I love the standard farm sim formula. Becoming a titan of capitalism by hoeing rows of tomatoes by hand is great, but I've really been craving one that's about tending the environment that already exists instead of clear-cutting an entire forest to make way for my perfectly optimized agricultural vision. Some games have tried, but The Regreening, a demo I played in the current Steam Next Fest—launching on Steam on December 7—is the one that I've enjoyed the most.
In The Regreening, you're revitalizing a post-apocalyptic landscape, replanting flora, and designing environments for animals to return to while making friends with godlike animal spirits. It's almost as much a tiny city-builder as a farm sim.
I asked the developers at Positive Impact Games how they feel The Regreening fits into what's normally such a strictly formulaic genre and what it's doing that they weren't able to find in other farm sims.
(Image credit: Positive Impact Games)