- Primary Subject: Heartopia
- Key Update: Heartopia offers a free-to-play, budget-friendly alternative to Animal Crossing with cozy gameplay, but its PC controls and UI still need improvement.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: January 22, 2026
- Quick Answer: Heartopia is a free-to-play cozy life sim like Animal Crossing, but its PC controls, UI, and minor bugs need work for smoother gameplay.
Heartopia is a game that genuinely surprised me this year. As someone who spent countless hours on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, XD Games’ cozy simulation game was something I didn’t know I needed. Like a budget Animal Crossing, Heartopia is great, but it still needs more work.
Although I haven’t spent nearly as much time in Heartopia as the 1,000-plus hours I’ve logged in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, I already found it a compelling alternative due to the many similar systems that the Animal Crossing series popularized. Activities like building your own cozy home, fishing, catching bugs, or simply roaming around town meeting friends are staples in both entries.
Heartopia’s advantage compared to Nintendo’s Animal Crossing is its accessibility. It is a free-to-play game as long as players have a functioning PC or smartphone. It’s ideal for players who couldn’t afford to play one due to its console exclusivity or just budget issues.
Yet, as I spend more hours in this budding cozy multiplayer life sim, I’ve begun to notice issues that make me believe it still has a long way to go.
Heartopia’s Steam/PC version clearly isn’t built for mouse and keyboard in mind. It was nauseating having to drag the screen just to move my camera. To make matters worse, its mobile-like navigation feels like it was simply copied and pasted from its mobile version.
At first, I was unsure whether my keyboard or mouse was acting up, but then I realized its counterintuitive controls were the problem. Activities like fishing came with unclear tutorials, and opening inventory felt like learning to fly a plane with multiple buttons that I needed to press. It was frustrating, to say the least. It reminds me of my time in Where Winds Meet, a great game, sure, but it was bogged down by its atrocious UI and janky menus.
Despite Heartopia’s horrid UI, I still managed to make it to a couple of D.G. levels, the game’s version of an Adventure Rank, increasing my character’s reputation across town. There is a certain kind of coziness when I’m simply left to my own devices, fishing, catching bugs, or taking cute pictures. I admit, it was also fun seeing other players roam around and simply doing their own thing.
Now I know you’re wondering, “Doesn't this game have Gacha?” Yes, it does, but it’s purely for cosmetic purposes, and you can still enjoy playing the game without it. It’s a neat little approach to monetization, at least, coming from someone who played Zenless Zone Zero and ended up quitting due to a lack of S-Tier heroes.
I still couldn’t put Heartopia down despite its glaring issues. It’s just that the bugs, control issues, and occasional performance dips are hampering my overall experience with it. Everything works fine, for the most part, but there’s clearly more work to be done.
In the meantime, while I’m still exploring and discovering the game for myself, XD Games is regularly pushing updates and fixes. My only wish is that they rework its PC controls.
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