The best games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons for iOS and Android
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally out, and it's really rather good. So good, in fact, that it's become a little bastion of joy for many new and returning players.
It's everywhere right now, specifically my Twitter feed, where folk simply can't get enough of its upbeat tone and engaging busywork. It's also incredibly cute and worrying engrossing, though I've been balancing this out with regular bouts of games like Doom Eternal.
While it's swell that us lucky Switch owners can get stuck in right now, mobile gamers have once again been left out in the cold. Don't worry, though, as we've gone and put together this here list of vaguely similar titles for you to play instead on your iOS or Android device.
1
Stardew Valley
Perhaps the best game of its kind on mobile, Stardew Valley gives you a gorgeous pixel art town in which to live out a dream life on an idyllic farm surrounded by friendly neighbours and opportunities for fun.
While the core of the game is its daily farmyard busywork, there's so much more going on under the surface here, with various subplots to pursue and even an endless dungeon to explore. It's a cosy, enveloping experience that you can easily lose dozens of hours to.
2
Castaway Paradise
Castaway Paradise is very open about the fact that it aims to deliver an Animal Crossing experience for mobile, even going so far as to advertise itself as being "like Animal Crossing" on its store page.
And sure, what you're getting here is a solid alternative that might lack the polish of Nintendo's series but comes bearing many of its most popular systems and hooks. Plus, it even did the whole island getaway thing years before New Horizons arrived on the scene.
3
Seabeard
Seabeard, much like Castaway Paradise, takes everything great about Animal Crossing and translates the experience to mobile.
It benefits from having its own light-hearted personality, and this goes a long way in making it feel like its own thing as opposed to a lesser Animal Crossing.
Seabeard is super polished and well-presented, boasting years of additional content and post-launch support. Is it a better alternative than Castaway Paradise? That will really depend on whether you enjoy all the extra stuff it brings to the table.
4
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is very much a lite version of the beloved series, offering up a condensed take on what tend to be fairly sprawling experiences.
As such, it's by no means a fully-fledged Animal Crossing for mobile, but it might just tide you over until one arrives. Please, Nintendo, make it happen.
You'll kit your campsite out with all manner of neat cosmetics while crafting new items, learning how to fish, or cultivating fruit and flowers.
It's easy to get into, looks great, and retains a good deal of its big brothers' personality.
5
The Stillness of the Wind
If you find Animal Crossing's leisurely pace and busywork appealing, you might just get a kick out of one of 2019's finest indies. The Stillness of the Wind focuses in on the minutia of day-to-day life on an isolated farm, telling the tale of an elderly woman struggling to tend to her livestock and keep her livelihood afloat.
It's by no means a cutesy tale filled with witty animals, but it does deliver the same sense of satisfaction and pride that comes from gradually taking control of a tough situation and doing your own thing with what you've got.
We hope that you found our list of mobile games like Animal Crossing helpful. Let us know if you have any similar titles that you'd recommend to the rest of the players looking at the list!
Goddess of Victory: NIKKE is giving away 108 Recruitment opportunities for its 1.5 anniversary