#1 Coral Island: a Southeast Asia gem
Coral Island seems like the usual flair when it comes to farming except.. it lets you explore environmentalism options such as creating a recycling hub for your town. The ecosystem of the town is at the heart of the game. It encourages you to help the environment thrive by diving in the coral reefs and pick up trash.
Bonus points! This game, made by an Indonesian studio, Stairway Games, and has a Southeast Asia setting which is a refreshing change of environment.
We love to see more indie developers shre their culture in video games, especially those from Asia! (side note, Venba is a cooking game where you get to explore the cultural Indian cuisine!).
Ooblets oozes with charm everywhere you poke your nose in. You take care of a small plot of land that lets you plant a variety of crops in which you can use them to craft into food or items to sell.
Almost every element has a personal touch by the developers. Coffee? No, its called "beanjuice".
Occasionally, you'll get access to special seeds that let you grow "ooblets" that are special creatures that participate in dance-offs competitions with you and help you out in the farm.
We love the resourceful nature of this game where everything you plant has its use in a variety of ways as you slowly help grow the little town you reside in.
#3 Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town: back to nature!
Story of Seasons, once more known as Harvest Moon, is a popular game that explores the notion of returning to nature and being a part of a thriving community.
One of the highlights of the upcoming entry is accessing a garden where the seasons never change and thus letting you plant any crop you want all year round. Its that kind of romantic idea of overcoming the limits of nature that a lot of farmers, I assume, would flirt with as they use agtech to flourish their crops and push the boundaries of farming.
I always loved the Harvest Moon/ Story of Seasons series that encourage you to explore your surroundings and really embrace what nature has to offer.
Honourable Mention: Stardew Valley: endless dedication
Stardew Valley has been out since 2016 and it was singlehandedly made by one person who still passionately updates the game with huge chunks of content. The game really rewards you for optimising the way you farm and scale your efforts.
A part of the plot is you working hard everyday to grow your farm and support the town's community hub or you could give in an pay the suspicious corporation as an easy way out to complete that story arc. In this (farm) house we support small businesses!
Also, you can also explore the mines which are infested with monsters. We like to pretend the monsters we faced are investors who turned us away by saying we cannot scale. hiyahhh.
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