As if swimming in Animal Crossing: New Horizons wasn’t enough, the game is getting another free Summer update (Vol.2) on 30 July 2020 which will feature three key new gameplay elements: firework shows, dreaming and an island backup and restoration service for Nintendo Switch Online users. Tom Nook is quaking.
Summer is far from over on your island, as every Sunday in August at 7pm you’ll be able to attend a big fireworks display. On the same night, the shady art-dealer Redd will be hosting his own raffle, in which villagers can trade bells for festive prizes. In addition, fireworks can also be personalised by players through the custom design maker.
Sleeping in Animal Crossing: New Horizons also just got a whole lot more interesting, as there’s now the option to ‘dream’ when you lie down in your bed at home. Doing so will allow you to meet Luna, a mysterious otherworldly villager who offers visits to other islands as a dream, which you can then explore.
If you have Nintendo Online, you can even upload your own island to share with others in their dreams. If you do so, you’ll be granted with a ‘Dream Address’ which players can exchange to visit each other whilst dozing. Any activities you undertake on an island whilst dreaming aren’t permanent – so feel free to chop as many trees as you like.
Cloud saves are a feature that users have been dying to see since the game launched in March (including this writer in my Animal Crossing: New Horizons review). Whilst the new island backup service isn’t exactly that, AC players will be able to recover their save data in case their Nintendo Switch is lost, damaged or stolen.
If you desperately want to play your island across multiple Switch devices (for example, move back and forth between a Switch Lite and the main console), then you won’t be able to do that with this new update. But not all hope is lost, as Nintendo has confirmed that a function to move save data across consoles is being worked on specifically for Animal Crossing and it should be released this year.
But the free updates don’t stop there! Nintendo has also revealed that a third one is on the way in Autumn – which makes us suspect it may also tie into the season. Perhaps something Halloween or Thanksgiving themed? Or those desperately awaited cloud saves? We’re keeping our weeds crossed!
Whilst you wait for the update, you can check out our New Horizons guides for growing money trees, making a tarantula island and mining iron nuggets. You can also discover why games like this are beneficial to anyone suffering with isolation anxiety.
