(Image credit: Positive Impact Games)

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.…