By now, your island should be looking pretty spiffy unless you’ve just jumped into the game but despite the title being out for over a month now, some are still wondering why they haven’t gotten that coveted 5-star rating in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. For those still striving for that gold, here’s what you need to do to gain that perfect star rating. 

How to Get a 5-Star Rating In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

First things first, you’re going to need to have terraforming unlocked for the game. If you’re not sure if you have that ability available yet, check out our guide here to make sure you’re all caught up. Once you have that after a 3-star rating was achieved, it’s time to shoot for the stars – the five stars – so players can unlock the glorious golden watering can. 

If you’re not sure where your island currently stands, you’re going to want to mosey on over to Isabelle over at the Resident Services building to check in. She’ll tell you your current island rating while offering visitor feedback to provide the next step of making that island a true resort of perfection. 

We’ve compiled what we did in order to get the 5-Star rating but it is important to remember that the furnishing numbers can alter depending on the size and scope of some structures seen on the island. That, and you’re going to want to get very familiar with making sure there is not a weed in sight. Keep it clean, keep it fresh! 

You’re also going to want to make sure you have the maximum amount of villagers on your island as well. In order to make sure you have everything you need on that front, you can check out our guide here for how to become the hostess with the mostest. Oh, and shops! Don’t forget your shops! Make sure to upgrade those and get every shop you can possibly think of. Luckily, we’ve got a guide for that too. 

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For those that are inpatient and don’t want to wait for the flowers to come to fruition, you can also take at Nook Ticket to the airport and visit a mystery island to acquire trees and flowers alike. You can have fully formed plantlife in your inventory and plant them wherever you want at your home island. 

We also recommend keeping in constant contact with Isabelle because she can make sure that you are on pace for those island furnishings. If it looks like an area is lacking, she will tell you so with helpful tips and villager feedback. 

And there you have it! That’s how you can get a 5-star rating in Animal Crossing: New Horizons! In addition to some of our other great guides bulleted above, you can also check out our Game Hub here that has almost 200 guides regarding special tips and tricks for taking on Animal Crossing: New Horizons! You can also holler at us and follow us on Twitter @PrimaGames and tell us what you think about the latest building adventure!