Castaway Paradise
Games Like Animal Crossing for Xbox One
Fancy a game where you can fulfill your dream of living in a township of animals as the only human resident? I mean, it seems like a very specific dream to have, but we’re not here to judge.
Animal Crossing may be a Nintendo exclusive, but that hasn’t stopped some other cheeky developers from putting their own spin on it. Never is this more apparent than in Castaway Paradise, a life simulation game where you catch bugs and fish, pick weeds and complete tasks set by your helpless menagerie of neighbors.
There’s no beating around the bush here, this game basically is Animal Crossing in the most shameless manner, but now that it has arrived on the Xbox One, eager cat, moose, and pig fanciers will be able to reap the benefits without having to invest in a Nintendo console.
The only way it could be any more brazen would be if they made a Home Designer spinoff, which sounds like a terrible idea that should never happen except oh wait it totally did.
Viva Pinata
Games Like Animal Crossing for Xbox One
Should you be looking for something a little less on the nose (if your village has a doggo, does that mean it is a nose that you must boop?), you may prefer this unique spin on the simulator genre.
Viva Pinata sees you as a gardener on Pinata Island, who must tend to the soil, plant seeds and bring back enough life to coax the colorful residents onto your property. Along the way, you’ll have to deal with rogue pinatas, fatal illnesses and an antagonistic fellow named Professor Pester. Frankly, if my parents had named me ‘Pester’, I would also be inclined to be a pain in the ass.
Because of your commitments and attention to detail, Viva Pinata is a lot less leisurely than Animal Crossing, a series where there are very few punishments for laziness, even when it means that the lighthouse doesn’t get turned on at night. Scandalous!
Though Viva Pinata wasn’t released as a standalone title for Xbox One, it’s a backward compatible 360 game, along with its superior sequel, Trouble in Paradise. Alternatively, you can grab both as part of the Rare Replay compilation. That way, you’ll also get gems like Banjo-Kazooie and Perfect Dark. Needless to say, neither of those happen to be similar to Animal Crossing.
Stardew Valley
Games Like Animal Crossing for Xbox One
See how we took you on a journey there? From animal game to animal farm game, to just farm game. Welcome to Stardew Valley, the most versatile indie offering this side of Vroom in the Night Sky.
There aren’t any talkative animals in this title (aside from Elliott, who is clearly a beast between the sheets), but you’ll still get to enjoy becoming a productive member of society as you turn around the fortunes of an ailing property.
There’s a little bit of everything to get done in this game, from exploring the mines in search of gems to wooing the local floozies en route to starting a family of your own. You’ll never be short of things to do, the only thing you’ll run out of are hours in the day.
Normally, our next recommendation would then be the OG farming sim Harvest Moon, but unfortunately, it is completely absent on the Xbox One. Unless you want to watch the movie of the same name about a spoiled city girl who goes to work on a pumpkin farm. Spoiler alert: you don’t want to watch that at all.
The Sims 4
Games Like Animal Crossing for Xbox One
Ahh, good old Sims. As you would probably expect, this series is synonymous (Simnonymous?) with the life simulator genre, and each entry adds more wonderful things for your merry little people to experience, as well as more dreadful things that will make their lives just that much more miserable.
For the uninitiated, Sims 4 lets you build a house, fill it with people, and watch as they try to endure the rigors of day to day life. Will they find love? A career? A futuristic shower that spins their nude bodies around like obtuse installation art?
A lot of that depends on how you – the hopefully benevolent hand of God – choose to guide them. You’ll be able to influence a lot of their decisions through the power of suggestion, but part of the charm comes with the Sims’ own burgeoning independence (Simdependence?) as they occasionally operate in spite of you and better judgment.
Often, it ends with them catching fire and dying painfully. But for every pile of ash, there are at least two happy Sims that have eked out a mediocre life, and those are pretty good odds.
Ooblets
Games Like Animal Crossing for Xbox One
As has often been the case with Xbox One lately, we’re still left wanting on the life simulator front. For that reason (and because four would just be a weird number to end this list on), we look ahead to the next contender on the horizon; the quirky indie title, Ooblets.
Self-proclaimed as being a marriage of ‘Harvest Moon meets Pokemon meets Animal Crossing’, your goal is to amass and train the eponymous Ooblets. Work the land, customize your character’s look, interact with the village people (preferably at the YMCA) and become a master Ooblet trainer.
Sure, it harkens more to Pokemon than Animal Crossing, but it’s definitely gotten our attention. I particularly like this little frog-looking dude in the attached picture. I’m going to name him Alvin, and he’s going to be a carpenter someday, I reckon.
Hopefully, that has sufficiently crossed your animals for now. If you’re still itching for more, make sure to check out our list of games like Animal Crossing for PC, as well!
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