Animal Crossing isn’t the standard-bearer when it comes to graphics in any given generation. However, the expressiveness of the characters has always been one of the hallmarks of the franchise. Here’s everything you need to know about how to emote in Animal Crossing New Horizons.
Emoting in Animal Crossing New Horizons
Don’t let the NPCs on your island have all the fun by emoting all throughout their conversations with you. If you see one emoting in your general direction, then that’s a surefire sign that it’s time to talk to them. Something magical that will change your life forever is about to happen.
Unlocking Emotes
If you see an animal villager trying to get your attention, then don’t just ignore them. Talk to them right away and they’ll teach you a brand new emote (referred to as Reactions in-game).
Using Emotes
Once you’ve unlocked the ability to emote, you’ll be able to pull up a brand-new menu by pressing the ZR button. This will bring up a wheel that looks like the Tool Ring. This emote wheel lets you choose from eight different assigned emotes.
This wheel will be filled automatically, but it can also be customized to display eight emotes of your choosing. After pulling up the wheel with ZR, you can hit the X button to swap out the currently selected emote with one of the others that your villagers taught you.
If you want to view the full list of your emote options, then just press the Y button while you have the emote wheel pulled up. This will show you every single emote that your neighbors have taught you. They can also be used from this menu in case the eight on the wheel aren’t enough.
Time needed: 5 minutes
Here’s a quick summary of how to emote in Animal Crossing New Horizons:
- Speak to a villager when they try to get your attention.
Sometimes when you walk by one of your fellow islanders, they may emote in your direction. Talk to them when this happens.
- Learn a new emote.
Once you initiate the conversation, it’ll start a sequence where the villager will teach you an emote.
- Use the emote.
Press ZR to pull up the emote (Reactions) wheel. Use the Left Stick and A to perform the emote. A list of all emotes can be pulled up by pressing Y on the wheel screen.
- Customize the wheel.
You can press the X button to choose which emotes will get shortcuts on your emote wheel.
That’s all there is to know about how to emote in Animal Crossing New Horizons. If there’s anything else you want to learn about this game, then just check out our Guide Wiki for more helpful information.
