One of the games that kept us sane during the difficult year of 2020 was Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The quiet, peaceful vibes and play at your own pace mentality was a wonderful change of pace from all the frantic events happening in the world. New Horizons also made a fun way for friends and family to remain social with each other, explore islands, do tasks with friends and much more.
Cute life simulation games can sometimes be the peace and quiet you need, no matter what's going on around you. If Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the game that really helped you this year, so much so that you'd call it your game of the year, there are many other games like it you can try. Many of these games are also available on the Nintendo Switch too, so you can flesh out your library with more cute, fun games to take it easy with.
Stardew Valley
As a spiritual successor to games like Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley is a fun, relaxing time where the player can do as they see fit. Build a farm, go mining, be sociable with the townsfolk, and plenty of other light, fun activities are in store in Stardew Valley. The pixelated farming simulator also sports online and local multiplayer, making it a fantastic way to spend time with family and friends, even at a distance. The possibilities for your farm and the future for your character are seemingly endless, making Stardew Valley a great time-sink to get lost in its beautiful world.
Doraemon: Story of Seasons
Previously known as Harvest Moon, the Story of Seasons series are great games to play for those looking for an Animal Crossing-like experience. With Story of Seasons, the player lives out the combined fantasies of the Doraemon manga series with Harvest Moon-like gameplay, making it a great game to play for fans of both franchises. Even if you aren't invested in Doraemon or Harvest Moon, the game is still a pleasant time for newcomers. The beautiful art style, lovable characters, and relaxing gameplay loops make for a chill, sweet time for those looking for a sweet, single-player experience.
Forager
The beautiful 2D crafting game, Forager marks a great time for those looking to play a simple game they don't have to get too invested in. Forager's easy to understand mechanics and overall ease of play makes it a super relaxing time no matter your play style. Forager does have some light combat mechanics built into it, but its overall ease of play with its incremental, clicker-game-like style makes it a game anyone can play. The cutesy presentation and great sense of progression built up by crafting more tools and resource collectors create a game that's really nice to play in short bursts. Forager is rather easy to get a hold of as well, considering the large number of platforms it released on, as well as its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass.
My Time at Portia
Like Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia is a bright and colorful RPG game that emphasizes resource collection and farming. What My Time at Portia does to buck the trends of games like Stardew Valley is its major emphasis on city-building and building relationships with town members, just like Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Adding in some simplistic, RPG-like combat mechanics on top of its massive customizability makes it a highly creative experience you can get lost in for hours. My Time at Portia was also recently available for free on the Epic Games Store, so there's no excuse to get started in this lovable RPG if you nabbed it and haven't played it yet.
The Sims 4
Although it's a bit more complicated than games like Animal Crossing, The Sims is a great series to play if you're looking for a highly-customizable game experience. Creating a highly detailed set of characters, then setting them out to manage their lives, all while building unique houses, career paths, and many more things to craft a wholly unique experience for the player. The Sims 4 expands on these options and offers many tools for the player to craft whatever experience they see fit for their Sims. On top of that, the sheer amount of additional content packs for The Sims 4 means that just about anything you can think of is possible to do. The Sims 4 is also really easy to get a hold of, considering it's a part of EA Play, which is also included in Xbox Game Pass.