The Best Games Inspired By Animal Crossing

Key Takeaways

• Animal Crossing
  inspired games like
  Littlewood
  offer cozy town-building experiences with unique twists.
• Games like
  Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
  and
  A Short Hike
  emulate the relaxing nature-focused atmosphere of
  Animal Crossing.
• Stardew Valley
  , influenced by
  Animal Crossing
  , stands out as a top farming simulator with a focus on community development.

There is no denying that Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series is one of the most famous game franchises of all time. Rising to popularity from its conception in 2001, Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube sold 2.3 million copies worldwide. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the latest addition to the franchise released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch, has sold over 45.8 million units, surpassing the sales records of all previous titles.

Animal Crossing has influenced titles from various gaming genres, many of which seek to capture the series’ cozy, nature-focused atmosphere. The following list showcases some of the best games inspired by Animal Crossing, matching the same replayability and enjoyment as the beloved Nintendo franchise.

All of the following games’ developers have explicitly stated, either in interviews or blog posts, that the
Animal Crossing
franchise has influenced them while making these games.

10 Littlewood

Grow Friendships As The Hero Of The World

From the creators of Kindergarten and Kindergarten 2, Littlewood is an RPG simulation game where players’ only goals are to convince people to stay in their town and to develop nature-centered hobbies in the meantime. Fish, gather, collect, explore, and socialize while maintaining the title of Hero by building a thriving community.

Littlewood draws inspiration from the Animal Crossing series through its town decorating and relaxed goals. The community building and socializing with townsfolk also closely replicate the Nintendo classic but are executed distinctly and creatively throughout Littlewood.

9 Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Connect With Nature Through Good Deeds

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a relaxing exploration game that can be enjoyed at leisure with no timed goals or quests. The game provides players with an enhanced connection to nature while identifying and documenting wildlife, as they perform good deeds to aid the Mediterranean island’s environment.

Centering around building an island community, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure draws significant inspiration from Animal Crossing. It shares a relaxed gameplay style and emphasizes environmentally conscious themes. The game’s easygoing approach to goals and social interactions also reflects the influence of Animal Crossing.

8 A Short Hike

An Adventure With Cute Animal Characters

A Short Hike takes inspiration from Animal Crossing in its design and the game’s focus on small, everyday activities. Both share the comfort of a contained gaming experience in a natural environment. Furthermore, the open-ended gameplay and player agency allow for A Short Hike to be just as quietly endearing as Animal Crossing.

The game’s main goal is to explore a hiking trail while speaking to other hikers and collecting items along the way. With excellent musical accompaniment, innovative travel mechanics, and expansive landscapes, A Short Hike serves as a wonderful open-world alternative to Animal Crossing.

7 Fae Farm

A Cozy Multiplayer Farming Simulator

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Fae Farm features diverse landscapes, engaging quests, and excellent DLC options. Its open world is colorful, intricate, and well-designed to enhance the gaming experience on any platform.

Similar to some Animal Crossing titles, particularly Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Fae Farm offers multiplayer capabilities, allowing players to enjoy gaming with friends in a relaxed environment. By infusing traditional farming and gathering mechanics with a touch of magic, Fae Farm presents a creative twist on classic cozy gaming.

6 The Garden Path

Calming Vibes With A Beautiful And Original Art Style

The Garden Path is a life simulator game that caters to short 10-30 minute daily gaming sessions and can be played wherever and whenever players wish. Cycling through the four seasons in periods of 28 days, the game mixes real-time with in-game time through a 24-hour clock.

The environmental storytelling in The Garden Path is just as important as that in Animal Crossing, as both create a peaceful, natural environment for players. The developers mentioned that they wished to provide the same cozy experience as Animal Crossing but focused more on organic growth and resourcefulness.

5 Bear And Breakfast

Build And Manage A Bed And Breakfast

Throughout Bear and Breakfast, players play as a bear who is trying to open a bed and breakfast hotel in the woods. Players must gather important materials, manage the hotel’s guests, and complete quests from quirky characters to ensure the hotel runs smoothly and to a good standard.

A key feature of Bear and Breakfast is its focus on customization and player agency, which draws inspiration from Animal Crossing. Both provide players with the freedom to build and shape their worlds with minimal guidance or rules to follow.​

4 Cozy Grove

A Heartwarming Story Attached To Decorating And Fetch Quests

Cozy Grove is a narrative-driven life sim game where players fulfill the needs of bear spirits living in the titular grove, aiming to restore vibrancy and peace to the land and its inhabitants. Fishing, gathering, crafting, and customization mechanics are all utilized in creative ways to match the game’s aesthetic while still being respectful of its somewhat dark story.

The game features daily replayability, sharing similarities with the Animal Crossing franchise, and also includes a cast of animal characters and a real-time in-game clock. Decorate and expand the grove while building friendships in this cozy gaming alternative.

3 Ooblets

An Innovative Take On Farming Simulators

Ooblets is a quirky and charming farming/life simulator with an innovative card-game battle design. The adorable graphics, diverse design, and the use of familiar simulator mechanics make Ooblets a greatly enjoyable gaming experience for those who love Animal Crossing.

The developers of Ooblets, Glumberland, have openly recognized Animal Crossing as one of their major influences. The game combines creature collecting, farming, and community-building elements, drawing heavily from Animal Crossing’s relaxed design. In interviews, the devs have highlighted how inspired they were by Animal Crossing’s emphasis on player-driven world-building and social interaction.

2 Spiritfarer

Management Sim Meets Visual Novel

Spiritfarer is a dark yet tasteful game about grief and heartache. The game takes players on a journey across the sea alongside Daffodil the cat, reuniting spirits with their final resting places while improving their ship.

With management mechanics, a beautiful and expansive world, and a captivating story, Spiritfarer is certainly one of the best games influenced by Animal Crossing. This influence is evident in the game’s relaxed pace, focus on building relationships, and overall cozy and calming vibes.

1 Stardew Valley

One Of The Most Successful Farming Simulators Of All Time

Stardew Valley’s success has been evident since its release in 2016 when it won the Golden Joystick Breakthrough Award, and the game has sold over 20 million copies since then. Developed solo by Eric Barone, Stardew Valley is perhaps one of the most famous farming simulators of all time.

Taking inspiration from Animal Crossing, Stardew Valleyperfectly captures the essence of community-building, exploration, and customization. At the same time, it maintains enough distance from Nintendo’s franchise to establish itself as a truly innovative addition to the life simulation genre.