I’m Addicted to a Farming Sim Where You Play as an Alien Spy

Buy Shinehill on Steam [free demo]

Farming sims on Steam are a dime a dozen, but it’s rare that a new one has as catchy a hook as Shinehill: You play as an alien spy crash-landed on earth, tending a farm so as not to get found out by those pesky, gross humans.

What started out as a reconnaissance mission transforms quickly into an espionage one. Who knows what could happen if the villagers figure out you are an extraterrestrial; so, you must spend your days pretending to be just like them, maintaining your disguise points, and trying not to blurt out the words “I’m an alien” every second dialogue branch.

Interior view of a spaceship cockpit with Earth in the background.

All the best farming sims seem to start with escaping the city woes and inheriting a rundown farm… But not this one. I’m Shinehill, you get mistaken for “the farmer” meant to move into town and you discretely take their place until you can find and fix your spacecraft. Even if that means hitting the original farmer over the head and locking him up inside a cave.

With that pesky landowner out of the way, you can finally get into the swing of things. What Shinehill lacks in complexity it makes up for in quality-of-life. Stores are always open. People are exactly where you expect them to be. The town map is easy and compact. Everybody accepts apples and flowers as gifts. Forageables grow back daily. You can shove all your animals into one hut/coop.

A cozy game scene with pink-haired character Pinky talking to a girl on a brick wall background.

Pixel art scene from a cozy game with characters near a house.

The simplicity of this cozy game made carving out an addictive routine easy. I socialized in town, collected my favorite sell-ables between screens, crisscrossed through the forest and caves, reemerged by the church to visit with my favorite cult member, swung down by the ocean to rizz the goth baddie, and return to “my” farm before the clock strikes midnight. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Every so often, my days would be punctuated by the unknown: A silly villager request or cutscene, an alien lore remark that takes me totally off-guard, a dance party with pie to celebrate my arrival, or stumbling across a piece of my busted spaceship in the woods. Shinehill had just enough going on to keep things interesting without feeling cluttered or overwhelming.

A character named Stacy warns about jail in a pixel art game setting. Forest background with a woode.

Cute pixel art farm scene with animals and a character in a cozy setting.

In-game inventory screen showing crops and tools in a cozy farm game.

And really, it’s the little details that make Shinehill so special: The razor sharp narrative wit. The quirkiest cast of characters I’ve seen in a farming sim in a long while. Catching crabs on the beach with a clever mini game. Deciding whether to slay forest critters with your sword or bribe them with food. Shinehill has built a perfect, cozy little hamlet that I love being a part of.

At its core, Shinehill is a story about belonging. And aren’t we all a little alien sometimes?

Stay cozy, gamers!

Shinehill screenshot gallery:

A pixel art scene of a character fishing on a wooden dock surrounded by lush greenery and trees.

Cozy game scene with farming and crafting elements, colorful pixel art.

A pixel art image of a cozy game room with a character standing inside, featuring furniture and warm.

Cute pixel art scene with ghost characters in a cozy kitchen setting.

Cozy game scene with farming and crafting elements, featuring trees, a fence, and a character intera.

Fishing in a cozy pixel art game with a character by a pond.

Garden scene from a cozy pixel art game with characters and lush greenery.

Pixel art of two characters in a space-themed game with stars and planets.

Cozy game customization menu with sound and music controls.

Your Next Read: Other New Cozy Games Out in 2026 That You’ll Love