more rooms and floors being added.
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When a house is fully upgraded, it consists of six rooms over three floors, allowing players plenty of space to do whatever they want anddecorate however they want.
9Finalize Your Villagers
Some players may never finalize theirfriendly animal villagers, but it’s worth trying! Villagers can eventually move out if they’re feeling neglected or fancy a change, and when the island only has a maximum of ten spaces, there are often villagers who are welcomed more in favor of others.
If players have an active space, they can hunt through mystery islands using Nook Miles Tickets and invite the animals they meet back to the island. Additionally, they can keep an eye on who visits their campsite or use amiibo cards to invite new villagers and force out old villagers.
8Get Your Favorite Villager’s Photoframe Item
Villagers are able to gift players with a special memento of their shared friendship — a photo of themselves. These adorable little furnishing items can be hung on the walls or displayed atop furniture.
These items are hard to source, even more so than in earlierAnimal Crossingtitles. Players must have a really high friendship level with the villager, most easily done by gifting them rare or exotic items in wrapping paper daily. Even then, the chance of them gifting players a photo in return is low.
7Play With Friends
Keep the game fresh by visiting your friends!New Horizonsis a very social game, but it doesn’t just have to be with virtual animals, but real people too. It’s fun to introduce them to your island and see what they’ve done with theirs.
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It can also be beneficial by exchanging invitations every time someone has a meteor shower, good turnip prices, or something else on their island that might benefit others. Sharing is caring!
6Collect all DIY Recipes
New Horizonsadded a new collectible for players to obsess over calledDIY recipes. These little cards can be a hot commodity depending on whether they are rare or a highly-sought-after recipe, and they’re also great at encouraging players to get together to swap doubles.
As most seasonal events tend to add new DIY recipe cards, this is a seemingly-endless task that will keep players busy for the foreseeable. Collecting different DIYs and customizing them in various ways is also a nice way of crafting special gifts for friends.
