Highlights

• Stranded Sails and Slime Rancher offer similar farming mechanics and relaxing gameplay as Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
• Stardew Valley provides a more in-depth farming experience compared to Animal Crossing, with a focus on managing a farm.
• My Time at Sandrock features combat elements and dungeons, but still delivers a generally relaxing and pressure-free experience like Animal Crossing.

Proving to be an eternal hit on the Nintendo Switch, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the latest and among the greatest entries in the beloved life simulation franchise. Taking place in real-time, New Horizons offers a daily routine for players to sink their teeth into, as they set out to customize and develop a deserted island while welcoming adorable animal villagers who are looking to establish roots.

There is nothing quite like Animal Crossing. The series is relaxing, life-consuming, and all-around comforting. Alternatives become even harder to find once Nintendo is out of the picture; however, there are a couple of Xbox games that are (in some ways) similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Updated January 11, 2024 by Mark Sammut: AC:NH has largely ended its cycle by this point. At the moment, Nintendo has yet to announce a sequel, although one has to assume it will be only a matter of time before the franchise's future comes into focus. While the Switch project still has things to offer, fans might want to check out a few Xbox games like Animal Crossing.

15 Stranded Sails: Explorers of the Cursed Islands

Solid Farming Mechanics

Stranded Sails: Explorers of the Cursed Islands is a farm simulator that places a heavy emphasis on exploration and survival, although the latter is never too punishing. Like New Horizons, Stranded Sails starts with the playable character finding themselves on a mysterious island before they steadily learn the core mechanics of the game like farming and crafting.

Some RPG mechanics hamper the overall experience, along with an energy meter that depletes too quickly in most situations, but Stranded Sails is pretty great when reviewed solely on its farming mechanics and characters.

14 Slime Rancher

Slimy Twist On The Farming Sim Genre

Slime Rancher is a charming indie title that revolves around managing a ranch and collecting adorable and varied goo balls who love to smile, bounce, and produce plorts. The latter is the main item to be harvested, as they unlock Slime Rancher's currency.

While there is more of a narrative than Animal Crossing, with exploration being a key component, Slime Rancher is a generally relaxing game that offers a lot more depth than the campaign's initial few hours might suggest. Its sequel, Slime Rancher 2, is also an easy recommendation since it mainly expands on its predecessor's ideas.

13 Stardew Valley

The Ultimate Indie Farming Sim

Along with Harvest Moon (Story of Seasons), Stardew Valley tends to be the most commonly cited alternative to Animal Crossing. Although they are both low-stress titles that revolve around collecting items, selling them off, and interacting with NPCs, Stardew Valley is very much a full-blown farming sim, while Animal Crossing's priority lies with building and managing a town. In truth, Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley share more in common than either property has with New Horizons.

That said, Stardew Valley can still scratch the same itch as Animal Crossing, especially for anyone who is not enamored by the latter's real-time mechanic and wants a more in-depth farming experience.

12 My Time At Sandrock

Cozy Life & Farming Sim With Some Combat

My Time at Portia is a solid pick for anyone looking for a cozy 3D farming sim, even if the 2019 farming sim has a few problems. However, nowadays, the title has been usurped by its sequel, My Time at Sandrock. Similar to its predecessor, the game debuted in a mixed state due to some performance issues, and it was in early access for more than a year. While not a home run, the launch version demonstrated the hard work that went into fine-tuning the experience, resulting in a promising game that runs fairly well on most platforms (although, Switch users should look at some gameplay footage before investing).

Unlike Animal Crossing, My Time at Sandrock features combat in the form of dungeons, so players will get to swing around a few weapons; however, this is a small part of the overall package, even if it is not completely avoidable. The game shines in its NPC relationships, accessible but still engaging farming elements, and surprisingly effective main story. The campaign uses a traditional quest system similar to RPGs, and there is usually always something to work towards. That said, My Time at Sandrock is still generally relaxing and pressure-free.

11 Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3

Run A Food Truck

Life sims come in many shapes and sizes, and they are not all designed to be relaxing romps through nature. Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3 is a foot truck sim that challenges players to travel through a dystopian version of the United States, serving food along the way. Each day, players prepare a menu and then have to answer an avalanche of orders that can easily eclipse the 100 mark; depending on their performance, they will receive a medal.

Just to be clear, Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3 is nothing like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, except for the fact they are both great sims in their own right. However, if someone is looking for a more stressful food-themed experience, this title should be at the top of the pile (along with Overcooked! 2).

10 Castaway Paradise

Very Similar To Animal Crossing

Castaway Paradise does not try to hide the fact that it is inspired by Animal Crossing. In fact, it wears its inspiration proudly. Like Nintendo's iconic franchise, the playable human character is tasked with improving an island that serves as home to various animal residents. This process involves fixing buildings, gathering resources, sprucing up the island's aesthetic with decorations, and completing daily quests.

Castaway Paradise is the closest thing to Animal Crossing on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, even if it does not quite reach the same heights as New Horizons.

9 Disney Dreamlight Valley

An Enchanted Life

Xbox Game Pass subscribers can jump into Disney Dreamlight Valley, a game that spent a long time in early access before making its debut in 2023. While yet to be deemed complete, Gameloft's project is hardly starved for content, and the developer is constantly updating the game. Featuring characters from an assortment of Disney properties, including Pixar, Dreamlight Valley allows players to manage a village while living alongside these iconic figures.

Along with staples of life sims like gathering resources and unlocking food recipes, Disney Dreamlight Valley also has quests revolving around specific characters. Completing these trials will cause that character to join the player's village.

8 Hokko Life

Safe But Enjoyable

Hokko Life wears its influences on its sleeve. The sim drops players on a largely desolate island filled with humanoid animals and asks them to inject a bit of life and energy into the village. The process involves befriending the locals, expanding the selection of buildings, mining, and collecting a wide array of insects and fishes. Hokko Life screams Animal Crossing, to the point of coming across as a love letter to the earlier releases in Nintendo's series.

The game shakes things up by adding farming into the equation, a concept that is not new for life sims. Hokko Life suffers from sticking too close to the genre's staples and failing to stand out from more popular similar releases; however, it is decent in a vacuum.

7 Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

Blend Of Inspirations

Available on all modern consoles, Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles tips its hat to various licenses, including The Legend of Zelda, Microsoft's own Fable series, and, to a lesser extent, Animal Crossing.

Similarities to the latter primarily come in the form of basic mechanics like farming and fishing, along with a roster of colorful, humorous NPCs. Exploring the beautiful open world and its various bio-domes is a delight, and the lack of combat means the majority of the campaign is quite relaxing. Yonder is not as memorable as any of its influences, but it is a solid title in its own right.

6 Rune Factory 4 Special

Action JRPG With Farming Sim Elements

Although not as storied as Animal Crossing, Rune Factory is another farming sim franchise with a long history. The license's peak was between 2006-2012, with Rune Factory 4 bringing this era to a close on a high note. Modern players can try the "Special" iteration of the 2012 release, which includes a few enhancements and additional content.

Rune Factory 4 Special is a JRPG that incorporates farming sim mechanics as one of its gameplay loops. When not working the soil, players head out to dungeons to engage in simple but satisfying combat, an endeavor that allows them to pick up resources for crafting. Presented with a charming aesthetic, Rune Factory 4 Special is one of the best games like Animal Crossing on the market. It is also better than Rune Factory 5, which is a Switch and PC exclusive.

5 The Sims 4

Another Life

EA's life simulation franchise has a legacy as storied as Animal Crossing, with both properties providing players with the opportunity to lead new (digital) lives. New Horizons presents the playable character as someone who is firmly part of the growing society found in the game, even if they are expected to do all the work.

Conversely, The Sims 4 is more about the "Sim" than the wider community, as the way the character develops is the main focus. Sims have unique personalities and flexible emotional states that directly impact the gameplay. Animal Crossing has this to a certain extent, but it is nowhere near as fleshed out as in The Sims 4.

The Sims 4's base game is free-to-play.

4 Minecraft

Creativity Unchained

Especially in "Creative Mode," Minecraft gives Animal Crossing: New Horizons a run for its money when it comes to crafting an atmosphere of blissful leisure. Both games revolve around collecting resources and items that can then be used to build structures, although Minecraft places nearly no restrictions on the possibilities when it comes to the latter.

While it does not fit into the life sim category, Minecraft shines in the freedom it presents players, allowing them to bring to life impressive creations limited only by their imagination. Lego Fortnite is also an option for Animal Crossing fans, although the spin-off is ultimately quite different since it is an accessible survival and building game.

3 Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise

Rare's Cozy Series

While Rare's Microsoft run has been somewhat underwhelming, the studio's Viva Piñata main entries are pretty fantastic. As an expansion of the original game's core concept, Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise delivers a fine-tuned and confident campaign that can be still enjoyed more than a decade after its initial release.

The goal is to maintain and upgrade a garden while attracting creatures known as piñatas, who might decide to stick around if the garden is to their fancy. Along with beautiful graphics, Trouble in Paradise is a calming experience akin to New Horizons.

2 Farm Together

Well-Done Farming Sim

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the very definition of an easy game, as the only thing standing in the way of success is time. Farm Together is very much of the same ilk, where any of the challenges related to farming are removed in favor of accessibility and constant growth.

Like New Horizons, Farm Together is meant to be played for the long haul, as the user gradually unlocks new fruits and buildings to expand their farm. Although the NPCs lack the adorableness of Animal Crossing's residents, they do provide some immediate goals through food quests.

1 Story Of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Modern Harvest Moon

A remake of 2004's Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, the 2023 version retains the core appeal of the original: a balance between romance and farming. Story of Seasons, which was previously called Harvest Moon, has a long and extensive history, and many of the franchise's releases are likely to hit the mark with fans of Animal Crossing. 2020's Friends of Mineral Town is on both the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, and the game is a good pick for anyone who would prefer to focus on farming and resource management.

Comparatively, A Wonderful Life is basically a life sim about a farmer that emphasizes relationships, especially since its main selling point is that the characters age. Marvelous incorporated a couple of quality-of-life improvements to the remake besides just a graphical upgrade; That said, A Wonderful Life still feels like it belongs in the 2000s and might not quite have the depth of modern releases like Stardew Valley or even Animal Crossing: New Horizons.