25 Best Games Like Animal Crossing You Need to Try in 2023

Animal Crossing is a popular social-simulation game franchise developed by Nintendo that has been around for over two decades. In the early 2000s, the series exploded in popularity and has stayed strong ever since. The concept of Animal Crossing revolves around farming, crafting, exploring, and adventuring while developing a strong sense of belonging to a community. Since Animal Crossing is such a versatile game it’s no wonder that it has amassed a pretty large player base. Many games have been developed with exactly the same or similar concept and in this article, we’re going to bring you the 25 best games like Animal Crossing you need to try!

Whether you are a fan of Animal Crossing that is looking for something new to play, or you simply like the concept but not an original game, we got you covered! We’ve handpicked the 25 best games like Animal Crossing so you don’t have to.

25. A Short Hike

We start off our list of best games like Animal Crossing with A Short Hike. A Short Hike is about a bird flying high, making friends, and living a pretty happy life. It sounds simple right? It is, but to advance you will need to get skilled in more complicated mechanics. You can craft, scavenge, explore and go on an adventure while being in a bird form. A Short Hike offers a unique perspective on what it means to survive in the wilderness.

A Short Hike is available on PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Linux, Microsoft Windows, and macOS.

24. Castaway Paradise

Castaway Paradise is a life simulation game released in October 2019 by developer and publisher Stolen Couch Games. Castaway Paradise is an adventurous game similar to Animal Crossing. In Castaway Paradise, you can populate an entire island and do basically whatever you want. You can do farming, swimming, breeding, or complete various objectives to progress through the story. Castaway Paradise has pretty cool features that allow you to make your dream island into a sort of reality where you can live for as long as you play.

Castaway Paradise available on PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Linux, and Microsoft Windows.

23. Go Vacation

Go Vacation was released in 2011 by Bandai Namco. It offers something for everyone to take part in various “vacation” activities, but mainly you play sports. Go Vacation revolves around playing minigames based on 50 sports on different islands. You can play Go Vacation with Wii and other motion-sensing controllers. Games like mini golf, car racing, skating, surfing, and volleyball are the most popular players.

Go Vacation is available on Wii and Nintendo Switch.

22. Don’t Starve Together

Don’t Starve Together is a survival game released in April 2016 by a developer and publisher, Klei Entertainment. Don’t Starve Together is a bit more challenging than the rest of our list but it makes up for it with brilliant mechanics and adventures. Don’t Starve Together revolves around surviving in the wild with limited, and often hard-to-come-by resources.

You have to take care of your body by eating, sleeping, and keeping it warm enough to survive. It requires work, crafting, and creativity to get better in this game. Don’t Starve Together teaches real-life survival techniques that may help in the future. Initially, Don’t Starve Together was single-player game, but due to popularity, it got a multiplayer version too.

Don’t Starve Together is available on PS4, XBOX, PC, PS3, Android, and iOS.

21. Garden Paws

Garden Paws is a role-playing game released in October 2018 by developer and publisher Bitten Toast Games. Garden Paws is said to be a mixture of Minecraft and Animal Crossing. In Garden Paws, you can be a shopkeeper and earn and invest in various activities and necessities such as building or buying a house, fishing, farming, playing sports, etc. 

In Garden Paws, you can make invest yourself in all kinds of relationships such as friendship, family, marriage, and kids, you can even adopt kids. You can also have adorable pets who can play with you.

You can do mining, questing, and even breed dangerous creatures. If you think Garden Paws is too childish or easy to play, you can also access a more complex mode with more challenges and a higher difficulty level. Garden Paws can be played alone and with friends in a group of 4.

Garden Paws is available on Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems, and PC.

20. Little Dragon Café

The next game on our list of best games like Animal Crossing is Little Dragon Café. Little Dragon Café is an adventure-filled game released in November 2018 by TOYBOX Inc. Little Dragon Café is different from most of the games on the list as there aren’t many activities such as fishing and farming involved.

This game is about opening a café with your twin sibling, learning how to cook, managing customers, and keeping them satisfied. Another thing you need to do is to raise a Dragon so there’s that.

Little Dragon Café is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and PC.

19. Paralives

Paralives is a creative role-playing simulation game where you build houses for other people and design and control how everyone lives. Consider yourself as their master but with 100 times more power. 

Paralives is not yet released, but it has already amassed enormous attention from gamers and is looking to become one of the most popular on the list. The game is designed by, developed, and published by Alex Massé and Paralives Studio. Paralives is a game with unlimited outcomes and infinite choices for you to experience anything you’ve ever dreamt of letting your creativity go wild. 

Paralives is available on Mac and PC.

18. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is an extremely popular role-playing indie game released in February 2016 by Eric Barone. Stardew Valley is a game in which the story follows your character who leaves his old office job and starts working at a farm he inherits from his relative.

The character moves to a town (where his Farm is), builds lots of friendships, develops trust among residents, provides them with his expertise, and helps them daily.

You can do farming, mining, fishing, digging, talking, traveling, fighting, etc. Most of the time the game is relaxing although its main storyline is tense and involves conflicting.

Stardew Valley is available on PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

17. Cozy Grove

Cozy Grove is an indie-casual game released in April 2021, developed and published by Spry Fox. Cozy Grove is a simulation game where you camp on an island and help ghosts in their mission to reach the afterlife.

Like other games on this list, Cozy Grove’s main concept is based on you helping other characters, and the more active and involved you are in the community you will progress faster. The player can enjoy this game at any pace as it doesn’t force the player to do the task at a specific time. 

Cozy Grove is available on PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One and iPhone, and iPad.

16. My Time At Portia

My time at Portia is an all-around game covering many genres in one, released in January 2018 by Team17. My time at Portia is a slow-paced, time-management game in which you start out with limited materials until eventually, you are skilled enough to manage your own “empire”. In My Time At Portia, you gradually learn how to please your customers and build amazing structures. You can fight in the dungeon and win exciting prizes and move to more powerful bosses, who of course drop even better rewards.

My Time At Portia is available on PC, XBOX, PS, and Nintendo Switch.

15. The Tourist 

Up next on our list of best games like Animal Crossing is The Tourist. The Tourist is an action-adventure game released in November 2019 by Shin’en Multimedia. It is a puzzle-based game in which you solve the mysteries set in an archipelago. The Tourist has an island-type theme in which the more you explore, the more secrets you uncover. 

You can play The Tourist at your own pace so that you can get as much fun out of it as possible. The more you play, the more islands you unlock, resulting in more things to do in the game. You can play minigames as well as enjoy your time on the sunny island. You can do recreational activities and set the mysteries aside for a while and try different things to uncover more secrets in the process.

The Tourist is available on PC, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S.

14. Farm Together

As the game suggests, Farm Together is a farming game released in February 2018 by Milkstone Studios. Farm together provides you with an empty farm that you run, grow crops, and breed animals from scratch. Farm Together has different seasons in which crops can be raised and give you good revenue to upgrade your Farm, like building fences, roads, etc. You can also keep a pet that assists you at all times. 

Farm Together is available on Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

13. New Super Lucky’s Tale

New Super Lucky’s Tale is a 3D platform game developed and published by Playful Corp. in November 2017. New Super Lucky’s Tale is a world-exploring game where you explore different worlds, find secrets about them, and earn rewards. You can play New Super Lucky’s Tale at any pace and explore and take on separate journeys to uncover more secrets about this vast universe.

New Super Lucky’s Tale is available on XBOX, PC, Nintendo, and Microsoft Windows.

12. Ooblets

Ooblets was released in July 2020, published and developed by Slumberland and Double Fine. Ooblets has a feel of Animal Crossing, Minecraft, and Pokémon mixed together. In Ooblets, you explore the world and different creatures befriending them, caring for them, and using them in battles. You can also upgrade your farm and your creatures. The more you progress with the game the more difficult the processor of upgrading becomes. You can also buy and sell all kinds of stuff to make money or make upgrades.

Ooblets is available on Xbox One and PC.

11. Meep City

Meep City is one of the most popular Roblox games, the game was initially released in the year 2016 by renowned developer, Alexnewtro. 

Meep City is a great world-building game in which you can choose your appearance, clothes, how you look, and who you interact with within the game. You can play the game at the pace you choose. If you love to hang out with your friends and don’t feel like doing anything, you can decide to go on adventures and explore exciting stuff, that’s also on you. 

You can visit shops, malls, restaurants, stadiums, games, and everything you can imagine and see in the real world. You can even have jobs like teacher, shopkeeper, and anything you like, plus you can befriend anybody you can have fun and party with them to pass the time.

Meep City is available on Android, PC, Xbox One, and iOS.

10. Sneaky Sasquatch

The next game on our list of best games like Animal Crossing has a unique protagonist. Sneaky Sasquatch is an adventure game released in September 2019 by RAC7. In Sneaky Sasquatch, you have to travel to different campsites and steal food and water without people finding out. You can earn rewards that help you upgrade your living standards such as house, car, food, etc. Getting food isn’t easy, so you have to plan out everything from the start so you don’t fail and don’t sleep hungry. 

Sneaky Sasquatch is available on Mac and iPhone, iPad.

9. Littlewood

Littlewood is almost an all-in-one game that has many things to do at once. Littlewood was released in June 2019 by developer Sean Young and publisher SmashGames. Littlewood is a bit different when it comes to the story. Unlike most games, it doesn’t start with a generic peaceful start; Littlewood begins when our character comes home after defeating a boss, and now he has nothing to do, so he decides to build a community in a messy town.  When the hero arrives in the city, it’s all grassy and muddy. As time passes, you can harvest crops, build houses, and make a community where everyone lives peacefully and no fighting happens. 

Littlewood is available on Mac, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

8. Island Saver

Island Saver is a free action-filled game released in May 2020 by developer Stormcloud Games and publisher NatWest. Island saver is all about preserving the island. Stormcloud games made the game intending to teach kids the importance of preserving our planet.

In the Island Saver game, you learn to manage the money you gain by cleaning different areas and saving animals in danger. The more you clean, the more regions you can explore and consequently earn cash. We recommend parents give this game to their children so they learn how vital our environment is and that it must be kept safe.

Island Saver is available on almost every gaming platform, Android, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and iOS.

7. Moonglow Bay

MoonGlow Bay is an Indie-adventure based game released in October 2021 developed and published by Bunnyhug. In this Moonglow Bay, you live in a fishing town that has stopped fishing due to the fear of sea monsters, you and your partner however still brave the high seas in search of food and other materials that can help you survive.

The trips are always different, but there isn’t anything overly difficult that puts extra pressure on. You also run a business where you sell fish and cook them by yourself. You also make different items that are necessary when venturing out on journeys in the sea, such as boats, nets, and rods.

Moonglow Bay is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series.

6. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is an adventure game released in December 2020 by publishers and developers Ustwo. In Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, you play a character ‘Alba’ who visits her grandparents on an island and is excited to have fun with her friend.  Still, when she sees the condition of the island and how the people and animals are living, she decides to help the island by doing all she can do. You learn how to save islands and their wildlife.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is available on PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, iPhone, and iPad.

5. Style Boutique

The next entry on our list of best games like Animal Crossing is Style Boutique. Style Boutique is a role-playing simulation video game released in October 2008, published by Nintendo and developed by Syn Sophia.

Style Boutique is a fashion game in which you are a fashion shop owner where you do all sorts of stuff related to fashion. You explore cities to look for new clothes, hairstyles, and anything that’s trending. You make customers happy by providing them with good designs and excellent customer service. You learn how to manage your store, upgrade it to fulfill your costumer’s needs, and advertise your items in the game.

Style Boutique is available on Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 2DS, and Nintendo DS.

4. The Sims (Series)

The Sims is a real life-simulation game in which you are in control of every character’s life. Initially released in 2000, this game was developed and published by Maxis and Electronic Arts. After its success when the first game was released, the developers have released plenty more fun with added updates. The Sims game allows you to simulate life. That means that you need to cook, have hobbies, relationships, have a home, have a job, and many other things. Even though you have total freedom in how you will play, there are certain Sim needs that need to be met with care regularly otherwise you will not progress much. The game has an active modding community that keeps the gameplay fresh with new content.

The Sims is available on PC, PS, and Xbox.

3. Terraria

Terraria is a great action-adventure game released in May 2011 by Re-Logic. Terraria is first and foremost a sandbox game. It feels like you’re playing Minecraft but it looks totally different which separates it from the rest of the Minecraft clones. It adds different mechanics too like crimson and corruption. In Terraria, you can design your own world, mine, dig, breed, farm, explore the world, and find different minerals and items that help in world development. Terraria has multiplayer too if you want to create a world with your friends.

Terraria is available on Nintendo 3DS, Amazon Fire, Nintendo 2DS, Android, Mac, PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Stadia, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and iOS.

2. Roblox

Roblox is a role-playing game released in September 2006 by Roblox Corporation. Roblox can truly be anything you want it to be, you can play games in it, you can create games in it, or if you don’t feel like doing any of that you can socialize with other players, and trust me there’s a lot of them. Roblox is an extremely popular game and one of the most profitable games of today.

Roblox is available on Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, Xbox One, macOS, Fire OS, Macintosh operating systems, and Classic Mac OS.

1. Minecraft

The last game on our list of best games like Animal Crossing is Minecraft. Minecraft is a game that doesn’t require any introduction, but if you still don’t know what Minecraft is, it is a world-building game in which you can build things with blocks, craft with different materials, use minerals, engage in combat with other NPC’s and monsters, and if you feel like it, just chill.

In Minecraft, you can make anything you want, enter any world you like, join your friends’ world, raise animals, make waterfalls, lands, ships, towers, anything really. Minecraft gives freedom to players to play whatever and however, they want. You can play it in multiplayer mode sharing a map with your friends. It is probably one of the most played games of all time.

Minecraft is available on Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 2DS, Android, Mac, Amazon Fire, PC, PS Vita, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and iOS.