If players want to have K.K. Slider visit their town (thus unlocking terraforming in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch), they’ll need an island with a 3 star town rating or higher.
You’ll be able to check your island’s rating once your Resident Services tent gets upgraded to a building. To do this, just talk to Isabelle and select “Let’s talk island evals.” She’ll give you the star rating, repeat some feedback given from an anonymous character, and then explain what you need to do in order to improve your island.
At a 1 star rating, she’ll just tell you that your island needs more guests living on it. You’ll need to talk to Tom Nook and lay out more housing plots if you don’t already have 10 plots total on your island.
Each plot costs 10,000 Bells, but you’ll get Nook Miles in the mail every time a new villager moves in. Once you get more villagers living on your island, you’ll get a 2 star rating. It won’t require a full 10 villagers, so just keep checking back with Isabelle whenever a new one moves in to see if you’ve made it to 2 stars.
Once you’re at 2 stars, Isabelle will give you advice on how to increase your star rating further. Possible objectives include:
- Plant more trees
- Plant more flowers and make them bloom
- Decorate your town with more furniture items
- Build more fences in your town
- Build more inclines and bridges
- Build more facilities (like the museum or the tailor’s shop)
You can go overboard with some of these. For example, if you have too many trees growing on your island, Isabelle will let you know that it’s time to chop some down.
Keep checking back with Isabelle as you make changes to the island. Her evaluations can change in the same day, so if you see her stop suggesting a certain objective, it means you’ve reached the requirements and can move on to something else.
Once you hit 3 stars, Isabelle and Nook will let you know that K.K. Slider is on his way for a concert and will arrive the following day. After he performs and the credits roll, you’ll unlock the ability to terraform your island. Finally!
