If you're stuck at home on New Year's Eve due to the ongoing pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is giving you an alternative way to ring in 2021. According to the official Animal Crossing website, starting tonight at 7:00pm you'll be able to take part in a 2020 countdown event.
Jump into New Horizons any time today and you'll be greeted by Isabelle, donning a special New Year outfit. She'll remind you that the festivities begin later tonight, giving you a chance to earn some exclusive rewards and take part in some very limited-time activities.
As of December 27, you've been able to pick up New Year's Eve items from the Nook Shopping app – Sparkling Cider, New Year's Noodles, Berliner, and Twelve-Grape Dish. Now, you're able to get a Light Stick and a New Year's Hat from Isabelle, or a New Year's Silk hat from Tom Nook. Fireworks will go off at exactly midnight – so it's a great video game alternative to the usual New Year show shenanigans on TV.
On New Year's Day, plenty of other content will unlock to help kickstart 2021. Here are some of the items you'll find tomorrow morning:
- 2021 Celebratory Arch
- New Year's Shimekazari
- Olivier Salad
- Yut Nori
- Zodiac Ox Figurine
- Kadomatsu
You'll also have some new dialog options with your fellow islanders, letting you learn more about their New Year's Resolutions and plans for the coming months.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was among the year's most popular games. It couldn't have launched at a better time, either, as it was a welcome reprieve the from constant barrage of bad news throughout 2020. More than a graphical advancement of the series, New Horizons brought crafting mechanics and terraforming to your animal-infested island, giving you total control of nearly every aspect of your town.
Constant seasonal events gave you a reason to return every month, and we're excited to see what the future holds for the ultra-popular franchise.
2020 has been a strange year, but hopefully stay-at-home partiers can have a bit of New Year's Eve fun with New Horizons.