Top 5 Farming Simulator Games To Play On PC (2022)

Farming game is one of the less popular genres, however, there is still a sizeable and loyal fan base for that type of game. They are overall super chill - the whole thing is filled with players building and tending for their farms instead of competing like in other genres.

If you are looking for a relaxing game to play, farming games are actually pretty decent choices. In this article, Gurugamer is going to list out the top 5 farming simulator games to play on PC in 2022.

1. Farming Simulator 22

Farming Simulator 22 is the most recent entry into the series, and it definitely takes the first steps in while to moving Farming Simulator out of the casual mode/arcade experience and a closer step towards simulation which the game title suggests it should be.

The gameplay is strangely addictive. This isn't a baron-style game where you're forced to compete, really. This is a wide-open map (of several) where you slowly expand your farm empire. The only thing stopping you is your ability to take on more work and learn new things. It's TRUE open gameplay in that you don't have to do anything at all and the sim will gladly let you pass time just to watch the seasons if you want. But it also allows you to enjoy learning things you might know very little about, one step at a time, be that farming, logging, raising farm animals, or doing work for others. The maps are your canvas to play and expand on. There isn't much, if any, pressure. But it has that, "one more thing," feeling in spades. It has that hook that keeps pulling you back to check on things and go another month or three. That's the mark of an excellent game.

We have for the first time a version of the popular seasons mod included in the base game, with crop planting and growth calendar to follow which dictates at what times of the year you can seed and plant your crops. This has been a much-requested feature for Farm Sim since back in FS17 when Seasons Mod was first released. The season mode can be disabled however by players if they don't want to deal with that or don't have the attention span required to play a simulation game in that way. The season growth calendar can be disabled to allow players to plant and harvest at whatever time of year. They can also shorten the in-game months to last just one in-game day, so can fly through a whole year in the game in just 12 in-game days, which they could also speed through at x360 normal speed if they really want.

2. Rune Factory 5

Rune Factory 5 is a farming game where you can farm, tame monsters, dungeon crawl and get married. RF has a lot of mechanical depth that can be explored in your own time as there are many helpful guides online that explains how to do so, while also being a fun time waster as its farming sim aspect is very solid and can also be very in-depth if you wish to explore it. Make tons of new friends, decorate your house, etc.

Everything in RF has a skill associated to it which increases your stats, even the SOIL has stats! These stats help with tons of things and allow you to feel like you're making significant growth just by doing things you want to do.

Most monsters and bosses can be tamed some monsters drop daily and other monsters are great in combat and can be brought alongside the villagers to the dungeons and hang out with. All monsters and villagers have levels and friendship levels to level up to gain perks such as extra stats or higher-level produce. And finally, this game has crafting. You can try crafting at a basic level without adding tons of upgrades or special effects or go full crazy and combine multiple accessories into a single slot.

3. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a game that borrows heavily from similar titles in the Harvest Moon series. You start out in a rural town with nothing but a dilapidated house and crop fields that are more akin to the wilderness than a place to grow vegetables. The game is simple in its understanding: build a farm, make profits, live your life. What the game allows you to do makes it so much more layered. You're left with the freedom to explore the town, its residence, mold your farm into whatever you want it to be, and on your own time. Sure, there are events to attend, festivals to see, men/women to romance and marry, kids to have, buildings to construct, fish to catch and weird little slimes to slay (Dragon Warrior, anyone?), but how and when you do those things is up to you.

In essence, the game offers you very similar things to do as a Harvest Moon game does: Build and upgrade your farm, plant crops, upgrade tools, mine in the never-ending dungeon for precious ore, go fishing, romance and get married...etc. While some of your old favorites are back, new aspects have been introduced as well, but I won't spoil those in this review. Let's just say there's a nice story that evolves over time.

The freedom to do as you please is what makes this game, and Harvest Moon in general, so enjoyable. It's a chance to mellow out, play at your own pace and still enjoy everything the game has to offer. What Stardew Valley does, it does right. It's charming, cute and feels rewarding, even when all you're doing is cuttings weeds. It doesn't pull any punches or try to be something it's not; the developer had a goal in mind and Stardew Valley is a reflection of just that. You can feel the effort, the time and the devotion that went into this game over the years. Stardew Valley is a gem and worth looking at. If you loved Harvest Moon, you'll love Stardew Valley.

4. My Time At Portia

My Time at Portia is a strangely entertaining crafting-focused game in the vein of Harvest Moon/Rune Factory or Stardew Valley, albeit with a de-emphasis on farming. That might seem obvious, but I was at least a bit surprised by how little crops matter in this game. If you are expecting a 3D Stardew Valley, keep that in mind.

You can tend to crops in a very limited fashion (just fertilizing), but most of your time will instead be focused on collecting and processing raw materials like ore and wood into products and supplies that can be used to either fulfill commissions (NPC's requesting X number of Y product), or to build larger scale projects that either progress the story/world (e.g. bridges to new islands) or enable you to expand your workshop capabilities (e.g. larger furnaces for smelting). Because the actual processing of resources is semi-automated, the majority of your time that isn't spent tending to your machines is spent harvesting resources from the world or "ruins", and interacting with the townsfolk to become friends and gain passive bonuses. There is also light combat in the game, but it's not very good.

5. Kynseed

Kynseed is fun in the same way Stardew Valley is fun, but please don't make the mistake of trying to play them the same way.Its best gameplay is in managing shops, cooking, battling, and exploring.

You don't manage a large farm like in Stardew, instead you befriend the townsfolk and get permission to use their gardens (and everything else they own). You don't make friends to be rewarded with cutscenes, you make them for side quests and to unlock secret family heirlooms.

Cooking and managing shops are very hands on. Baking, cooking, potion making, and smithing have their own sets of resources to find and minigames that are fun to learn and rewarding to master. Hire and train staff, barter with customers, and build your store's reputation for bonuses. Battling is a unique twist on turn-based gameplay. Mastering how to forge your own weapons and cook your own potions/meals gives you an advantage. The battling skill tree is still going to be expanded, but it's already really fun so far.

Lastly, exploring is a time sink in itself. The game encourages you to walk (or ride your pig) through everything its lush pixel world has to offer. Find proverbs, books, and recipes hidden everywhere, find fish and seasonal herbs unique to each town, and admire all the little details of each area (like how the townsfolk have a completely different appearance based on which town they came from).

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