Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t precisely a fresh Mario Maker title, but it will serve as a good placeholder until one comes along.

On January 15, the well-received Switch iteration of the real-time town management franchise will get a $4.99 Switch 2 upgrade for current Switch users. This will coincide with a significant complimentary update for both the Switch 1 and Switch 2 editions of New Horizons. (Refer to our earlier coverage of Animal Crossing’s first update in several years.)

After experiencing a hands-off demonstration of the update from Nintendo, I can assure you everything seems as advertised; the Switch 2 variant provides crisper visuals and improved multiplayer functionalities, while the free update brings a range of enjoyable new activities to your island, such as themed hotel accommodations for visitors.

The highlight feature: the utilization of the Switch 2’s mouse controls, which have not been fully leveraged by most titles on the new console thus far.

The demo I witnessed only briefly showcased mouse controls, yet it turned out to be the most significant aspect of the presentation for me. I’ve been eager for a game to genuinely validate Nintendo’s inclusion of mouse functionality on Switch 2. Metroid Prime 4 came close, but even that feels more comfortable with a controller, in my opinion. Mouse controls have come across as a novelty until this point.

The mouse features in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch 2, as I perceived, operate precisely as you’d anticipate. The clearest application is in interior decoration. You can employ the mouse cursor to drag and drop items throughout rooms as desired, instead of relying on an analog stick.

This permits greater accuracy and efficiency in the decoration process, and it’s a definite enhancement once you witness it in motion.

The mouse isn’t solely for lifting and relocating individual items. You can sweep the cursor over a cluster of objects and shift them all simultaneously. For example, if you wish to relocate an entire living room set (furniture and carpet included), simply drag the mouse over everything, and you can transport them all together.

You can also utilize the mouse controls to create designs for shirts and other items, which could significantly enhance the creative facet of Animal Crossing.

I’m not the most devoted Animal Crossing enthusiast (I halted my gameplay of New Horizons after a week or two), but witnessing this in action made me want to give it another try. The capability to swiftly and intuitively decorate and design with the Switch 2’s mouse could rejuvenate a game that hasn’t experienced substantial feature updates in four years.

More skilled individuals than I will undoubtedly harness it to craft remarkable homes or fashionable shirt designs after years of doing so with controllers.

It’s a minor feature in the grand scheme, but it might turn out to be the most impressive part of the Switch 2 version of Animal Crossing. It also instills hope in me that Nintendo will discover inventive ways to integrate it into future titles. Perhaps in a game where you design your own Mario levels.