You know the moment. The last loan is paid off, every villager you wanted has moved in, the museum is full, and you’re standing on your five-star island at 11pm thinking… now what? I’ve hit that wall more than once, and the answer has never been “play something completely different”. I just want new neighbors, a new house to fill and a new little daily routine.
Think of this as the sibling to my list of games like Stardew Valley, minus the crops. Here it’s all villagers, decorating and that gentle check-in-every-day feeling (most people call these cozy life sims, if you were wondering). I’ve grouped them by where you play: Switch, PC/Steam, and mobile. On PS5 or Xbox? Disney Dreamlight Valley, Palia, Fantasy Life i and Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit are on both, Hello Kitty Island Adventure is on PS5, and Spirittea and Kamaeru are on Xbox.
Games Like Animal Crossing for Switch (and Switch 2)
If you’re a Nintendo person through and through (hi, same), start here. These feel most at home on the console Animal Crossing lives on. And if you haven’t been back to your island in a while, New Horizons got a Switch 2 Edition on January 15, 2026. For Switch picks beyond the Animal Crossing feel, see my full list of cozy Switch games.
1. Pokémon Pokopia (2026)
Your character is a Ditto, living in a world that’s lost its people, and your job is to make it livable again. You shape the land, build habitats, put up houses and furniture, and Pokémon start moving in. They have requests, they hang around your village, and bit by bit it grows into a town that’s yours. There are no battles at all. Up to four players can build together over local wireless or online.
This is the closest thing we’ve had to “Nintendo made another Animal Crossing”, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Build a spot, wait to see who shows up, make it nicer for them: that loop is exactly the itch. One catch. It’s a Switch 2 exclusive, so you do need the new console.
Play this one if you:
– Have always wanted a Bulbasaur as a neighbor instead of a grumpy cat
– Love the “build it and they will come” part of Animal Crossing
– Want a cozy game you can play with up to three friends
Where to play: Nintendo Switch 2
2. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream (2026)
Step one: make Miis of anyone you like (your friends, your family, your favorite fictional characters) and drop them on an island together. You place their homes and shops and fix their problems, and then you mostly just watch. They make friends, fall out, fall in love and say very strange things. A news report catches you up on the gossip.
Animal Crossing really has two halves, decorating and villagers, and this is the villager half turned all the way up. You get less creative control over the island. You won’t care the moment two Miis you made as a joke start dating. It’s the most I’ve laughed at a cozy game in a long time.
Play this one if you:
– Think the best part of Animal Crossing is villager drama
– Like games you can dip into for ten minutes a day
– Want to see your best friend marry a cartoon chef
Where to play: Nintendo Switch (also plays on Switch 2)
3. Hello Kitty Island Adventure
After a plane mishap strands you on an abandoned island with Hello Kitty and friends, you settle into a daily rhythm that’s all about friendship. You give each character the gifts they love, do their little requests, decorate your cabin and fix up the island piece by piece. Seasonal events keep pulling you back.
Yes, it’s on my Switch list too. It earns a second spot because no game nails Animal Crossing’s friendship loop better. Each Sanrio character has gift preferences you learn over time, and leveling them up opens new storylines and brings new visitors. Pop in, give everyone a present, go to bed: so Animal Crossing. You can also play with a friend online.
Play this one if you:
– Have a Kuromi plush within arm’s reach right now
– Love gifting villagers and watching your friendship grow
– Want a gentle daily routine with a bit of light exploring
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch | Nintendo Switch 2 | PlayStation | Apple Arcade
4. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (2025)
Fourteen “Lives” are on the menu here (jobs like angler, cook, carpenter, tailor and magician), and you can switch between them whenever you like. Alongside the story you get your own island to shape. You clear land, place buildings and decorations, and residents move in as it grows. There’s also a time-travel plot, a lot of crafting, and monsters to fight.
Honest take: this is more RPG than daily routine, and you won’t feel the “what do my villagers need today?” pull as strongly. But if you’ve ever thought “I love Animal Crossing, I just wish there was something to do“, this is your game. I played a fishing-carpenter-tailor combo for way longer than I meant to. It supports up to four players online.
Play this one if you:
– Have ever wished Tom Nook gave you a sword
– Want island building with a real story attached
– Like having lots of jobs to level up
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch | Nintendo Switch 2 | PlayStation | Xbox
PC Games Like Animal Crossing on Steam
Animal Crossing has never come to PC, and it probably never will. Luckily there are plenty of games like Animal Crossing on Steam to fill the gap. Most of these are on Switch too, so I’ve listed every platform for each one.
5. Littlewood
The hero has already saved the world. That was you, and you don’t remember any of it. All that’s left is rebuilding the town. You gather wood and stone, invite villagers to move in, build their homes and shops, then put every building, path and decoration exactly where you want it. You get a set amount of energy each day, so it settles into a calm, bite-sized routine.
A solo developer made this, and it has so much heart. The free-placement town planner is the closest thing on PC to the terraforming-and-decorating side of New Horizons, and each villager has their own personality and friendship events. It’s perfect for short sessions too, which I appreciate on a weeknight.
Play this one if you:
– Like the idea of retiring from heroism to become a town planner
– Want something cozy you can play in 20-minute chunks
– Love placing every flower bed yourself
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch
6. Palia
The villagers here haven’t seen a human in ages, and then you turn up and settle down in the village of Kilima. You get a big plot of land for your home, and your days go to fishing, bug catching, cooking, gathering and getting to know the locals. Other players are around too, so it feels like a shared town.
It’s free-to-play, with optional paid cosmetics. Nothing you need to progress is behind a paywall, but there is a shop, so go in knowing that. If you want a free game like Animal Crossing, this is my top pick. The bug catching and fishing scratch the exact itch, and the housing system is fantastic. A Switch 2 Edition is coming in December 2026 as a free upgrade for Switch players.
Play this one if you:
– Want Animal Crossing’s hobbies without spending a cent
– Like seeing other players wander around your town
– Spend more time on your house than anything else
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch | PlayStation | Xbox
7. Disney Dreamlight Valley
A curse called the Forgetting has wiped out Dreamlight Valley, and you bring it back by inviting Disney and Pixar characters home. Each one gets a house you can place, a friendship level to raise and a stack of quests. Meanwhile you fish, garden, cook and decorate both your house and the whole valley.
This one’s my pick for PS5 and Xbox players, since it’s on basically every console (you’ll find it on my Switch list as well). Check on everyone, do a few chores, rearrange the furniture. Very Animal Crossing, just with Mickey and Moana instead of Raymond and Marshal. The base game is a one-time purchase, and the story expansions cost extra.
Play this one if you:
– Would like to be next-door neighbors with Ursula, for some reason
– Play on PS5 or Xbox and feel left out of the Animal Crossing fun
– Love decorating a whole valley, not just one house
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch | PlayStation | Xbox
8. Go-Go Town! (2026)
Go-Go Town! hands you a patch of empty land and asks you to turn it into a thriving town. You lay out roads, build shops and homes, decorate every corner, hire townies to run the businesses, and welcome the tourists who start pouring in. As it grows you keep tweaking the layout to keep everyone happy. It’s colorful and chaotic in a good way, and you can build with friends (up to four players on Steam, two on Switch).
Fair warning: this is more town builder than neighbor sim. You won’t get attached to these townies the way you do with Animal Crossing’s villagers.
But.
If your favorite part of New Horizons was Island Designer, and you’ve rebuilt your island more times than you’d admit, this is that feeling as a whole game. It left Early Access with its 1.0 release in July 2026.
Play this one if you:
– Have redone your island’s river layout at least three times
– Want to build a town with a friend or partner
– Care more about the layout than about who lives there
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch
9. Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge
Kamaeru sends you home to restore the wetlands of your childhood, and as you dig ponds and let the water back in, the frogs come back. You photograph each new species for your journal, breed frogs with new colors and patterns, and decorate the refuge with ponds, plants and decorations to keep them happy. Every day there’s a bit more to fix and a few more frogs to meet.
Animal Crossing’s critter-collecting, museum-filling energy is all here, only with frogs. Filling in the frog journal gave me the exact same feeling as donating my last fossil to Blathers, and honestly the whole thing is ribbiting (sorry, I had to). It’s also a lovely, gentle game about bringing a place back to life, which I’m a sucker for.
Play this one if you:
– Think frogs are the most underrated animal (correct)
– Love completing a collection
– Want decorating with a soft environmental message
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch | Xbox
10. Spirittea
Writer’s block is what sends you to a small country town, and somehow you end up running the local bathhouse for spirits. You heat the water, keep the baths clean and keep your guests happy. In between you help the townsfolk, go fishing, take on the locals in a drinking game at the bar and slowly uncover why the spirits are causing trouble.
There’s not much decorating, so it misses that half of Animal Crossing. The small-town routine, though, is spot on: neighbors with schedules, gossip, festivals and friendships that build over the seasons. It feels like getting to know the people on your island, which for me is the heart of the whole genre. It’s quietly funny too, and a good pick on Xbox.
Play this one if you:
– Always wanted to own a bathhouse (who didn’t?)
– Love small-town gossip and neighbor friendships
– Want a cozy game with a little mystery in it
Where to play: Steam | Nintendo Switch | Xbox
Mobile Games Like Animal Crossing
For the bus, the waiting room, or under the covers when you’re supposed to be asleep. These are made for little check-ins, which suits the genre perfectly.
11. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete
Real Animal Crossing, on your phone. You run a campsite, invite camper villagers to stay, catch bugs and fish to fill their requests, and decorate your campsite and camper with furniture you craft. Familiar faces, familiar items, the familiar daily rhythm, just smaller.
The original free-to-play Pocket Camp shut down, and Complete replaced it in December 2024. It’s a one-time purchase ($19.99) with no microtransactions, and it plays offline. If you want Animal Crossing and nothing but Animal Crossing, this is the easiest way to get more of it.
Play this one if you:
– Miss Pocket Camp and never got over it
– Want real Animal Crossing villagers wherever you go
– Hate microtransactions (same)
Where to play: App Store | Google Play
12. Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit
A bus mishap separates you from your scout troop and strands you on a mysterious island, where you end up helping a group of ghost bears remember who they were. Each day a few of them have new tasks for you, and as you help, color seeps back into the island. In between you craft, fish, decorate your campsite and spruce up the whole place.
Of everything on this list, this has the most Animal Crossing rhythm. The quests come in a real-time drip each day, so you can’t binge it — you pop in, do your bit and come back tomorrow. I love that. It started on Netflix Games (free with a Netflix subscription), and since July 2026 it’s also a paid game on Steam and every console.
Play this one if you:
– Think “ghost bear” is the cutest phrase in the English language
– Want a game that tells you to stop for the day
– Love watching a gray place fill with color
Where to play: App Store (Netflix) | Steam | Nintendo Switch | PlayStation | Xbox
13. Usagi Shima: Bunny Island
To lure bunnies to an abandoned island, you decorate it with little toys, treats and furniture. More than 30 kinds of bunnies come to visit (35+ in the upcoming Steam version), and the more of them you befriend, the more move in. You pet them, feed them, take their photos and slowly fill the island with friends. It’s an idle game, so the bunnies show up while you’re away.
Smallest, gentlest game here, and that’s the point. No pressure at all, just a bit of decorating and a lot of fluffy visitors. The mobile version is free to play, with optional purchases. A paid Steam version with no microtransactions is coming October 29, 2026, if you’d rather have your bunnies on a bigger screen.
Play this one if you:
– Need more bunnies in your life (everyone does)
– Want an idle game that’s pure comfort
– Like the “who’s visiting today?” part of Animal Crossing best
Where to play: App Store | Google Play | Steam (coming Oct 29)
Which Island Are You Moving to Next?
That’s my list! If I had to pick just one, it would be Pokopia for Switch 2 players and Disney Dreamlight Valley for anyone on PC. Cozy Grove, though, is the one that feels most like those early New Horizons days to me, with its slow, one-day-at-a-time rhythm. And if you want neighbors to visit with someone, check out my favorite cozy co-op games for more to play with a partner or friend.
If it turns out you want crops after all, my Stardew Valley list has you covered. Otherwise, I hope one of these gives you a new island to love. Which one are you trying first? ✨
