A farming simulator is a subgenre of social simulation games (picture The Sims games 😉). Every farming sim tries to differentiate itself but many have common aspects such as: owning a farm (usually inherited from a sick grandparent!), fishing, mining, and befriending the villagers. To beat the competition, game devs have started to implement different elements into their games like a complex storylines, different game modes, and of course different art styles! These 3 games are my personal picks:
The game series that started it all! The Harvest Moon series started out
in 1996 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, of course with pixel
graphics and a top down perspective. The player character is tasked with
fixing up a farm in disrepair, whilst also developing friendships with
the townsfolk. Since 1996, there have been 28 other mainline games in
the series, with the most recent game featuring Earth sprites and even
the ability to go inside a volcano!
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Stardew Valley is a passion project created by one developer
(ConcernedApe) as an homage to the Harvest Moon series. Releasing in
2016, this cult classic took the farming sim community by storm and has
been widely considered to be the best in the genre to date! Like Harvest
Moon, it features 8-bit style pixel graphics and deals with surprisingly
complex themes within the NPC relationship mechanic. Notably, the
fishing mechanic is very contraversial, with some finding it far too
frustrating, and others a relaxing break from running acroos the map to
speak to a villager in time - a real marmite situation! However you
feel, this game has something for everyone and is almost a rite of
passage for fans of this genre 😊
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The new kid on the scene- Coral Island has only just released into Early
Access, but is already being considered a competitor to overthrow
Stardew in the best farming sim spot! This game has a beautiful 3D
animation art style and an increasingly important overarching storyline
of nature conservation - saving the coral reefs, and preventing the evil
Pufferfish corporation from turning the island into an oil drilling
site. Coral Island is also interlaced with many aspects of Indonesian
culture and mythology including: giants, mermaids, and a flower goddess!
Explore the town, clean up the coral reefs, and befriend over 70 NPCs -
with so much to do and still only in Early Access, once the bugs are
ironed out this game is sure to be a hit!
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