Steam gamers warned they've under 24 hours to grab Animal Crossing-esque freebie

There's no denying that, as far as farming and life sim games go, Animal Crossing has a particular hold on most of us.

Is it the strange little animal critters who we form unhealthy attachments to? That extra sprinkling of Nintendo magic? The music of KK Slider? Probably all of the above.

Of course it's not actually possible to play Animal Crossing on PC (legally), but the good news is the next best thing is currently free to try on Steam for the next 24 hours.

Ask the vast majority of PC gamers what Steam game comes closest to scratching the Animal Crossing itch, and they'll tell you it's Dinkum.

Dinkum is an absolutely delightful farming sim set on an island inspired by the Australian outback. While it doesn't have talking animal neighbours, it does have a vibrant style, fun characters, and a lot of systems that'll be familiar to Animal Crossing fans.

"Animal Crossing set in Australia, except your villagers are people, half the wildlife wants to eat you and there are dungeon mines," sums up one review. "Love it!"

Another adds: "You are guaranteed to have fun with this game. The best Aussie game on Steam."

And this one is my favourite description by far: "Dinkum seems to be what would happen if Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley gave each other a very special hug down in Australia."

At the time of the writing the full game is completely free to download and play for the next 24 hours as part of a free weekend. And if you like it, the game is 20 percent off until 10 April.

If you're genuinely craving a cute new farming sim, I honestly can't recommend this one enough.