Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise DLC released on November 3 with 16 new villagers joining the game. While eight of them were brand new additions that were welcomed to the franchise in New Horizons, eight more of them returned from previous games such as the original Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube and the Japanese-only game, Dōbutsu no Mori e+.
Nintendo has stated that the 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise DLC will be Animal Crossing’s last major update, so it’s likely that these 16 villagers will be the last to join the game. They were met with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, and villager hunting became a popular activity for players once again as they cleared space on their islands in hopes of recruiting one of the new additions. While many of these villagers have become must-haves on a lot of players’ islands, the Happy Home Paradise DLC also allows players to build vacation homes for them. If players are unable to find a specific villager to recruit for their island, there’s still a chance that they’ll show up on the Happy Home Archipelago with dreams of a vacation home of their own.
Animal Crossing players are quick to pick personal favorites and rank villagers in tier lists, and some of the villagers added in this update became some of the game’s most popular to date. Shino and Sasha both soared to the top of the charts, even past famously popular villagers like Raymond and Marshall. However, while some of these new villagers quickly stood out and became some of the most-traded villagers on sites like Nookazon, others failed to generate the same amount of excitement. Competition is fierce when villagers are pitted against galaxy-themed squirrels and robot octopuses like Ione and Cephalobot, and many of the villagers that returned from previous games were happily greeted with nostalgia by some players rather than a rush of popularity from the fan-base as a whole.
None of the new additions to Animal Crossing 2.0 were unfortunate enough to fall into the ranks of ugly villagers, so it’s unlikely that players will be pushing any of them into pitfalls or hitting them with nets if they do show up on the island. Still, among the 16 new villagers, there are some that likely won’t be enjoying the glory of becoming a fan-favorite. These are the worst of the bunch that were added to Animal Crossing in its final major update.
Animal Crossing’s Worst New Villagers: Frett
Returning from Dōbutsu no Mori e+, Frett failed to capture the hearts of fans when he was announced for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. His wide-set eyes and dad-like apparel may have given some hope that he would have a more friendly demeanor, but his cranky personality type makes him hard to get along with for many players. While other dog villagers have enjoyed lots of popularity among the game’s fans, Frett fails to keep up, but he’s at least able to avoid joining some other dogs who have earned the dreaded ugly villager status.
Zoe: Animal Crossing’s Worst New Villagers
Anteater villagers rarely rank among the game’s best, and Zoe is unfortunately no exception. Her first appearance was in the original Animal Crossing, but she didn’t appear in the franchise again after Dōbutsu no Mori e+. While her blue color sets her apart from some other anteaters in the game, there isn’t much else that makes her particularly special. Her normal personality type makes her a bit dull compared to the other villagers that were added in 2.0, and it’s unlikely that players will be going out of their way to go villager hunting for her.
Another Terrible New ACNH Villagers Is Ace
Ace is a bird villager, first appearing in the original Animal Crossing as well as Dōbutsu no Mori e+. While he’s made a commitment to fitness since his return, going from being a lazy type to a jock in New Horizons, this rosy-cheeked blue bird is unlikely to be a must-have for most players.
His design is pretty lackluster, especially standing next to Animal Crossing's new additions like Shino and Ione. Jock is also the most common personality type in the franchise, so players probably aren’t in need of another on their island.
Azalea Is Part of The Worst New Villagers Group As Well
Azalea is another of the game’s new additions that was previously only in Dōbutsu no Mori e+. This rhino villager’s snooty personality type makes her difficult to befriend and, while her design isn’t necessarily bad, there isn’t much that’s unique about her aside from the flower on her head. Although she’s one of the better rhino villagers in the game right now, rhinos aren’t particularly popular aside from the fan-favorite Merengue, and Azalea’s neutral status puts her in the lower ranks of the new villagers added in Animal Crossing 2.0.
Animal Crossing’s Worst Penguin Is Chabwick
Joining the rest of the penguin villagers in New Horizons, Chabwick made his return to the franchise after his debut in Dōbutsu no Mori e+. His personality type is lazy, and he’s the only penguin with a belly button peeking out beneath his shirt, which is pretty peculiar considering he’s a bird. While Chabwick isn’t a bad villager to get, he’s among the more bland-looking new additions to the game, even compared to other returning villagers like Faith and Rio. His red headphones are cute, though, and his pleasant face is enough to prevent him from falling into the ranks of ugly villagers.
Animal Crossing’s Worst New Villagers: Roswell
Originally appearing in Dōbutsu no Mori e+, Roswell has not done well in terms of popularity after his introduction to New Horizons. With the exception of unique villagers like Drago, alligator villagers aren’t among the game’s most popular types, and Roswell does nothing to change that. His design was not a hit with players as most aren’t a fan of his brown and white circular markings and horizontal pupils. Roswell’s previous lazy personality type was updated to smug, and fans may feel that his self-centered attitude is undeserved. Among the 16 villagers added to Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2.0, Roswell unfortunately sinks to the lower ranks of the tier lists.