A recent software patch has brought some awesome new features to the world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The updates, as taken from the Nintendo website, are as follows.
General Updates
- Players can now wear a wet suit and go diving in the ocean.
- Players can now catch sea creatures while diving, which they can then donate to the museum.
- Players can now encounter new visiting characters somewhere on the island.
- Nook Miles can now be traded for new items.
- New seasonal items have been added to the Nook Shopping catalog, available for a limited time only.
Fixed the Following Issues:
- The names of several fish have been fixed in Korean and Simplified Chinese.
- Addressed issues to further ensure an enjoyable gaming experience.
Since the release of the game, I’ve been through phases of either near-constant play or going weeks without touching it – the evidence being the enormous growth of weeds plaguing an island that was spotless last time I visited – but the update prompted me to load up the game for the first time in a while to check it out.
There is a lot to unpack with this update, but by far, the most exciting addition is the ability to don a wet suit and take to the previously inaccessible ocean.
To dive, you first have to purchase a wet suit for 3,000 bells from the Nook’s Cranny, which works in a similar way to the construction hat. Once wearing the wet suit, as long as you don’t have anything in your hands, the ability to jump into the water becomes available by pressing A. Players are rewarded with a snorkel just for downloading the update – this is purely cosmetic, but it allows you to look the part as you explore your island’s waters.
New species of underwater life have been added to the game, and a whole new section has been added to the Critterpedia for underwater creatures from seaweed and sea stars to octopuses and eels. Bubbles and a corresponding shadow identify these underwater creatures, which you can then press Y to dive and catch. Much like with insects, fish, fossils and artwork, Blathers is ecstatic to take any new finds off your hands.
Certain sea creatures, like crabs and lobsters, aren’t confined to tanks or containers when you place them on land, so if you feel like hanging out with a giant Spider Crab (a thing of nightmares according to many Twitter users), you can do that.
Most people seem happy with these updates, but some have expressed concerns that this new feature may allow visitors to swim around fenced-off areas and cause mischief, though this is only really an issue if you’re allowing strangers onto your Island.
As for the rest of the updates, they’re all pretty self-explanatory. Nothing extravagant and no doubt lost beneath the hype of the swimming update, but small additions and fixes that add to the overall enjoyment of the game.
Version 1.3.0 was released on July 3rd, 2020.
