The world of simulation games isn’t as loud as shooters or action titles, but it has persisted across different platforms for long periods. Farming simulators involve spending capital to buy starting crops and livestock to raise, propagate, and profit of. These games have different levels of depth or sophistication. Mobile versions usually lean towards more casual audiences, while their non-portable counterparts offer interesting mechanics that promote longer playing hours. Here is a list of the best farming games that defined the simulation genre:

Stardew Valley

There’s a reason that this title is looked up to as one of the best farming games even five years after its release. Inheriting your late grandfather’s farm and making it prosper into one of the best in town has drawn many a gamer to its charm. Stardew Valley does not only focus on creating optimal yields and high profitability. It also emphasizes building relationships and friendship with the locals. This town life sim keeps players occupied with various activities, making all those actions and interactions a time well spent.

Farming Simulator

This GIANTS Software creation rolls on with an ever-increasing number of releases across various platforms. Farming Simulator titles feature Career mode, where the standard fare of expanding your farm, updating your equipment, and optimizing your crops is the M.O. Missions mode puts players on randomly-generated tasks they must immediately complete for best rewards. Some Farming Simulator iterations take pride in having Multiplayer, where others can join you in tending to crops and a plethora of other tasks. Realism coupled with great graphics established this game’s place among the best in the genre.

Staxel

Another title that followed the steps of Harvest Moon by combining farm simulation with village life interactions. This voxel game puts the players in the boots of an aspirant who will till the soil, care for animals, and claim the best fruits of labor. Its sandbox format ensures no playthrough will be the same. Your decisions will impact the village you are in. Planning to keep it as it is? Going a little more progressive and aim for a new horizon? Prefer to be a recluse and leave everything behind? It’s all up to you.

Hay Day

Hay Day is well-regarded as one of the most-played mobile farming games boasting over 100 million downloads. It is no surprise, given that Supercell has made other smash hits like Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, and Brawl Stars. Apart from cleaning, tending, and expanding your farm, you get to do other tasks like running roadside shops and playing a fishing mini-game. Players form into “neighborhoods,” where they can chat with each other, request items, or trade goods. Expect the freemium treatment on some aspects, given its free-to-play nature.

My Time at Portia

From Pathea Games, this is a post-apocalyptic simulation where humanity is slowly emerging from underground shelters that housed them to reestablish a new society. Your prowess in farming, gathering and tool-making affects the city of Portia and will be the measure of its prosperity. Item-creation is the core gameplay, where your pooled resources are crafted into objects to win rewards, town favor, and money. Apart from farming and gathering, there are assignments where the player is sent to dungeons to fight enemies. This makes the game unique in the sim genre in terms of mechanics.

Farm Together

Customization is a strong point of this Milkstone Studios concept. You are given a wide selection of items to personalize the look of your farm. Expressing yourself even extends to the appearance of your character through apparel. The social aspect of the game extends to the user opening his or her farm to others through a permission system, where players can allow friends and even strangers to manage the farm when the owner is offline. Players can set limits on what other people can do, reducing the risk of your painstakingly-made farm falling to vandalism.

Slime Rancher

This Monomi Park creation slightly distances itself from the usual farm simulation game. Apart from the sci-fi frontiers setting, the main economy centers on feeding slimes to produce sellable items that in turn, makes revenue to upgrade the rancher’s equipment and structures. Exploration is another theme in the game. Slimes are collected in the wild and going out gathering or hunting is limited by how much the player can carry on a single trip. These innovations coupled with cute graphics make this title a must-play for simulation fans.

Big Little Farmer

Those wanting a step back from the chaos that is online play will find this title suitable to their tastes. Big Little Farmer from Innovation Drive Studios is one of few farming games that supports completely offline play. Gameplay is standard fare for farm simulations. Till the fields, raise livestock, and gather crops for a neat profit to buy upgrades with and make more revenue. Even so, it will feel different when you can do all that without the need to stay online.

Township

Playrix’s free-to-play game combines farm cultivation with city-building. Harvesting crops, processing them into goods, and selling them for profit will be your city’s lifeblood. Amassing XP levels the player up, unlocking higher-tier facilities and decorations to fuel your community’s growth. Leveling up is also a way to get higher-paying missions for faster XP growth. Player interaction is highly encouraged, with the idea of helping your friends develop their cities alongside yours. Co-op missions are available for better rewards, as well as the ability to donate goods to your friends.

Farmville 2: Country Escape

The successor of Zynga’s FarmVille was regarded as one of the most popular social games of its time. Much of the interactive aspects of the game took on new forms, such as co-op play and the ability to trade goods with other players. Gameplay changes set this title apart from its predecessor, such as multi-part quests, a market watch on what goods sell the most, and how to create more lucrative products. FarmVille 2: Country Escape started the change from the original’s game of patience to a more strategic direction.

And this concludes the list of the best farming games across different platforms. Put on your virtual straw hat and choose where you will best sink your time into.