Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 10 Things We Learned From Nintendo Direct

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is less than a month away from release, and Nintendo is getting the hype train rolling even faster.

Nintendo recently aired one of their patented Nintendo Directs, focusing solely on this game. It helped consolidate things we already knew, revealed new features for the first time, and confirmed answers to frequently asked questions. For better or for worse…

On the whole, New Horizons is shaping up to be a great game. Its certainly the most unique thus far, as you start life on a deserted island and build your town from the ground up as opposed to just moving in. It brings in new concepts like crafting, and brings an expanded emphasis on outdoor customization. And it appears that the game will evolve into so much more over time.

We combed through the Direct itself and dug up the most interesting nuggets of info, like fossils from the dirt. Read on to see what you’ll need to know when you start your new island life:

Any time you start a new game in Animal Crossing, you move into a randomly generated town. Normally you have no real control over the layout of the area and where buildings are located, but New Horizons aims to give you more choices at the start.

For starters, you’re not restricted to whatever the game decides to give you anymore. You’re given four maps to preview first, allowing you to choose the starting layout of the island you’re travelling to. It may not sound like much, but to fans this must be a godsend.

Another choice you can make is which hemisphere your island is located on. This will affect when the seasons occur in game. Spring and summer in the northern hemisphere will be fall and winter in the southern hemisphere, and vice versa. So there are a lot more options available to you before you even board the plane to your new home.