10 Best Games Like Animal Crossing That You Should Know Update 04/2024

Games Like Animal Crossing

New Horizons, Nintendo’s most recent addition to the Animal Crossing franchise, is presently the second best-selling Switch game of all time, after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. As a respite from the pressures of daily life, it was and still is the ideal setting.

However, Nintendo has indicated that its newest 2.0 patch for New Horizons will be the final big update, and a new Animal Crossing game is likely to be a long time in the making.

In spite of the bad news, there are plenty of alternative Animal Crossing-style games available to play in the meantime.

Here are ten games like Animal Crossing to play when you just want to relax and unwind.

10. Garden Paws

Garden Paws

Garden Paws has a lot in common with Animal Crossing, both in terms of gameplay and visuals. What your grandparents left you is an opportunity to construct a town that can fulfill its greatest potential.

You can play as a horse, a dog, a cat, a person, and even a dragon in this game. Like in Animal Crossing, the world is full with anthropomorphic characters to befriend, but unlike in Animal Crossing, you can’t use a net to harm those you don’t like.

While you’re getting to know the people of the town, you can also take part in a slew of other activities to keep yourself active and earn money for town improvements. It is possible to breed animals, cultivate crops and mines, fish and hunt for treasure, manage your business, engage in seasonal events, manufacture furniture, and so on.

Expanding the settlement will lead to the discovery of more residents, artifacts, and missions. A wide range of customizing choices are available to you, allowing you to unleash your imagination.

There are many similarities between Garden Paws and Animal Crossing, as well as a more leisurely pace.

9. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is another game with a laid-back, serene ambiance. It’s time to retire to your grandfather’s ancient farm in Pelican Town after giving up your dreary office job.

You’ll need to put in a lot of work to turn the farm into a booming business because it’s overgrown and lacking in structures. Similar to the Animal Crossing series, the town’s inhabitants have distinct personalities and backstories that players may discover and interact with.

For example, you can cultivate animals and crops as well as fish and gather resources and participate in seasonal festivities. You can also cook and create romantic connections. Stardew Valley has a straightforward tale that you can follow at your own speed, despite the fact that it is by no means plot-centric.

The community center, once the heart and soul of the town, is now in a condition of decay. By giving particular things or by purchasing a membership to Jojo Corporation, you may help restore it to its former grandeur.

It’s easy to go with option two, but you’re siding with the firm that’s driving local businesses out of business.

8. Hokko Life

Hokko Life

Hokko Life’s serene, homey vibes and Animal Crossing-like formula make it a perfect fit for gamers looking for a new town to develop.

In Hokko, Japan, you arrive after falling asleep on the train and missing your stop. You can modify your hairdo, eyes, skin tone, and hair color in the game.

The game’s housing town design possibilities, on the other hand, are just stunning in their simplicity. Your villagers’ homes can be styled in whatever way you like to create the town of your dreams. It’s up to you to make Hokko a delightful and enjoyable place to call home.

Bugs can be caught, fish can be fished and residents talked to as your town is being planned and developed, and crops may be grown and resources mined. Hokko Life is as close to Animal Crossing as you can get, except there are no greedy tanukis rinsing your pockets dry.

7. My Time At Portia

Like Animal Crossing, My Time at Portia features basic but engaging gameplay and a bright, cheery ambiance. While Portia may appear to be a peaceful place, its terrible secrets will be revealed to you as the story progresses.

You take on the role of a builder tasked with completing various tasks and enhancing the community as a whole. Crafting is your primary source of income in the beginning, but you’ll soon be able to cultivate crops, raise animals, fish, collect relics, mine, and even take on some baddies for valuable loot if you choose.

Combat is required to move the plot forward, but it can be avoided entirely on a normal day if you choose to spend your time doing other things and getting to know the town’s citizens better.

When it comes to characters in My Time At Portia, you can’t go wrong with any one of them. You’ll be able to go on ‘playdates’ or ‘dates’ with them as your friendship or romantic relationship with them improves, which includes going out to dinner, stargazing, and chatting on the beach.

6. Alchemy Story

Alchemy Story

The story of Alchemy Story centers on a young apprentice alchemist faced with the monumental responsibility of removing a horrible curse from a community that has turned the residents into animals. Set things right with the help of a Professor, who will assist you in doing so.

It’s likely that Animal Crossing fans will enjoy the game’s friendly environment and casual gameplay, as well as the game’s adorable aesthetics. Making potions, which can be sold or utilized to aid you with quests and daily duties, is a major focus of Alchemy Story.

You can raise sheep, cows, and chickens on your farm, in addition to brewing and elixir-making. In exchange for your confidence, you’ll receive rare materials for potions and tasks.

You can also fish, mine, forage, and socialize with the town’s citizens while taking care of your garden and other household chores. The inhabitants will be able to return to human form once you’ve eased the curse on the village, allowing you to begin courtship and marriage with the one you love.

5. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

Animal Crossing fans seeking for a light-hearted game to unwind with should check out Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, which features magnificent visuals and peaceful open-world adventure.

Play as an unnamed hero who sets out to find mysterious creatures called Sprites on an idyllic island called Yonder in Gemea. To rid the land of an evil force that has enshrouded everything in a black, gloomy material will be possible with their help.

As battle and death are absent from the game, you are free to roam around and accomplish objectives at your own pace. Eight biomes, ranging from sandy beaches to spectacular snowy mountain ranges, are available for exploration, as well as a wide variety of activities.

While exploring Yonder, you can tame wild animals, meet the locals, accomplish quests, manage a farm, go fishing or mining, and learn a variety of craft skills to help you along the way.

Yonder is a game about discovery and exploration, and that, along with the game’s serene atmosphere and soothing soundtrack, makes it a fantastic experience.

4. Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer is an oddly joyful and soothing journey for a game in which you act as a ferry master to the dead. Take on the role of Stella, the newest member of the Order of the Spiritfarer, who is tasked with transporting the souls of those who have passed away to the hereafter.

In order to convey the departed, you must rely on a boat, which you can customize and develop to fit their specific transportation need. Along with operating your vessel and tending to the spirits of your crew, you’ll also have plenty of time to engage in other activities like cooking, fishing, mining, harvesting, and gardening.

Spiritfarer places a high value on exploration, and the game’s many islands provide enough opportunity to do so. If you don’t have the capacity to pass a section, it will be blocked until you do.

While on your adventure, you’ll come across a wide array of spirits, from a food-loving frog to a flirtatious lion, and it’s your job to appease their every want.

Your relationship with each spirit will become more intimate and personal as time goes on. Delivering the departed to the next world is a task that will never become any less difficult for you.

3. Ooblets

Animal Crossing meets Pokémon in Ooblets, allowing you to collect charming creatures, explore bright environments, and get to know the unique residents of Oob..

The ooblets, as the name implies, are a bizarre species of little creatures who enjoy dancing. If you want to compete with other trainers, you’ll have to compete with them in card-based dance battles to raise their level.

In addition to dance-offs, there are quests, farming, and managing your home. Unlike Animal Crossing, you can customize your character and home, but it’s not nearly as extensive.

Farmers tend to plants and crops, which are used for both money and in some missions. Your ooblets will be able to assist you with farming and crop care after you build oobcoops.

If you’re searching for something a little more cheery and lighthearted, Ooblets is the game for you.

2. Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

Story of Seasons Pioneers of Olive Town

If you’re an Animal Crossing lover, you should definitely check out Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, the most recent addition to the series.

Its cartoony art style, addicting gameplay loop, and pleasant feelings will feel right at home to any Animal Crossing fan. You relocate to a remote community to work on your grandfather’s rundown farm, as you’d expect from a farming sim.

In order to keep Olive Town’s residents happy, the town needs a major facelift. The burden of reviving your community and running your farm is all on your shoulders because no one else is.

This new installment in the Story of Seasons series has a greater emphasis on creating than its predecessors. (most likely influenced by Stardew Valley). There is also more land to explore, making for a more rewarding experience.

Story of Season and other agricultural sims have a typical gameplay loop: raising animals, cultivating crops and fishing with friends are all part of the experience. Despite the fact that the game’s formula is nearly same, it doesn’t detract from its appeal or the amount of time it takes up.

1. The Sims 4

Animal Crossing and The Sims 4 have a lot in common, even if The Sims 4 doesn’t have any anthropomorphic neighbors. There are so many personalization options in The Sims 4 that if you enjoyed designing your town and home in New Horizons, you’ll be amazed.

When you utilize the Build Mode and Design a Sim with mods, you’ll be able to create houses and people from your imagination or reproduce those from your favorite movies, TV series, games, etc.

As long as you give your sims a chance to make their own decisions, you’ll be free to live out your fantasies via them, but they won’t be able to do the same without your permission. If you want to make your Sims’ lives as miserable as possible, you don’t have to worry about their basic necessities (such as food, hygiene, and social interaction).

The Sims 4 has a dizzying array of add-ons and downloadable content (DLC), allowing you to customize your Sims’ looks, activities, furniture, pastimes, and more. There is no getting around the fact that The Sims 4 is extremely expensive if you want to take advantage of everything it has to offer.

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