Life simulation RPGs, alongside various like-minded genres, come armed with an occasionally intimidating realm of skills players can devote hours to mastering. But within this extensive list of abilities is a skill many gamers have experienced without realizing: the craft of foraging.
Foraging is an applicable skill to any game involving the collection of natural resources but occasionally can form the core mechanic of a game. So from crafting tools and weapons to relying on foraged goods like berries and fruits, it seems like an impossible skill to avoid one way or another.
10 Dinkum
Dinkum’s main gameplay revolves around farming and foraging and promotes the idea of living off the land. Set in the bush of Australia, there are hundreds of different items to collect, each with an extra level of difficulty. The best place to start is collecting all the various fruits and edibles across the island since this will swiftly increase players foraging levels.
But in Dinkum, foraging comes in a wide variety of forms. Whether it's gathering materials like wood, or diving into the seabed to collect critters, this all feeds into being able to expand the village. So say goodbye to sleeping under the stars and welcome a bustling town filled with excitement; it just takes a little exploration.
9 Stardew Valley
Foraging in Stardew Valley is arguably one of the most iconic elements of its gameplay. Depending on the season, up to four different items are scattered throughout Pelican Town, and any farmer with a keen eye will utilize them for additional profit during the month. Additionally, foraging is compulsory for any player searching to complete the Community Center since every season's forage is required as part of the crafts room.
But to any gamer who doesn’t care much for leaving the farm to forage, it is a relatively passive task in Stardew Valley. There’s no need to go out with the intention to collect items since they will frequently appear on any journey. Additionally, Linus is more than happy to take any excess off a farmer's hands.
8 Don’t Starve
To make any sort of progress in Don’t Starve, foraging is a mechanic that a player is required to utilize. Even the tutorial introduces collecting sticks and rocks to make tools and berries to sustain the main character. As night falls, it’s essential to make the most of the natural world as survival depends on it. Without a piece of flint and a stick to make a torch, it’s almost an instant game over.
As the game progresses, an item titled ‘The Lazy Forager’ becomes available to craft, allowing the player to pick up items without interacting directly with them. It’s a worthwhile craft for anyone who wants foraging to become more of a passive task but will break after 225 uses.
7 Garden Story
In a world inhabited by a cast of quirky fruits and vegetables, the player in Garden Story is tasked with saving the grove, which is impossible without making the most of the world and foraging natural resources. The organic ecosystem of The Grove is full of oddities and wonders to pick and utilize in the restoration without becoming tedious or repetitive.
Garden Story hugely promotes creativity and experiments with foraging, which is what the activity is all about. Using foraging to solve puzzles and build upon the land is a captivating experience for any avid garden gamer, but be warned, the rot is relentless.
6 Teacup
The main story of Teacup is based on replenishing the protagonist’s stock before a long-awaited tea party in the afternoon. To collect tea and complete the quest, Teacup must face her fear and explore Little Pond’s natural offerings. Foraging comes in all forms within this cozy narrative adventure game, and even speaking to the townsfolk can come with a hearty reward.
Throughout the journey, Teacup will fill out her journal with information depending on which leaves and ingredients she collects. These pages cover some simple facts about tea, which are accurate to the real world. Teacup is an excellent introduction to foraging, especially for those skeptical from the start.
5 Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
The world of Gemea hosts expansive secrets to uncover, but alongside this are hundreds of items to collect and live off. From snow-capped mountains to sun-drenched beaches, Yonder is home to a colossal variety of unique materials for crafting.
Each biome within this large world is home to a different skill. Be it cooking, tailoring, or constructing, all of these require an element of foraging to progress through. Hours can be spent trekking through each biome, armed with a journal filled with recipes, which is one of the many features that keep players coming back to Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles.
4 Forager
As the name suggests, this idle game captivates players with extensive collecting and exploration. Foraging is among many skills the player can purchase and specialize in during this title, alongside gathering, which has a lot of similar mechanics but welcomes some different perks. In addition to these specialist skills, Forager refers to any hunter/gather skills as part of the foraging family.
While specializing in gathering opens four additional inventory slots and increases profits from a 25% increase in XP from fruits and crops, foraging allows the player to access wheat and beets, which are otherwise inaccessible. Additionally, the foraging skill results in cotton spawning more often. But there’s nothing to prevent an avid gatherer from specializing in both green-thumb skills.
3 Littlewood
Rather than using the term foraging, Littlewood is home to the activity of gathering. However, this activity can’t be taken up immediately, as soon as the player gains access to a pair of gloves. While a pair of novice gloves allows the player to collect fruit and crops, as these gloves are steadily upgraded throughout the game, the quality of items increases while energy depletion decreases.
Each time the player collects items around the world, the experience goes towards increasing the gathering hobby. It’s an easy task to ignore, should it not be of interest, but it’s a fantastic task to passively complete during the journey to build a town.
2 Grow: Song of the Evertree
This world-building sandbox game challenges players to grow their own environmentally abundant areas while bringing the Evertree back to life. The site players create is open to exploring as soon as a world seed is planted, so every plant, creature, and item is ready to be inspected.
Foraging within Grow: Song of the Evertree may seem like an irrelevant task with the challenge of creating a world so prevalent. But each item the protagonist comes across can be hugely beneficial to world-building. Foraging churns out consistent rewards for anyone dedicated to it, and hours will slip by as soon as players begin to live off the land instead of relying on humans.
1 Subnautica
Subnautica’s deep-sea level foraging comes with a level of fear unexpected from such a comforting task. But even though diving into the sea to collect necessary items may be terrifying, the rewards are worth facing the fear. Foraging for food and water is integral to survival in this alien underwater world. But be warned, creatures reside in depths no one wants to come across.
Due to the sheer amount of alien species festering within this game, it’s crucial to forage to learn which are helpful and which are harmful, as the player will become reliant on them eventually.