Despite being the saviour of lockdown, Nintendo announced earlier this year that they would be withdrawing support for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. We've spent hundreds of hours creating the perfect island, making friends with all of our villagers and turning up to KK Slider's weekly concerts as if our life depended on it.
But with nowhere else for the game to go, surely it's time for something else? While many will return to the traditional favourites, games like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, the genre has exploded recently.
Thanks to the Animal Crossing boom in lockdown, more developers are putting time and money into cosy simulation games that will have players returning for hours. Here, we've found some alternatives to whet your appetite and keep you occupied as the cold and dark winter nights draw in.
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Hokko Life
Out now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation and Xbox
If what you liked best about Animal Crossing was building up your village, then Hokko Life might be the option for you. In this adorable life sim, your character hops off a train and into a new life in the village of, you guessed it, Hokko.
Farm for materials, grow and harvest crops and make friends with the animal villagers. The big selling point of Hokko Life is for the creatives out there as the more materials you find, the more custom furniture you can build and share with the community.
Wylde Flowers
Out now for Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch and PC (PC demo available on Steam)
Wylde Flowers is perhaps one of the cutest offerings, and that's a big achievement. In this new take, you play as a young witch called Tara who travels to a town to care for her poorly grandmother.
By day, Tara is responsible for tending to the animals and farming the land but by night is when the magic comes alive. Make all manner of potions and learn to fly a broom... you can even transform into a cat.
This charming game is fully voice-acted, bringing the story to life that little bit more. However, many players have remarked that the themes can be distressing for those with sick relatives, so bear that in mind.
Ooblets
Out now for Nintendo Switch, PC (via the Epic Games store) and Xbox
We still don't know what an Ooblet may be, but whatever it is, it's cute. These little creatures are dotted all over the world as your character hopes to restore a rundown farm to its true glory.
Manage your farm by growing and harvesting crops, explore strange lands and collect your own colony of Ooblets. What makes this one stand out is the potential of the little creatures - train them up, customise their costumes and at the end of the day, have them face off in mega dance battles.
Ooblets is cosy farming sim potion made with a dash of Pokemon, a tipple of Animal Crossing and a taste of Harvest Moon. What more could you ask for?
Lemon Cake
Out now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation and Xbox
For some people, a huge farm and an even bigger world to restore and explore can be a little bit overwhelming. Lemon Cake takes the stress out of all of that and narrows it down to just one building - a bakery.
Showing what farm-to-table really means, in Lemon Cake you restore an abandoned bakery, set up your own garden and prepare wonderful dishes. Growing new ingredients unlocks new recipes and more customers come to your door.
It's a careful combination of a farming sim and a cooking sim in one. There's the freedom to expand your garden but without the hectic life-or-death stress of a cooking sim.
My Time at Portia
Out now for iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation and Xbox
This charming life sim swaps the cosy forest setting of most games for a post-apocalyptic land and a town called Portia. You're tasked with restoring your father's neglected workshop to its former glory.
You must still harvest crops, build friendships, craft tools and, whether you love it or hate it, there's always cooking to be done. However, My Time at Portia focuses more on the adventure, exploration, combat and building elements of simulation games, so pick this up if that's what you're after.
If after everything you enjoy this, the development team have just released My Time at Sandrock . A similar sim-type game, this one sees you play as a fledgling builder tasked with levelling up your workshop into a well-oiled facility to help save your town from economic ruin.
Early-access titles
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of farming sim games in development at any one time. Before they hit the big shelves a lot of them go through testing phases.
These titles are available to play on all manner of platforms, but they're far from perfect, as developers use early access players to iron out the creases, and gain feedback on what works and what doesn't. So if you're OK with a few bugs here and there, we highly recommend you check out these titles, too.
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Despite all the hype and fanfare, this game is still pretty fresh, having only been released into early access at the beginning of September. If you want wholesome fun with your favourite Disney characters, definitely have a look at picking this up. There are plans for it to be free-to-play once out of early access, but it'll be at least a year yet, so decide first whether you're willing to wait.
Coral Island
Another relative newbie to early access, Coral Island is available on PC only for the time being. This is a beautiful life sim that echoes traditional favourites Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon.
Dinkum
Tinged with Australian themes, this one is for all you Animal Crossing obsessives. The sandbox element puts more focus on building your town than the harvesting of crops, but it has all the staple favourites to keep you coming back for hours.
Spirit of the Island
If you're looking for a multiplayer, lazy farming sim to cosy up and play along with your best friend then Spirit of the Island is the one. The two-player online co-op mode allows you to do and share everything together. It has its own story and players can share resources from their single player games in their multiplayer.
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