It’s easy to spend hours on farming simulation games likeStardew ValleyandAnimal Crossing: New Horizonson the Nintendo Switch, and there are plenty to find on the Nintendo eShop. While there’s no word on a sequel toAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsanytime soon,Stardew Valley’sdeveloper ConcernedApe is preparing their next big hit,Haunted Chocolatier, which will see players runa seemingly haunted confectionery store.
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Switch players aren’t limited to these popular farming sims, however. There are plenty of great but lesser-known games available on the eShop if gamers look deep enough. They all have something completely different to offer, whether playing the role of a veteran red panda inAkaor exploring an island inhabited by helpful frogs inTime On Frog Island. There’s so much for farming sim lovers to get stuck into, whatever genre they’re most drawn to.
7Aka
Akais an adorably poignant farming sim that followsa veteran red panda looking for inner peacefollowing a war. Aka starts his new life on Pine Island, which is in total disarray. It needs vital tender loving care, as do its residents. To clean up the island and obtain quest items inAka, the little red panda can forage and farm to his heart’s content while lending a hand to those around him. Some may be trapped by the environment, while others are simply after some friendly company.
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It all depends on who Aka stumbles across, accentuating the game’s guilt and inner peace themes.Akais about picking up and moving on while also addressing traumatic memories andthe grief and loss that comes with it. For Aka, his goal is to make life that little bit happier, no matter how small the task. Even if that is just napping on a giant capybara.
6Atomicrops
For those looking for a fast-paced farming sim,Atomicropsspins the genre on its head.Having left Xbox Game Pass in 2022, players can experience the challenge of managing the last farm in an area ravaged by a nuclear blast, turning the area into a wasteland.Atomicropssee players become relied upon to grow and harvest mutant crops as the only food source for the neighboring town while protecting their produce from mutant pests and other enemies.
Players can enlist the help of wildlife to take on some of the workload and befriend and marry some locals who will provide certain perks. There’s also an opportunity to explore different biomes surrounding the farm and town, which presents the challenge of killing boss enemies for resources and experience inthis post-apocalyptic adventure.
5Summer In Mara
Fans ofThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Wakerwill love this farming sim. Developed by Chipig,Summer In Marasees gamers play as Koa, a young girl living on a tropical archipelago. As Koa basks in the summer sun, she can customize the island she lives on by farming the land, constructing buildings, and befriending animals. When she’s not busy, she can travel across the over 20 islands in the archipelago to meet with residents and help them with essential tasks.
Koa can also explore the ocean’s depths to uncover mysteries, adding even more adventure to an already exciting game. WhileSummer In Mararelies more on side quests than farming, it’s a relaxing adventure nonetheless. There’s nothing to fight, only the scenery to admire, animals to love, and friendly faces to interact with along the way.
4Time On Frog Island
For gamers who have dreamt of living on an island surrounded by anthropomorphic frogs,Time On Frog Islandwill satisfy that itch. Players find themselves in a strange place as a sailor who has been shipwrecked on this particular island filled with frogs. The goal ofTime On Frog Islandis to fix the boat, which can be done through the usual avenues of foraging, farming, and buying and selling produce.
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While there, players can befriend the inhabitants of Frog Island and are there to help restore the ship in return for errands. These include solving puzzles, finding materials they need, or just simply chatting with them. Seeing as the sailor will be there for quite some time, players can build a house to show off the treasures they’ve found during explorations.
3Gleaner Heights
A much darker and more sinister version ofStardew Valley,Gleaner Heightshas majorTwins Peaksvibes as the townspeople are not to be trusted. WhileGleaner Heightshas all the typical day-to-day activities and chores fans would expect in a farming sim, there’s always something “off” with the local villagers. And not only can players form relationships with the townsfolk, but they can help them betray and double-cross their neighbors.
Not everything is as it seems inGleaner Heights. This town experienced a disastrous event before the player’s arrival, and as it is seemingly linked to the supernatural, that means there are creatures in the area to destroy and fight in combat.
2Littlewood
Littlewoodhas an intriguing setup in that the story follows a hero who has just saved the day but can’t quite remember what happened. As said hero, the player is tasked with running and maintaining the town of Littlewood. Nestled in the world of Solemn, players can explore areas outside the town, like enchanted forests and caves, to gather resources and complete quests from the townsfolk. By completing these quests, upgrading the town, and selling items and products you’ve farmed, fans must persuade the people already living to stay.
Perfect for players who loveStardew Valley,Littlewoodextends upon the farming premise even more. Players can freely edit the town by adding water to make ponds and build specific venues to draw in villagers. As players progress further and update the town as they go, they can even uncover what happened before the hero entered Littlewood.
1The Stillness Of The Wind
LikeAkaand evenSpiritfarer,The Stillness of the Winddeals with heavier themes of life, love, and loss. Players control Talma inThe Stillness of the Wind, a woman in her old age who leads a quiet life on her homestead. Having decided to stay while her neighbors move to the city, Talma happily lives a content life with her animals, tending to her plants and other things on the farm. Then, however, she receives “increasingly disturbing letters” from her family in the city, per the game’s synopsis.
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Theslow-paced life ofThe Stillness of the Windis a follow-up toWhere The Goats Are. Released in 2017 by indie developer Memory of God,Where The Goats Arecarries a similar premise to the newer addition, with the player taking on the role of Tikvah, who lives in solitude and is dedicated to looking after her goats. Both games provide a vastly different take on the farming-sim genre with a meditative, narrative-led structure and the freedom to run the farmstead as players see fit.
