Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ big 3.0 update is finally here, which means that Switch owners everywhere are running to explore their new Resort Hotels. Players can host a rotating cast of visitors and decorate guest rooms, much like they would in the Happy Home Paradise DLC. Manned by Kapp’n and his turtle family, the Resort is an opportunity to meet and interact with villagers who may not be permanent residents on your island. And though we’re just a few hours into the update, most fans are reporting one thing: They’re being greeted by Lazy guests.
That’s not a dig at the quality of characters people are encountering in the new update. ‘Lazy’ refers to a villager’s personality type. There are eight major personalities in Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Snooty, Peppy, Cranky, Jock, Smug, Sisterly, Normal, and of course, Lazy. Personalities are never outwardly mentioned by the game, but they more or less describe the way a villager will behave. Jocks, the most common personality archetype, refer to male villagers who will mostly speak to you about making gains and going to the gym. Cranky villagers, on the other hand, are irritable agents of chaos who might upset other residents and are generally harder to befriend. Beyond influencing the tone or subject of conversations, personalities also dictate how villagers behave on your island. Snooty villagers, for instance, appear to have abnormal circadian rhythms and can be expected to sleep at 2:30am and wake up at 8am.
Lazy villagers tend to be male characters with a jovial sense of humor, and they get along with pretty much everyone. They’re so chill, they’re the only personality type who won’t freak out if they find a cockroach in your house. There are a total of 63 Lazy villagers in New Horizons out of a possible 412 characters, including fan favorites like Bob the purple cat and Lucky the mummy dog.
Lazy isn’t the most common villager paradigm, but you wouldn’t know that from what New Horizons players are reporting about the new update. Across social media sites like Reddit and X and Animal Crossing communities like Bell Tree Forums, nearly everyone I’ve seen thus far claims that the first guest at their Resort is someone of the lethargic persuasion. In fact, I’ve yet to see anyone name something other than a Lazy villager at their hotel, but it’s probably too early to say if that’s the only thing the game can generate. Whatever type you get, though, every guest will be able to roam your island and explore locations like the museum and Nook’s Cranny.
The good news is that there are plenty of great Lazy characters who anyone would be happy to host on their island. But just as there are popular characters who are widely celebrated — who can forget the phenomenon that was Raymond the cat? — there are also villagers who are more likely to elicit groans than cheers. Historically, according to fan polls and personal tier lists, gorillas rank low enough to be considered one of the least desirable villager species. Al, the crimson-wearing fitness gorilla who is perplexingly considered a ‘Lazy’ villager, thus tends to be received with a sigh. He’s not the only character people are disappointed to find, though.
But if the possibility of getting the wrong guest bothers you, do know that New Horizons allows you to import guests via Amiibo cards. Plus, you don’t have to like a hotel guest in order to decorate their rooms and earn tickets for the cool new items. If you’re as deranged as I was back in 2013, you might even use your dislike as inspiration for putting together the worst rooms possible for the subject of your inexplicable hatred. We all know that Animal Crossing’s rubrics for grading decorations tend to be more vibes-based than anything.
