Popularised by games such as The Sims in the mid to late nineties, life simulation games offer a different type of gaming experience that fast-paced, goal and challenge-based games cannot produce. Life simulation games allow players to truly slow down and enjoy their gaming experience in an entirely different way than most games.
Games like The Sims allows players to enjoy the everyday mundane tasks of running a virtual family, upholding an in-game job, or even living out their countryside farming dreams. Fans of The Sims would do well to check out these other life sims.
10 Animal Crossing: New Horizons Lets Players Experience The Island Life
Animal Crossing: New Horizons lets players escape their reality and live out their island living dreams. Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows its players to forage, craft, cook, farm, and design homes as they wish. Animal Crossing: New Horizons also allows for players to play the game by themselves and focus on their own crew of villagers or play multiplayer with friends instead.
With new updates, Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows players to enjoy a cup of coffee at The Roost, harvest and manage their fresh produce, and then finally get around to those pesky home loan fees Tom Nook keeps pestering them about!
9 Stardew Valley Adds Lore And Mystery To The Classic Farming Sim
Stardew Valley is a farming and life simulation game that has become increasingly popular in the last couple of years due to exposure on TikTok and YouTube. Stardew Valley's plot allows for players to escape their dull, mind-numbing office job and find themselves a new life on a farm previously owned and cared for by their grandfather.
The game lets players enjoy the simple tasks often carried out by a farmer, such as harvesting crops and taking care of their livestock. Stardew Valley lets players experience festivals and holidays with their fellow residents in the game, and even build up both platonic and romantic relationships with them. The closer players grow to each character, the more they will uncover the backstory of each character, and eventually the backstory of the entire town.
8 My Time At Portia Brings Building To The Next Level
My Time at Portia is another farming and life simulation game, however, its design and storyline are entirely different. My Time at Portia focuses more on building and crafting, with farming taking a backseat. My Time at Portia also has multiple residents the player can choose to befriend or romance, with multiple eligible bachelors and bachelorettes and possible marriage candidates in-game. My Time at Portia also allows players to create themselves in-game, with the incredibly detailed character customization.
7 Story Of Seasons Allows Players To Enjoy The Classic Farming Sim
Story of Seasons, previously a part of the Harvest Moon series, is another life simulation game that includes farming elements. Story of Seasons allows players to do all of the day-to-day farming work while also working to unlock the secrets of the land they live on. The Story of Seasons games always contain bachelors and bachelorettes as marriage candidates, with the older games even containing rivals to go up against to win each bachelor and/or bachelorette's affections.
6 Harvest Moon Let's Players See Where It All Began
Harvest Moon, also renowned as one of the original 'farming sims', is also a well-loved life simulation game. With multiple games in the series, each game allows for players to take a step back and enjoy the small things. The Harvest Moon series lets players enjoy farming, obviously, but also includes detailed family life.
The Harvest Moon series allows for players to not only get married to whichever bachelor or bachelorette they wish, but the series also allows players to have families. These families are usually restricted to one or two children, one spouse, and pets. The Harvest Moon series is a classic that lets players enjoy a slow-paced, nostalgic life simulation gaming experience.
5 Rune Factory 5 Brings Elements Of RPG's To Farming Sims
Rune Factory 5 is the latest installment in the franchise, and is set to release on March 25th 2022. The Rune Factory series is somewhat similar to both the Harvest Moon and the Story of Seasons series, as it contains elements of farming, but with a twist.
The Rune Factory series is a life simulation farming sim with RPG elements, meaning that this game contains all of the slow-paced, cozy farming elements as the others, but also allows for players to switch up their gaming into a more fast-paced and action-packed style whenever they like. The Rune Factory series allows for platonic and romantic relationship building and contains beautiful graphics and character illustrations throughout the game.
4 Paralives Excites Players As Possible Competition For The Sims Franchise
Paralives is the most highly anticipated competition to The Sims series. It is currently in development and is still expected to go through patches as the game itself is worked on and fine-tuned. Currently, with what is available through the Paralives Patreon and Steam account, eager players of The Sims have already noticed multiple similarities and notable differences.
For starters, Paralives' art style is somewhat different from The Sims 4, and almost entirely different from The Sims 2 and 3. Paralives seems to be sticking with what has worked for other life simulation games, with elements of family life, character customization, and careers already being mentioned and highlighted in patch and development notes. For those who are keen players of The Sims franchise, Paralives is the game to keep your eye out for!
3 Little Sim World Brings Cute Simulation Games To A Whole New Level
Little Sim World is another game that is, unfortunately, still in production. This adorable life simulator has taken what is crucial in a life simulation game, character customization, home and family life, careers and education, etc, and implemented it into a pastel-colored, block-style game. The game so far appears to be open world, something that was loved in The Sims 3 but then later removed in The Sims 4. This open-world structure may be what many The Sims 3 fans have found lacking in The Sims 4, and therefore should give this game a try!
2 BitLife Brings Life Simulation Games To Mobile Gamers
BitLife is a popular life simulation mobile game, allowing players to create whoever they want, go wherever they want, and do whatever they want. BitLife has players take up part times jobs, take driving lessons, go to school and university, and much more. BitLife has endless options for players, allowing them to truly live whatever life they wish on their phones. BitLife also consistently has patch updates for both iOS and Android, bringing more content to the game almost every month.
1 Coral Island Brings Sustainability And Diversity To Simulation Games
Coral Island is another farming life simulation game that is currently still in production, with an expectant date of release sometime in mid to late 2022. Coral Island takes what farming and life simulation games already have, and adds conservation and sustainability. It features beautiful character designs, with more diversity than most other games in the genre. Coral Island allows players to farm, work on conservation, and save the island, as well as build relationships with other island residents.