Animal Crossing New Horizons allows players to express themselves through creativity. The game allows players to change almost every aspect of their characters at any point in the game from facial features, hair style, skin color, and clothing. And expressing yourself through appearance is one thing, but Animal Crossing New Horizons allows players to express themselves through reactions as well.
This is not a new addition to the Animal Crossing franchise. Players have been taught emotions by villagers for a few games now, and that same system carries over to Animal Crossing New Horizons. With over 40 reactions players can perform there is a lot of learning to do from villagers, and a lot of emotions to show. This guide will teach players how to unlock the use of reactions and how to learn more reactions quickly.
How to Unlock Reactions on Animal Crossing New Horizons
The only way to unlock reactions is by interacting with villagers. However, the player is not the one who can initiate the conversation. On occasion, villagers will see the player and an exclamation icon will appear over the villager’s head. This indicates that the villager has something they want to share with you whether it be a reaction or a gift they want to give to you. Either way, it is always worth talking to a villager who wants to talk to you.
It is random whether or not the villager will teach the player a reaction or not, but this is the only way reactions can be unlocked. This is also how the function to use reactions is unlocked. A villager will wish to speak to the player and teach them how to use reactions. Upon unlocking the use of reactions, players will automatically unlock four emotes they can use right away. These are pretty basic being “Joy”, “Greeting”, “Shock”, and “Cheer”.
As the player interacts with more villagers they will unlock more and more reactions which they can then add to their reaction wheel and use on command. A great way to speed up this process is by running around the island and making a point of passing by villagers. If they react, great! If not, go find another one to run by.
When a villager wants to teach you a new reaction they will tell you that they think it is time that you learned a new one, followed by whatever reaction they want to teach you. This is also random so it is never guaranteed which reaction the player is going to learn next.
Animal Crossing New Horizons is available on the Nintendo Switch.
