2020 has been a strange year, hasn’t it? Some of us – like myself – can barely remember the feel of sunlight on our skin. Others have been busy trying to maintain as normal a life as possible. And a very special group of people, including medical professionals, have been busy quite literally saving everyone’s lives. For the majority of us, though, we have been dancing in and out of various stages of lockdown for the last 6 months. All we could do was stay inside, and oh boy, were we bored. And that’s when ‘Animal Crossing’ comes in.
That’s why ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ could not have been released at a better time. It was released on March 20th, 2020, and has allowed us to invest the hundreds of hours we would’ve spent probably watching Married At First Sight (let’s all be honest with ourselves!) into things like creating our own fashion lines, terraforming, hunting for fossils, terraforming and trying desperately to catch anything other than a Sea Bass to give to Blathers. And did I mention terraforming?
However, nearly 6 months on from its release, I for one am starting to see less and less appeal from hearing the “My feathers! It appears you have nothing we can accept at the moment.” dialogue. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t, or maybe you just fancy a change of pace. Regardless of how you feel, here are 3 alternatives to ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ that you should definitely play if you loved the game as much as I did:
1. Minecraft
Platforms: PS3/4/Vita, XBOX 360/One, Nintendo Wii U/Switch/New 3DS, Mac/Linux/Windows, iOS/Android
Prices: The price varies. For Minecraft on PC platforms, you are looking at $27. For mobile, it is $7. And for consoles, you are looking at $20, except for the Nintendo consoles, where you are looking at $30
‘Minecraft’ is a cult classic in its own right. You have likely already heard of it. The game can be made as easy or as hard as you would like to make it. With a calming soundtrack and absolutely adorable square cows to make you happy, ‘Minecraft’ is a wonderful alternative to ‘AC:NH.’ The game offers simple graphics, construction, and crafting that is a little more advanced than what is available in Animal Crossing.
2. Stardew Valley
Platforms: Steam/Linux/macOS, Nintendo Switch, iOS/Android, PS4, XBOX One
Prices: $19.99 on Steam/PS4/XBOX One, $14 on Nintendo Switch, and $10 on iOS/Android
‘Stardew Valley’ is my personal favorite game on this list. It is a pixel graphic farming simulator in which you quit your corporate job and move to the farm you inherited from your grandfather. It’s of course located in the cozy Stardew Valley. The game provides hundreds of hours of gameplay, though your crafting options aren’t as open as ‘Minecraft’. However, you do get to design, run, and profit from your own farm whilst juggling (if you choose to) being a partner, a parent, and a friend as you discover all the secrets that the valley has to offer.
3. Staxel
Platforms: Steam / Console release in the works
Prices: $19.99
Staxel is the newest release of the three on this list, as it first came out in 2019. After the first time I played Staxel, I described it to my friend as “the love child of ‘Minecraft’ and ‘Stardew Valley,’ if ‘Minecraft’ had a secret affair with ‘Animal Crossing’.” It is a truly adorable game that takes the aesthetic of ‘Minecraft’ and the farming from ‘Stardew Valley’, and guides you through adjusting to life on the island that you have found yourself on. The developers are also very active in the community, which is another bonus for me.
I hope these games will give you as much enjoyment as ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ did (and still does with the constant updates that are being rolled out). Happy Gaming!
Featured image via Teddy Guerrier on Unsplash
GAMES I think that really nice opportunity to relax.