General Discussion

I have gotten burnt out on the games I own and I'm looking for suggestions as to what is fun. I'm especially interested in games that center around farming/gathering, taking care of animals, and/or survival if possible.

I would love to know any Switch/3DS recommendations as I would like to get back into playing on those systems, but I also am open to PC game suggestions.

Games that I've played and liked (and I think fit the genres I'm looking for):
- The Forest/Sons of the Forest
- Stardew Valley
- Slime Rancher
- Viva Pinata
- Minecraft (though I get bored of this one quickly)
- Raft

Games that I've played and DID NOT like (and I think fit the mentioned genres):
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (too open ended, I think? idk how to describe it, just hated playing it; I think it was the fact that it was focused more on decorating your island and house)
- Jurassic World Evolution (don't like the tycoon system)
- Planet Zoo (don't like the tycoon system)
- Don't Starve (too complicated/didn't like the default permadeath mechanic)

I've noticed I don't like focused building/decorating in games; I build the bare minimum required and move on to focus more on survival/farming/gathering/whatever, if that helps at all. I also tend to prefer games where you work toward a goal instead of being very open ended.

TL:DR; Looking for game suggestions focused on survival and/or farming, gathering, livestock/animal care, etc. I don't like games that are heavily focused on building/decorating.

I'm not a maniac but just an enjoyer of those genres (So I'm not sure if I'm recommending properly), but here's my suggestions:

- Project Zomboid
zombie survival game with top-down view. you need to farm the resources in zombie crowded cities to survive! Also you can build your own base, though zombies will raid your base sometimes...
It's basically survival game so you don't need to focus on base building, it's just option. If you want you can live as a wanderer!

- Terraria
I'm pretty sure you'll know about this one, as it's really famous c: Personally I liked Terraria over Minecraft since it have some boss. Still I'm not sure if this one fits you well, as in late-game there's no feeling of survival but boss fight.
-> I'm bit worried about building part won't fit with you though, you need to expand the house to bring in more helpful npcs. I prefer simpler housing for them but it already requires pretty big house in the end.

- Don't starve
Wasn't for me (too complex @.@) but still worth to give a try. I think you've heard about this one too as it's really well-known c: Quite complex game but also so many stuffs to do. You also need to think about your sanity (not only food/water like other games) so it can give you some fresh feeling I believe.

- Rain World
This game is platformer + survival so not sure about this one too. There's no crafting-like feature (one character in DLC have similar ability tho). But it's more focused on fight against/run from the predators and seek shelter within the remaining time. It has BIG world to explore so worth to try if you like exploring!

I hope I could help & you could find one of these is fun!

Sun Haven might be up your alley! It's a high fantasy Stardew basically.

Fields of Mistria isn't out yet, but it looks like it'll be a good farming sim!

@WHDE

Thank you for the recommendations! Project Zomboid is going on my wishlist, I really like the look of it. It seems to be the kind of game that will "scratch the itch" of survival/farming for me!

Whoops, Don't Starve was also one I forgot to add to my didn't like list (I also did not care for it due to its complexity). The others I'll definitely be adding to my "to try out" list, they look interesting as well (Terraria I've been eyeing for years but never actually got around to owning it).

@Vardia

Thank you for the suggestions! Those both look like they would be right up my alley, I'll wishlist them and check them out. ^^

Roots of Pacha:
It's a cute, neolithic farming game similar to stardew valley.

Valheim:
A survival/crafting/building game with some farming mechanics. You start off with nothing, and slowly hunt and gather materials for weapons, clothing, shelters, and boats. The goal is to unlock and defeat boss monsters.

Graveyard Keeper!

It has lots of dark humour and it's super fun. All the building stuff you do there is to upgrade your stuff, not decorating. Keep in mind tho... it's a bit grindy. If you hate to grind, I don't know if you'll like it. I personally don't find it to be that grindy, but I've seen people online complaining about it, so... /shrugs.

If you liked Stardew, I'm surprised you didn't play the games it's based on!

I'd highly suggest:

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
Rune Factory 5

Rimworld. I'd definitely check out a guide on how to get started first. It also has a lot of great mods, including many QoL mods, so if there's something you don't like,there's probably a mod to fix that.

[quote name="FreyaShadow" date="2023-10-26 08:24:31" ] Graveyard Keeper! It has lots of dark humour and it's super fun. All the building stuff you do there is to upgrade your stuff, not decorating. Keep in mind tho... it's a bit grindy. If you hate to grind, I don't know if you'll like it. I personally don't find it to be that grindy, but I've seen people online complaining about it, so... /shrugs. [/quote] Seconding Graveyard Keeper! The dark humor is great (it's one of those rare ones where you don't want to skip the dialogue) and I found it a satisfying way to kill a lot of time. Like Stardew it's very relaxed with no real time limits, so play at your own pace. Some people say it's got too many fetch quests, but I had a lot of fun. I did get the DLCs though, to make it a longer and more fleshed out experience.