Dating sims, or romance simulation games, are a video game subgenre of simulation games with romantic elements. While dating sims share a similar visual presentation as visual novels, they are distinct genres. Dating sims are largely dependent on statistics, while visual novels focus on telling a branching story. Nevertheless, the term "dating sim" has become a generic term for romance-driven games in the West.
A city-building game, or town-building game, is a genre of simulation video game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city or town, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management strategy. Players choose building placement and city management features such as salaries and work priorities, and the city develops accordingly.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to video games:
Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters. Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem". Other terms include artificial life game and simulated life game (SLG).
MySims is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spin-off to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Wii and Nintendo DS in September 2007, re-released for Microsoft Windows and mobile phones in 2008, and for BlackBerry in 2009. The game sold 3.7 million units as of 2008.
Social simulation games are a subgenre of life simulation game that explore social interactions between multiple artificial lives. Some examples include The Sims and Animal Crossing series.
The Sims 4 is a social simulation game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released on September 2, 2014 for Windows; a macOS version was released in February 2015, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released in November 2017. It is the fourth major title in The Sims series, following The Sims 3 (2009). The game was moved to a free-to-play model on October 18, 2022, monetized by the purchase of various paid downloadable content packs that have been developed since its release.
Spry Fox is a video game producing company headquartered in Seattle, United States, that was founded in 2010 by David Edery and Daniel Cook. The company produced the games Triple Town, a freemium strategy puzzle video game with city-building game elements for social networks and mobile devices; Steambirds, a strategy flying game for mobile devices; Road Not Taken, a roguelike puzzle video game and co-created Realm of the Mad God with Wild Shadow Studios. When Wild Shadow Studios was acquired by Kabam in June 2012, Spry Fox sold its stake in the game to Kabam as part of the deal.
Metroidvania is a sub-genre of action-adventure games and/or platformers focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression. The term is a portmanteau of the names of the video game series Metroid and Castlevania, based on the template from Metroid (1986), Castlevania II (1987), Super Metroid (1994), and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997).
An immersive sim (simulation) is a video game genre that emphasizes player choice. Its core, defining trait is the use of simulated systems that respond to a variety of player actions which, combined with a comparatively broad array of player abilities, allow the game to support varied and creative solutions to problems, as well as emergent gameplay beyond what has been explicitly designed by the developer. This definition is not to be confused with game systems which allow player choice in a confined sense or systems which allow players to easily escape consequences of their choices.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch; it is the fifth main entry in the Animal Crossing series. In New Horizons, the player controls a character who moves to a deserted island after purchasing a getaway package from Tom Nook, accomplishes assigned tasks, and develops the island as they choose. They can gather and craft items, customize the island, and develop it into a community of anthropomorphic animals.
Disney Dreamlight Valley is a 2023 life simulation adventure game developed by Gameloft Montreal and published by Gameloft. The game has players tend to a magical valley populated by various Disney and Pixar characters who previously underwent a curse that caused them to lose their memories of their lives in the valley.
Hokko Life is a 2022 video game developed by Wonderscope Games and published by Team17.
Farm life sims are a subgenre of life simulation games which fuse social simulation, dating sim and farm simulation elements. The games generally feature a protagonist going out to a rural setting and taking upon a farm, oftentimes because of an inheritance from a deceased relative, or because of urban boredom. The player-character grows crops and raises livestock to make money, and can interact with a wide cast of characters who are inhabitants of the town, and work toward the main plot's objective, if one exists. The game plots often featured dying ghost towns that must be revitalized by the player's actions. The games tend to feature simplified and less realistic farming as opposed to a simulation, such as Farming Simulator.
A walking simulator, shortened walking sim, is an adventure game that consists primarily of movement and environmental interaction. Walking sims generally do not have combat mechanics, traditional win/lose scenarios, and sometimes include puzzle elements. While these video game elements originated in the 1980s, the term began to be used pejoratively to refer to new games as walking simulators in the late 2000s, notably with Dear Esther. The term was eventually used less pejoratively and adopted by gamers, while still being negatively perceived by some game developers and retaining negative gameplay connotation. Other descriptors have been commonly used for games of such style, including empathy, narrative and exploration game. Such games are often a hallmark of art games, but some mainstream games have been described as having walking simulator elements.
Mineko's Night Market is a 2023 business simulation video game developed by Meowza Games and published by Humble Games for Windows and Switch. Players control a young girl tasked with revitalizing a local market.
My Time at Sandrock is a 2023 farm life sim role-playing video game developed by Pathea Games and published by PM Studios and Focus Entertainment. It is the sequel to the 2019 video game My Time at Portia and takes place in a desert 300 years after an event that destroyed modern technologies. The game was praised for its graphics while on the other hand, criticized for its repetitive gameplay.
Palia is a life simulation massively multiplayer online game developed and published by Singularity 6. An open beta version was launched in late 2023 on Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch.
Good Pizza, Great Pizza is a restaurant management video game developed by TapBlaze for iOS, Android, Fire OS, Nintendo Switch, macOS, and Windows. The player focuses on taking orders from customers and cooking pizzas to be the best 'Ovenist' on the street.
Fields of Mistria is an upcoming farm life simulation role-playing video game developed and published by NPC Studio. It was released in early access on Windows on August 5, 2024. In the indie game, the player resides in the fictional town of Mistria, which is recovering from an earthquake and socializes with its villagers of diverse backgrounds. The game features conventional aspects of farm life games as well as combat and magic.
