Hey there! How’ve you been? Shit’s crazy, but all things considered, I’m doing just fine. As I’ve leveled up throughout years, my gaming tastes have shifted. Since the launch of Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (which is one of my favorite games you can read about here), I’ve been consuming a lot of RPG and JPRPG titles, but that’s for a separate article. My preferences have leaned towards big action adventure games and RPGs like Horizon Zero Dawn as well as titles that are calming like Animal Crossing. These are games I find fun and that I can play while watching HGTV and FoodNetwork with the wife. I wanted to share some of these with my friends and whoever else is interested, so here’s a list I’ve compiled of some of my favorite slow jams.
Animal Crossing New Horizons
Available On: Switch
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this game made the cut. While New Horizons will be a lot of players’ first introduction to the series, Animal Crossing has been around for a long time. The series first debuted on Nintendo 64 in 2001 in Japan and was then remade for GameCube and released here in North America in 2002. Prior to this release, my favorite entry was New Leaf for 3DS and 2DS and it’s a damn fine game for those who don’t have a Switch. In Animal Crossing you’re tasked with catching bugs, fish, and gathering resources like wood and ore from trees and rocks. You can forage for shells and soon items in the ocean with the upcoming Wave 1 update releasing in July. You use these resources to craft tools, furniture, and other items. The overall goal is to pay Tom Nook loans of varying amounts to upgrade your home along with covering construction costs to build bridges over rivers and whatnot. You’ll eventually fill your island up with residents who helps bring a sense of community to the game. New Horizons offers local and online co-op and since it uses real-world time and seasons, there’s always something new to catch and find every month throughout the year, even before the free content updates drop.
Stardew Valley
Available On: PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, PS4, PS Vita, Switch
Ahhhhhh Stardew. This game is special to me because it’s the first chillaxing farming/life sim I’ve ever played (not including the original Sims of course). If I’m being honest, I had zero interest in this masterpiece until I heard it was coming to Switch. That’s even after it came with strong recommendations from my Pixel family for years. The day it dropped on Switch I picked it up and that was it—I was hooked—and I still play it to this day. Eric Barone, the lone developer responsible for creating this gaming gem, was heavily influenced by the Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon franchises and it shows. Even now, as I write this, Stardew is still receiving updates that bring quality of life improvements and even marquee features like multiplayer! The basic jist of the game it so build up your run down farm and sell artisanal items like cheese and wine from things like grapes and cheese you get from your animals and crops. It’s a wonderfully engrossing title and one of my all time fav relaxing go-to games. I recommend grabbing it on Switch if you have one since you’ll get both portable and docked ways to play. It’s worth noting there is no cross-save between the PS4 and Vita versions, although if you buy it on one you do get it on the other.
Fantasy Life
Available On: 3DS, 2DS
Fantasy Life was, and is, one of my favorite games of all time. I would pay a full $60 to have this shit remade again for Switch. Hell, I’ll even just take a HD upscaled port at this point it’s that good. In this game you assume the role of a miner, cook, paladin, archer, mage, etc. Think of it as classes in Final Fantasy, except oozing charm. This game isn’t a farming sim like the other games on my list, but it’s more of a lite action RPG with interchangeable classes and lots of quests. Is it repetitive? Sure, like most games it can be. Do I care? Nope. Not when the characters are so great and the overall experience is so upbeat.
Doraemon Story of Seasons
Available On: PC, PS4, Switch
Now this game is the newest one out of the bunch when it comes to what I’ve been playing. I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about Doraemon except that he’s popular in Japan. Instead, what drew me in was the Story of Seasons name and the painterly visuals. The biggest downside is the admittedly long tutorial that spans about an hour, but once it actually opens up and lets you play there’s a lot of charming gameplay here. There also seems to be a decent story that will unfold over many hours which I’m excited to dive into. If you want something that’s like Stardew but with a more involved story, I say pick this one up.
