The 16 Best Games Like 'Slime Rancher'

The cleverly named Snaktooth Island is home to some of the most uncanny creatures we've ever laid eyes on. Bugsnax is all about rounding up those delicious-looking food-inspired animals, of which there are 100+ variations. The cute and cuddly vibes present in this game are notable, so Slime Rancher fans will definitely get their money's worth using a variety of tools to bring a living strawberry, a honey bee, and a burger into their possession.

You're gonna wanna square away a whole week or so if you choose to delve into the addictive world of Stardew Valley. Since 2016, this spiritual successor to Harvest Moon has bettered itself and taken the mantle of the best farming/life simulation on the market. After your grandfather's old farm plot, you'll work overtime to restore it to its former glory. And that means you'll be raising cattle, growing crops, and crafting all sorts of helpful tools. Don't forget to find your significant other and go indulge in some dungeon crawling during your non-farming activities!

Keeping a zoo's operations running smoothly is a super tough venture. But we all know that gamers can rise up to any occasion and conquer most challenges that regular folk wouldn't even dare undertake. Zoo Tycoon 2 is all about running every facet of your own custom zoo - through the game's main Campaign, Challenge, and Freeform modes, players will have the chance to run the daily tasks associated with keeping your animals, staff, and park patrons happy.

Anyone who's spent an inordinate amount of time with RPGs knows the concept of the village shopkeeper all too well. They always come through in the clutch to sell you the essential items and gear your party needs to save the day (and ultimately the world!). Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is one of those simulation games that offer a fresh perspective that focuses on presiding over one's own item shop. Like Slime Rancher, you'll take on some huge business tycoon responsibilities. Instead of managing slimes, you'll need to keep your shop running and looking its very best while also exploring dungeons on the side.

Another highly recommended life/animal gathering simulation that's perfect for this list of the best games like Slime Rancher is most definitely Ooblets. While taking care of all the mini jobs associated with keeping a farm in a successful state, players also have to keep watch of their oh-so-cuddly "Ooblets." Those precious little creatures actually come in really handy since they help in making your farm blossom (plus they look so awesome whenever they break out into dance battles!). Ooblets is a joyous farming/life sim that you have to seek out and spend some time with.

Managing the upkeep of your own personal garden filled with piñata animals is a ton of fun. Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise tasks you with that fun responsibility - it's up to you to alter your garden to attract said animals and even help them mate to create precious baby piñatas. Grow your animal sanctuary as the best gardener you can be and enjoy a fashion show from time to time while you're at it. Copping the Xbox 360 version of this game is worth it for collectors. But for everyone else, just seek out the version of this game available on the Xbox One's Rare Replay.

Slime Rancher puts you on the path of exploring an alien planet in search of slimes that can improve your farming operation. In the case of Grow Home, players aid a little robot named B.U.D. (Botanical Utility Droid) that must keep its alien homeworld alive through another sort of operation. Climbing the "Star Plant" giant beanstalk leads to B.U.D. having to grow platforms that push you ever so higher to collectible seeds for it to harvest. Help the Star Plant grow and your home planet will get the oxygen it needs to survive in the process. Once you get used to controlling B.U.D.'s tricky arms, you'll grow to love Grow Home.

Raising slimes is hella fun. Running your own gigantic zoo is on the same scale as that whimsical activity. The only difference is Planet Zoo has much higher stakes and a tougher difficulty curve. You're put in a top position here to keep your animals safe and comfortable, plus everyone looks to you to handle the zoo's landscaping and staff management needs. If you've given the previously mentioned Zoo Tycoon 2 a bit of your time and loved it, then you're also gonna have the time of your life with this similar zoo business simulator.

The first-person exploits of the Slime Rancher games can be found here in Island Saver, a game in which you're gonna be kept busy cleaning up polluted islands with your trusty "Trash Blaster." This delightful game hosts a collection of explorable biomes and also features a ton of animals to save from their dirty predicaments. Keep an eye out for those annoying "Litterbugs" while you're out there saving the environment by sucking up all that garbage and making all the local wildlife happy again.

Sun Haven offers an amalgamation of your usual farming sim mechanics and RPG elements that place your protagonist within a medieval fantasy world. Within that world are three main locales, which include a small town full of humans, a village ruled by elves, and a city dominated by monsters. As you interact with the denizens of each location, you'll tend to your farm's many needs and embark on assorted missions focused on magic, monsters, and dragons. The eight-player multiplayer feature makes all your farming and questing all the more fun.

Slime Rancher players that love the vast exploration portion of the game will get the same feeling of satisfaction from Penko Park. You'll mainly be making your way around an abandoned wildlife park full of eccentric creatures that you'll need to keep track of with your camera. Just imagine all the best elements of Slime Rancher and Pokémon Snap all smashed into one for this whimsical journey.

Hawk Peak Provincial Park is a boundless locale full of wondrous sights and sounds to enjoy. A Short Hike lets you explore all the visible and hidden nooks & crannies of the mountainside hub you'll now call home. Along the way, you'll run into fellow hikers, discover treasure, go fishing, etc. while you soak in the sounds of nature and the game's soothing soundtrack.

This next pick on our list of the best games like Slime Rancher is a narrative-driven adventure game that offers the same quaint feel as Monomi Park's smash hit. Teacup's story centers on a shy lady frog who seeks out all the ingredients she needs for her own tea party. As you navigate Little Pond, you'll get to speak with other anthropomorphic animals and aid them through the incorporation of assorted minigames.

Instead of dealing with all manner of happy-go-lucky slimes as Slime Rancher does, Spore deals in giving players the ability to create & keep watch over their own alien creatures, buildings, and vehicles. Developing your own species allows players to follow its journey from a microscopic organism into a full-fledged creature that can eventually make its way throughout the galaxy. The theme of evolution lies at the heart of this classic life simulation game.

The farming habits you most likely developed while playing the Slime Rancher series will carry over pretty well into this Nintendo DS game. Shepard's Crossing 2 utilizes an anime art style to bring forth its adorable townsfolk and animals to life. While you take care of your farm and produce the resources that come with it, you'll get the chance to mingle with your neighbors and even fall in love with one of them. The usage of the DS' two screens and stylus makes all the farm & inventory management a bit more fun to manage.

For the final game on our lineup of the best games like Slime Rancher you need to play, we'd like to direct you over to this animal-themed adventure game. Lost Ember lets you go exploring as a wolf and any other animal you choose to possess and do it via land, sea, and air. The mystery of the fall of human civilization, what's been left behind in their absence, and how the animal population has adjusted to their new world in the process will implore you to tackle this five-hour escapade.