Six years on from the launch of Animal Crossing New Horizons, we’ve entered a brand new generation of Nintendo hardware with the Switch 2. Instead of launching a brand new title in the series designed for the updated console, Nintendo has instead released an upgrade package that slightly modernises 2020’s game in a few subtle ways.

After spending a few hours playing both the new and original versions of Animal Crossing New Horizons on the Switch 2, it’s a tricky one to recommend for even the most dedicated of players. With most of the exciting new content for 2026 arriving for free, the benefits from the paid upgrade package feel remarkably thin in comparison.

Still, with a relatively small entry fee, there are a select few players that I think the Switch 2 upgrade is for.

When Nintendo has issued paid upgrades for Switch 2 games in the past, they’ve felt pretty substantial. Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom having their frame rates jump to 60fps made them feel almost like completely new games.

Throw in rays of light bursting through tree canopies with the HDR implementation, and the experience of playing those games on Switch 2 feels tangibly different. It certainly made that £7.99 price tag go down a lot smoother.

I mention this because it’s best to keep your expectations in check when considering upgrading to the Switch 2 version of Animal Crossing New Horizons.

In terms of graphical changes, the only major improvement is to the resolution. Handheld mode goes from 720p to 1080p, while docked goes from 1080p to 4K.

Yes, the additional sharpness is noticeable – but not gamechanging. Animal Crossing’s art style is not something that benefits from ultra-sharp realism, so while it’s nice to have, I can’t say it’s something I felt I noticed hugely when swapping from the old version to the new.

While I reckon the Nintendo Switch 2 is more than likely capable of running a game like this at 60fps, the new version is bizarrely stuck at a decidedly last-gen feeling 30fps. If I were to guess, I reckon the game’s engine is likely to blame for this with its time-based gameplay mechanics preventing the frame rate enhancement, but it’s frustrating to see all the same.

The result is a game that feels almost exactly the same to play whether you’re on the old hardware or the new. Unless you put both versions running side by side, I wouldn’t have said it made a huge difference to the gameplay experience.

The other major addition you get with the Switch 2 is a new Megaphone item. This utilises the Switch 2’s microphone, allowing you to call out a villager’s name and summon them to your location in a pinch.

I do like this new addition, as it’s a smart use of the modern hardware’s capabilities. It’s also equally true that this is very much a ‘nice to have’ rather than a necessity. 

I also think the Megaphone is quite antithetical to the vibe of Animal Crossing. There’s a tangible sense of politeness and community that searching for a specific villager brings versus screaming their name into the void to summon them.

The crux of it is, the vast majority of what makes Animal Crossing worth playing in 2026 arrived in the 3.0.0 update – and that’s available for free as part of the original Switch game. 

Kapp’n’s Resort Hotel is a fantastic new way to spend your time decorating rooms to a specific theme. Slumber Island is also a fun time, letting your imagination run wild with unlimited numbers of items you’ve already encountered.

But if you already own a copy of Animal Crossing New Horizons, you own all of that content already.

If anything, I’d say the main reason to consider the upgrade to the Switch 2 version of ACNH is for the benefits to multiplayer. Instead of hosting up to eight players on an island at once, the upgraded version can handle 12.

This is likely to be a big deal for those who use Animal Crossing as a regular place to hang out with friends online. They’ll also likely appreciate the integration with the Switch 2’s GameChat feature, which can display camera footage of each person’s face above their villager for realtime reactions.

So, is it worth upgrading to the Switch 2 version of Animal Crossing New Horizons?

If you regularly play Animal Crossing New Horizons as a multiplayer game and have found frustration with the previous visitor limit, then the entry fee is likely worth springing for.

But if it’s visual upgrades you’re looking forward to most, I think a lot of players are likely to be disappointed. The lack of a frame rate boost, whether it’s for technical reasons or not, results in the game feeling barely different to the version that came before it.

At the same time, the upgrade fee is relatively low, at least compared to what Nintendo is charging for other packages. At £4.19, it’s priced about as high as I’d be willing to pay for an upgrade of this nature.

While the price is low enough that you might forget about it on your bank statement quite quickly, I think you’ll likely also forget about the upgrades you’ve gained in an equally speedy time frame.

Some films become classics almost instantly and stay with audiences for decades. And every so often, a movie earns a reputation so strong that viewers still call it one of the greatest ever made. One particular horror film of that kind is now on Netflix, and fans are urging people to watch it immediately.

The movie has been described as gripping, unforgettable and genuinely frightening. Viewers say the performances are still unmatched more than 30 years after its release. They also insist it sets the standard for psychological horrors.

The reviews speak for themselves. One person said: “The film is a rare contender for the best film of all time.

“It’s most definitely the best horror film ever. The acting from Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster is fantastic but Hopkins steals the show. He is genuinely terrifying and believable.”

Another added: “It’s an absolute masterpiece you cannot miss. It’s a masterwork of suspense that blends the elements of horror, crime and psychology into one tight and smooth story.”

A third wrote: “Just one word for this movie – masterpiece. It’s truly an enthralling film and not one to forget. I’ve seen this film countless times, and it is still riveting each time. A timeless masterpiece of psychological horror.”

The film they are talking about is The Silence of the Lambs, the 1991 psychological horror thriller directed by Jonathan Demme.

It stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee trying to track down a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill.

To catch him, she turns to Dr Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, an imprisoned psychiatrist and cannibalistic murderer. The cast also includes Ted Levine, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald and Kasi Lemmons.

The film was released on February 14, 1991 and became a huge success. It grossed around $273 million (£204 million) worldwide from a budget of just $19 million (£14 million).

It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where Jonathan Demme won Best Director.

At the 64th Academy Awards, it achieved something extremely rare. It won the “Big Five”: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay.

To this day, it remains the only horror film ever to win Best Picture at the Oscars.

The Silence of the Lambs has been repeatedly ranked among the greatest films ever made.

The American Film Institute lists Lecter as the number one film villain of all time, while Clarice Starling ranks among cinema’s greatest heroes.

The film was added to the US National Film Registry in 2011 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

It later launched a franchise, including sequels, prequels and two television series. But the original 1991 film remains the most acclaimed.

The Silence of the Lambs is available to stream on Netflix.

As we trundle through the remainder of January, plenty of us will be starting to feel the pinch as payday remains frustratingly far away. If you’re looking for a way to stretch your budget until the end of the month, it might be worth rooting around in the loft for an old video game console you no longer use.

According to new research from Virgin Media O2, the UK is home to around 49 million consoles that are sitting unused. Valued at £4.14 billion, that’s a lot of cheddar gathering dust.

Sales data from the tech seller indicates that console sales figures rose significantly over Christmas 2025. With households replacing old consoles with newer ones, they’re often relegated to a drawer instead of trading them back in for a bit of money.

However, there’s an easy way to recycle your old gaming hardware. Not only is it better for the planet, but you’ll get paid for your efforts, too.

O2 has a recycling scheme that will take your old consoles in return for cash. It can be found over on O2’s site with a search bar to find the console you want to get rid of.

Of course, modern consoles will fetch the highest prices. Here’s how much you could get for a recent system depending on its quality:

• PlayStation 5: Up to £160
• Nintendo Switch OLED: Up to £92
• Xbox Series X: Up to £110

Older consoles are accepted, but fetch a much smaller price. For example, O2 will only reward you with £8 for a Wii U, or £4 for an Xbox 360.

Still, it’s better than nothing – especially if these consoles are just taking up space in your attic.

Speaking about the O2 Recycling system, chief sustainability officer Dana Haidan said: ““With millions of new consoles taking pride of place in gamers’ homes this January, we know it can be overwhelming for Brits to know what to do with their unwanted gaming gadgets.  

“That’s why O2 Recycle exists – to keep consoles and other tech in use for longer, whether that’s refurbishing and reselling them so they can be enjoyed by other gamers, or by ensuring they’re responsibly recycled when reuse isn’t possible.”

It’s worth noting that other services are available for trading in your own tech. For example, a PlayStation 5 in good condition will fetch £180 in cash at CEX, while the high-street trader will give you £108 for a Switch OLED in its original packaging.

However, prices at these stores often depend on the condition of the item you’re trading in. A pristine console that’s been well looked after will fetch a much higher price than one that’s taken a beating.

As such, I’d advise gamers to shop around for the best price for their unused tech. Selling on your old hardware remains a great way to stretch your January budget a little further, though – especially if Chrismtas saw a brand new console replace your old one.