The best farming games to help you reap what you sow
The best farming games come in all shapes and sizes. While some deliver a traditional take on the ways of farming life, others offer up spooky vibes, or even go the fantasy route with a helping of magic. From raising you own cows to growing and harvesting crops and saving up to expand your agricultural haven, there's no shortage of farming games out there to try.
Whether you look after a ranch full of slimes, tend to a graveyard, or learn how to become a witch while you help your farm thrive, we're here to help you find the farming sim that speaks to you. And if you enjoy getting creative and building up your own home or farm, you might also find something to try out among our the best crafting games or the best city building games lists.
So get your watering can and sunhat at the ready as we take you through our selection of the best farming games you can play right now.
The very best farming games ever, starting with...
10. Graveyard Keeper
Developer: Lazy Bear Games
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
If you’re more Wednesday Addams than the rest of this list, that’s ok, we understand you. And so does Graveyard Keeper. It understands that instead of handing over wholesome bottles of milk or duck egg mayonnaise to your townspeople, you want to deliver ‘mystery meat’ to the local tavern that may or may not have been on your mortuary table. There aren’t many medieval cemetery sims out there, but this is definitely our favourite as you accept corpses from a dutiful bell-ringing donkey, make friends with a bouncing skull, and fix up a cemetery. Unlocking new crafting methods is initially a little fiddly, but once you’ve got to grips with all the grim tasks necessary to fulfil your duties, the ‘sunshine’ and ‘happiness’ of all of the rest of the games on this list will become a distant memory.
9. The Sims 4: Cottage Living
Developer: Maxis
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
The Sims 4: Cottage Living is an expansion pack that lets you live out your farming, cottagecore dreams. With a slice of village life, you can grow and harvest your own fresh ingredients and see your garden flourish to truly live off the land. With all manner of new items and clothing to really add to the lifestyle and aesthetic of life on your very own farm fantasy, you also get to do it in style. Not only that, but you can have your own cows and chickens to look after and bond with as well as llamas… Yes, that's right. Llamas. Along with woodland animals, Cottage Living really does bring a whole helping of cuteness. The Sims 4 expansion is a fantastic option for any Sims fans with a green thumb who wants to experience a virtual life in the countryside.
8. My Time at Portia
Developer: Pathea
Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch
If Stardew’s top down nature has always left you feeling a little disconnected then fret not, My Time at Portia brings you fully into the wholesome farming and village-y action in beautiful 3D. As you might expect, moving into a rickety old shack is a little sad at first, but head into the town of Portia and suddenly you’ll have all kinds of new friends and probably a strange obsession with playing a game called Cross Five with a chap named Isaac. Again, more than just a farming game but with plenty of growing and watering, My Time At Portia initially feels intimidating as you get to grips with its sprawling resource options but it doesn’t stay that way for long. Desperate rock smashing and tree chopping quickly transforms into elegant workshop creations and a cosy sense of farming pride.
My Time at Sandrock has now been released as the sequel to My Time at Portia. However, while it's definitely worth playing, because you play as a builder rather than a farmer, we still think Portia is the better fit for our best farming games list.
7. Slime Rancher 2
Developer: Monomi Park
Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Sometimes cows and sheep just don’t cut it. You need springy, smiling blobs that can be sucked and fired from a custom piece of technology known as a Vacpack. Welcome to life on the Far, Far Range, where you’re going to become obsessed with feeding different colours of squishy creatures their favourite foods and selling their faeces on the ever-changing *ahem* Plort Market. There’s something unquantifiably glorious about Slime Rancher. Whether you’re adventuring out into the world to find new types of slimes to ensnare, or just making sure that no rogue creatures have escaped their enclosures and are eating poo, this is the kind of dangerously happy world that it’s easy to lose hours in. Just prepare for the guilt if you’ve not fed anyone in a while and your Tabby Slimes little hungry faces make you die a little inside.
6. Kynseed
Developer: PixelCount Studios
Platform(s): PC
Kynseed is a sandbox life sim that's only grown more and more refined since leaving Early Access in 2022. Made by a team of ex-Lionhead developers, Kynseed's tongue-in-cheek humor feels similar to that of the Fable series at times. In terms of gameplay, though, the two entitles couldn't be more dissimilar. Kynseed is a stunning pixelart title that certainly stands apart from the other titles on this list, particularly because everyone in the game will live and die while you play. You'll control the titular and mystical Kynseed and grow your family legacy over generations by passing skills and powers down to your children and grandchildren. You can run businesses, go adventuring, develop relationships, and obviously farm too. Through farming, you'll create various ingredients that you - and the town - will come to rely upon, including beer and cures for illnesses. It's a frankly massive farming and management sim, with plenty of light combat elements to boot if all the nurturing grows tedious at time. What's not to love?
5. Wylde Flowers
Developer: Studio Drydock
Platform(s): PC, Switch, iOS
Wylde Flowers from developer Studio Drydock sees you take on the role of Tara, who's just moved to an island to take care of her grandmother. You'll soon get swept up in a magical story as you learn to become a witch, befriend the locals, and uncover mysteries. As you try your hand at the ways of being a witch, you'll look after your own farm, raise (and pet) cows, chickens, and more, and grown your own magical ingredients. You can even get married if you so choose. There's a lot of depth to the adventure, and if you're looking for a slice of farming life with a hint of magic, then look no further.
4. Voltaire the Vegan Vampire
Developer: Digitality Games
Platform(s): PC
Touted as a "farming action roguelite", Voltaire the Vegan Vampire is an indie farming game with sharp fangs and a huge, unbeating heart. Dracula's most compassionate son, Voltaire, has fled his father's castle for fear of being just too different in his dietary choices. Stepping into little Volty's shoes, you'll be planting and nurturing a host of kooky plants that either sustain his unlife or defend him from the onslaught of enemies sent by dear old dad to tear down the farm and return Volataire to his authority. Part farming sim and part Plants Versus Zombies-style combat, Voltaire the Vegan Vampire is a truly unique entrant among the best farming games because it's about so much more than simply growing crops. It's a challenging and strategic adventure involving numerous maps, hundreds of unique plants to collect and nurture, and a beautiful message underpinning it all: being yourself, no matter how different you feel, is a beautiful thing.
3. Coral Island
Developer: Stairway Games
Platform(s): PC
If you're looking for a game like Stardew Valley, you really need to check out Coral Island because it's essentially the best clone yet. Seasonal events, mining, an entire town of people to befriend and romance, animal rearing, shrines to donate resources too, and of course farming too. There's so much that's directly inspired by Stardew Valley, but with its own little tweaks and Indonesian influences. There are hints of Animal Crossing too, with a museum to build out, and Coral Island also does things its own way with elements like deep-sea diving and a mystery involving mermaids to unravel. All of that is coupled with a narrative that explores themes of pollution and spirituality. It's currently in Early Access, but there's a full year of content to enjoy already.
2. Farming Simulator 23
Developer: Giants Software
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
We say that all of the games on this list are about farming but let’s face it, that’s not really the case. They’re about pressing A to crop, B to milk, or smudging your finger across a screen to make all your animals magically happy. Sure it’s in the title but Farming Simulator 23, much like its predecessors, is actually about farming. It’s about fixing the right bits to the back of your tractor, lowering them perfectly to the ground with a satisfying clonk, and feeling a slow, trickling sense of true achievement as you painstakingly manage to cultivate one tiny strip of acres of land. If the various attachments on your vacuum cleaner of choice get you excited, then you’re going to love this. As the latest entry in the series, Farming Simulator 23 brings in new maps, crops, machinery, and so much more to Switch and mobile players. This isn't just one of the best farming games – this is the ultimate simulator if you've ever fancied yourself a spot of country livin'.
1. Stardew Valley
Developer: ConcernedApe
Platform(s): PS4, PS5 Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
It might feel like a cop-out, but in the world of the best farming games, there really can be only one crown jewel. Here, in the sweet embrace of Stardew Valley, available on a now dangerous number of platforms, you will lose hundreds of hours painstakingly fixing up your grandfather’s old farm, naming your animals, selling your wares, mining, collecting, flirting…you get the idea. It’s all here in colorful top-down form. With a host of delightful updates since it first launched, there have been plenty of new additions to keep the pixelated farming sim feeling fresh and keep you coming back for more. Developer ConcernedApe (aka Eric Barone) is also hard at work on pixel RPG Haunted Chocolatier, but he's not hanging up his trowel and wellies just yet; Stardew Valley is his baby, but it's also everyone's favorite digital farming experience. If you've yet to check it out, here's your sign to do so.
If you're looking for more farming goodness, check out these games like Stardew Valley or our pick of the best sim games you can play right now.
