331 days after I wrote “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” Is Definitely Worth Your Time”, the game developers over at Nintendo decided to take it a step further and release a downloadable content (DLC) pack for the game called “Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise”, which includes a whole separate experience of decorating villagers’ vacation homes as part of a business.

The DLC was officially released in November 2021, but I didn’t get my hands on it until a few weeks ago and it’s definitely just as exciting, if not more, than the game itself.

Once again, I give this franchise a five out of five paws. The characters remain lifelike, the tasks are still rewarding, and nearly everything about this game pack is customizable.

With an experience similar to a past game called “Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer”, “Happy Home Paradise” allows the player to design vacation homes for anthropomorphic animals on behalf of a newly formed company called Paradise Planning.

The team comprises of you, the player, Niko, the outgoing boat-driving monkey, Wardell, the shy and innovative manatee, and Lottie, the otter leading the entire project.

After downloading the DLC and loading up the game, the player gets called to Dodo Airlines, where Tom Nook and Lottie are waiting for them to explain the newly forming Paradise Planning company and request the help of the player, unlocking a new option for when they talk to Orville to tell him “I want to go to work”.

After arriving on this new island, the player talks to Lottie, chooses their company uniform, and decorates their first house.

Each house and facility that the player builds is rewarded with Poki, a new in-game currency that can only be spent on items sold on the island where Paradise Planning is housed. The player is also occasionally rewarded with promotions and raises, just like a real job!

After already building several houses, and all of the available facilities, I can already tell this game has me in a chokehold…

As a person who’s typically apprehensive about spending money on downloadable content, I found this experience worthwhile and enjoyed every second of it. So, go play it already!