Animal Crossing: New Horizons reveals new animal looks and hotly anticipated sleeves

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The new Animal Crossing Switch game is getting ever closer, and so far we've seen lots of teasers about how we'll be able to claim our own deserted islands, but not so much about who we'll get to share them with. The other half of Animal Crossing beyond building up your own customized home is making friends with lots of animals, and we now have a fresh look at many of them - and their bold fashion choices - thanks to a new preview in a Japanese magazine.

(Image credit: Nintendo Dream)

Nintendo Dream (via Japanese Nintendo) published a new spread that re-introduces 33 of our beloved animal friends in their new, extra-slick looks for New Horizons. Each animal type now has an even more distinct silhouette than they did in New Leaf; you can appreciate how much taller and beefier an alligator like Alfonso is than Hamlet, the diminutive hamster.

The magazine spread also confirms that animals will be able to enjoy more fashion options. In previous games, your animal neighbors would only wear sleeveless clothes - even if you gave them one of your own garments, their arms would remain intractably bare. Now animals can enjoy the comfort and warmth of sleeves whenever they darn well please. Just look at Fang on the lower right there, feeling sexy as hell in his new Christmas sweater.

Making yourself, your home, and your friends look good is some of the most fun you can have in any given Animal Crossing game, so I am fully on board with this new, sleeved future. We can start turning our deserted islands into the premiere fashion festivals of the world when New Horizons arrives on March 20.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is easily one of our most-anticipated upcoming Switch games

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.