General Discussion

Not animal characters, but I recommend looking into Palia!
It recently entered open beta and it's free to play, no microtransactions besides just clothing that's cosmetic only. You can collect materials, cook, have your own house and craft furniture etc. And build relationships with the NPCs!
It's a multiplayer game but no PvP or anything and so far I didn't really have to interact with other players (but the option is there).

Currently only on PC but Switch release is coming later this year.

unfortunately don't have much to contribute to this but i will consider checking some of these suggestions !! they seem intriguing ^_^

animal jam :>

I'm moderating for an upcoming game called FeralBound that is being created by most of the same people who had been working on the FeralHeart Unleashed project before it retired. We currently have the FeralBound Discord open if you'd like me to DM you a link to it! The game itself is currently not released, but we still have the latest version of FeralHeart Unleashed to play and hang out on until FeralBound's release!

Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions!

Unfortunately I think the kind of game I’m after just doesn’t exist anymore. I enjoy MMOs like World of Warcraft, FFXIV, Temtem, etc. but in my experience the social experience is… dry? I’ve not had much experience making friends there and the energy is GOGOGOGO LETS DO CONTENT instead of being content just sitting and chatting. Might just be my experience though!

I really enjoyed running around a map, harvesting materials to craft things, occasionally chiming in on the conversation and playing minigames. I love dye systems in games, I love player housing in games and sometimes I just wanna socialize with people.

I think Palia is the closest I’ll get to it, maybe.

Again, thanks everyone. :’)