The best life sims, from The Sims to Stardew Valley, take the most engaging and engrossing parts of life, or sometimes even the most mundane, and turn them into compelling experiences that players can spend hours playing at a time. It's hard not to immediately fall in love with these games as they transport fans to other realities where they can be who they want to be any way they can imagine. Whether it's reliving the glorious school days or attempting to be a parent to noisy triplets, life sims are truly unique.

Life sims are by far the most relaxing simulation games to unwind to, with it becoming incredibly easy to start up a save only to stop playing ten hours later. However, it can be difficult to narrow down the best life sims, especially when looking for a particular niche. Whether it's a new farming sim or a historical one, there are plenty of incredible life sims worth experiencing.

10 The Friends Of Ringo Ishikawa (2018)

A School Life Sim Set In Japan

The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is a semi-open-world beat 'em up with life-sim elements. It sees players take on the titular role of Ringo, as they attend school, attempt to get their grades up, hang out with their friends on the school roof, play ping pong, get a job at the video rental store, and so much more. There's a wealth of life sim mechanics that truly immerse the player in Ringo's routine, including an hour system that requires Ringo to turn up to lessons and his potential job on time.

Players have the freedom to choose what they do and when they do it in The friends of Ringo Ishikawa, with the story happening when they reach certain milestones. There's a great deal of freedom here, with fans able to truly embody Ringo and his everyday struggles. The developer of The friends of Ringo Ishikawa even went on to make one of the best Nintendo Switch games of 2024 for those looking for even more life sim content on the handheld.

9 Medieval Dynasty (2020)

Live The Life Of A Medieval Peasant

Living the life of a medieval peasant may not sound like the most fascinating thing in the world, but there's nothing quite like retreating into the forest, building a little hut, and foraging for food. Medieval Dynasty, as it suggests, really allows fans to fully immerse themselves within a medieval world, allowing them to farm, hunt, fight, grow a family, and so much more. It can be played from a first-person perspective for the ultimate immersive experience or from a third-person for people who prefer it.

Eventually, after building their own home and hunting for food, players will learn the skills to start their own town and will be able to invite nearby locals to them. Medieval Dynasty is even playable in co-op, although solo players can still have a great time. For those looking for a more realistic historical life sim, Medieval Dynasty is definitely the right choice.

8 Disney Dreamlight Valley (2022)

The Perfect Life Sim For Disney Fans

Disney Dreamlight Valley took what made the Animal Crossing series so beloved and put a very well-developed and fleshed-out Disney coat of paint over it. This isn't quite the cash grab many may have expected, as Disney Dreamlight Valley has gone on to become an incredibly content-rich experience that's perfect for both Disney fans and newcomers alike. Already, players have lots of Disney characters to interact and live with in Dreamlight Valley, making the world feel incredibly alive.

Fortunately, there are still so many characters that could come to Disney Dreamlight Valley, ensuring players have plenty of content to look forward to. With players able to farm, decorate their house, customize their character, and even embark on Disney-themed adventures to different lands, there's lots to see and do. Disney Dreamlight Valley is billed as a life sim/adventure-hybrid experience, and it absolutely delivers.

7 My Time At Sandrock (2023)

An Action-Adventure Life Sim With Plenty Of Characters

For those looking for a life-sim with a bit more action, My Time At Sandrock is the perfect fit. Putting players in charge of a farm in the middle of the aptly named town of Sandrock, My Time At Sandrock is a sprawling action life sim filled with a colorful cast of characters and diverse gameplay mechanics. Fans will be able to farm, delve deep into dungeons, fight bosses, find their love of their life and so much more.

The first game, My Time At Portia, offers a similar experience with a completely different cast of characters and a unique setting. However, Sandrock offered plenty of innovations to the formula, giving fans a far more refined experience.

While it had a rocky start on Switch, My Time At Sandrock has since gone on to be a deeply enjoyable experience on all platforms. There's lots to love about Sandrock, especially if the typical farming or life sims just aren't cutting it anymore. It is a beloved life sim and easily the best entry in the series so far, with glowing My Time At Sandrock reviews calling it one of the best life sims ever made.

6 Spiritfarer (2020)

The Most Heartbreakingly Sweet Life Sim

Spiritfarer isn't a life sim in the strictest , as it falls more under the category of a management sim. However, really, deep down, it's a game that's fundamentally about life, about the lives of the spirits on Stella's boat, about Stella's life, and about the player's life and their interactions with Stella. Spiritfarer's explorations of grief, loss, family, love, and friendship are what make it such a stand-out experience and a lovely, heartwarming, cozy game.

Of course, there are very much life-sim elements, waking up every day, tending to chores, hanging out with the various spirits, and more, so fans don't really need to worry about that. Spiritfarer is also just a gorgeous game to look at, with stunning animations and backdrops, and its soundtrack is one of the best in all gaming. It manages to balance the coziness of life sims with the fundamentally heartbreaking nature of loss and grief, which is what made Spiritfarer one of the best reviewed games of 2020.

5 Crusader Kings 3 (2020)

A Grand Scale Strategy Life Sim

Crusader Kings 3 may be a grand strategy game about conquering the world, but it is also, in many ways, a life sim. It's about creating a dynasty, watching as every king, queen, prince, princess, and more rise and fall, creating their own families, waging wars, encountering bizarre and wonderful events, and so much more. Crusader Kings 3, much like its predecessors, is just as much about the lives of the characters players create as it is about politics, war, and intrigue.

With a number of expansions fleshing out all aspects of Crusader Kings 3, there's so much content for fans to get stuck into. This is definitely a less conventional life sim, but perfect for those looking for something a little different. Additionally, Crusader Kings 3 is easily one of the best strategy games on PC right now, thanks to its sweeping scope and potential for endless narratives.

4 The Sims 4 (2014)

The Most Content Filled Life Sim

The Sims really defined the modern life sim, owing to its blend of gamified monotony and the fact that the player can experience all facets of life while continuing their playthrough beyond a single character. The Sims 4 introduced the series to a number of new and interesting mechanics, such as a far deeper exploration of each sim's emotional state. While it dropped the open world nature of The Sims 3 in favor of The Sims' more traditional individual locations, it more than made up for it with more complex systems.

The Sims 4's individual locations are connected via loading screens, and can be switched between at will. The loading times will differ depending on the power of the platform people are playing it on.

However, what makes The Sims 4 stand apart from the other life sims is its copious amount of content, a ridiculous abundance of expansion packs and smaller DLC that add so much stuff to the game. From entirely new experiences to furniture additions, The Sims 4's varied expansions are, more often than not, a great addition to the base experience. Of course, players will have to fork over a lot of money if they want the complete Sims 4 package.

3 Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)

The Best Life Sim On The Nintendo Switch

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is Nintendo's definitive cozy experience, and easily the best life sim currently available on the Nintendo Switch. It offers players everything: a cozy town to live in and explore, a plethora of fun minigames from fishing to bug catching, home decoration, colorful island mates to chat with, and even the ability to completely alter the island. New Horizons tried something different with the Animal Crossing franchise, giving players more long-term goals as well as even more short-term activities to ensure longer playtimes and a great investment.

It is fair to say that Animal Crossing: New Horizons gave fans everything they wanted in a sequel and more, far suring expectations. The immaculately positive reviews for Animal Crossing: New Horizons cemented its legacy as one of the best Switch games ever made. However, for those who don't gel well with the changes New Horizons brought, the plethora of other great Animal Crossing games make worthy substitutes.

2 Stardew Valley (2016)

The Ultimate Farming Life Sim

There were many great farming games before Stardew Valley and many that have come after it, but none have come close to nailing the balance of cozy farming and life sim elements as it did in 2016. Players can live out their dreams of moving to the idyllic countryside and running a farm with little to no worries other than ensuring they eat and sleep well enough to keep their stamina up. The farming in Stardew Valley is fun and simple, yet has more than enough complexity to ensure fans can build a truly remarkable farm with multiple moving parts.

Outside the farming, Stardew Valley excels as a delightful life sim thanks to its cast of characters and relationship system. Few games have such a memorable and compelling cast of characters as Stardew Valley has, and they are very much the game's lifeblood. Stardew Valley has a long and enduring legacy as one of the coziest games on Nintendo Switch ever made, and will continue to hold that title for many, many years to come.

1 The Sims 3 (2009)

The Most Endlessly Replayable Life Sim Ever Made

The Sims 3 is, to many, the best Sims game available, largely thanks to its brilliant cast of Sims and open world gameplay. Being able to watch as one character dashed in a taxi to the local restaurant for a date while another spent their time playing video games all day at home without a single loading screen in between was revolutionary for the time and still impressive now. The Sims 3 still feels remarkably complex to this day, yet is delightfully approachable thanks to its simple UI and easy-to-grasp controls.

The only downside to The Sims 3 is it's less than perfect console ports, as it is by far best played on PC. Nevertheless, fans are bound to have an extremely enjoyable and slightly chaotic experience with The Sims 3, no matter where they play it. There is a very good reason why The Sims games, and in particular, The Sims 3, are considered the greatest life sims of all time.