Gamespot
Registered
Finding captivating games like Stardew Valley to play between big updates can feel like a daunting task, especially amid the rise of cozy gaming's popularity. Solo developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has provided us with the ultimate farming gem in his creation and continuous upkeep of Stardew Valley (which recently got the big, much-anticipated 1.6 update), making it all the more difficult to obtain a game that's just as good. Stardew Valley features every component that makes such a title enticing, from the immersive collecting of artifacts, crops, fish, and other items to the game’s downright adorable pixel art aesthetic.
Whether you adore ConcernedApe’s stellar indie hit for its fun seasonal farming or its often intense combat and mining, most of us Stardew Valley fans can unite under our love for the game's genre and all of those iconic features it harbors that make us crave more. If you've browsed through lists of other relaxing games yourself but haven't been able to locate one that resembles Stardew Valley or the features that make it so great well enough, fret not. There are thankfully many unearthed farming, fishing, and furnishing diamonds around for you to try. We’ve got you covered here with a few of them as we dive into 16 of our favorite games like Stardew Valley, from the unbearably cute Animal Crossing to the ever-whimsical Sun Haven.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Developer: Nintendo
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Release Date: March 20, 2020
It’s hard to imagine a world of gaming without Animal Crossing’s timeless influence, from its humble beginnings on the Nintendo 64 to New Horizons today on Nintendo Switch. New Horizons is the most recent Animal Crossing game to come from Nintendo, and it plays as a social simulation game with customization options galore. You’ll be tasked with caring for, designing, and thriving on a tropical island all the while engaging with its anthropomorphic residents, taking care of everything from crafting to gardening. Much like in Stardew Valley, you can build relationships with your island’s inhabitants, collect critters and fish to donate to a museum, farm crops and flowers, travel to other regions for unique gameplay, and play with friends. If you dive in, be sure to check out our wealth of Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides.
See at Amazon
Blue Oak Bridge
- Developer: Lemon Seed Studio
- Platform: Steam (PC)
- Release Date: July 6, 2023
Blue Oak Bridge is a stunning take on the farming game genre, featuring a vibrant 2D hand-painted world bustling with ancient magic, witches, and secrets to uncover. Eloria, the island you'll oversee in Blue Oak Bridge, features a village of life with residents to befriend. If you love Stardew Valley for its animal-rearing, combat, collecting, crafting, farming, fishing, and foraging, you’ll find countless elements to enjoy in Blue Oak Bridge with some brand-new ones to boot. Imagine Stardew Valley with some more magic mixed in, from potion-brewing to enchanting witchcraft, and you get Blue Oak Bridge.
See on Steam
Coral Island
- Developer: Stairway Games
- Platform: Steam (PC), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
- Release Date: October 8, 2022
Coral Island is so much like Stardew Valley in its mechanics that, if it weren't for the difference in art style, you might mistake it for a sequel. Stairway Games’ farming experience is all about restoring nature to its serene, unscathed state amid the repercussions of an oil spill all the while caring for animals, a farm, and more. You’ll get to engage with all of the usual Stardew-like activities, such as fishing and mining, while touching on brand-new mechanics, too. For instance, Coral Island features an entire undersea kingdom with merfolk inhabitants that you can befriend (or romance, if you choose). While it doesn’t support multiplayer just yet, the game is set to get all sorts of exciting features in 2024 including co-op play and more.
See on Humble
Dinkum
- Developer: James Bendon
- Platform: Steam (PC)
- Release Date: July 14, 2022
Dinkum is a refreshing Animal-Crossing-meets-Stardew-Valley sort of experience, offering features that make both aforementioned games great while also sprinkling in some of its own innovative elements. James Bendon’s early access title takes place in the Australian outback, offering tropical eucalyptus forests and scorching deserts to explore between your critter collecting, farming, fishing, and questing. You’ll be able to decorate your home and island as you please, with new residents regularly moving in. The game is multiplayer, which means that you can also explore, farm, and fight bosses alongside some pals.
See on Steam
Disney Dreamlight Valley
- Developer: Gameloft
- Platform: Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Release Date: September 6, 2022
Disney Dreamlight Valley takes Stardew Valley and gives it a nostalgia-packed punch. The game features some of the most beloved Disney characters around, from iconic princesses like Belle to the most capable rat-chef combo around, little Remy himself. There are countless Disney personalities to introduce to your Dreamlight Valley, but that’s not the only appeal. You can farm, fish, forage, and collect pretty much everything, much like in Stardew Valley. You can also decorate the entirety of Dreamlight Valley as you please and customize your character’s outfit however you’d like to. The game recently introduced multiplayer support as well, along with global screenshot contests and more. Be sure to check out all of our Disney Dreamlight Valley guides, including a rundown on the game's many recipes.
See on Amazon
Fae Farm
- Developer: Phoenix Labs
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam (PC)
- Release Date: September 8, 2023
Fae Farm is a stellar example of a game like Stardew Valley that maintains all of the core features we stans know and love while invigorating itself with a fresh breath of magic and its own standout art style. This cute entry sees you play as a farmer fairy collecting bugs and fish, exploring, mining, and romancing fellow townsfolk as you please. There are two farms to oversee in two different realms, the base human world and the fairy world, making Fae Farm stand out from the pack. You can also opt to play Phoenix Labs’ game in a fully functional multiplayer mode, fluttering about your fields with friends.
See on Amazon
Graveyard Keeper
- Developer: Lazy Bear Games
- Platform: Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Release Date: August 15, 2018
Graveyard Keeper is an interesting game because it’s like Stardew Valley but is a much more twisted take on your average farming experience. In this graveyard-themed management game, you'll need to build and oversee a medieval-style graveyard. You can craft, explore dungeons, gather materials, and embark on quests, all the while maintaining your little cemetery. The pixel aesthetic, while reminiscent of Stardew Valley’s own, is a tad bleaker or perhaps darker while still remaining visually appealing. There are mysteries galore to uncover in this game, but sadly you’ll have to do so alone as there’s no multiplayer mode.
See on Amazon
Moonstone Island
- Developer: Studio Supersoft
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam (PC)
- Release Date: September 20, 2023
Moonstone Island is the ideal blend of Pokemon and Stardew Valley we never knew we needed, but definitely always did. This adorable game sees you caring for your own home and farm while taking breaks between doing so to explore a seamless, massive world with floating islands that all harbor unique Spirits that you can collect. When you’re not riding a broom in search of new Spirits to tame, you may find yourself getting to know members of the diverse cast of NPCs or exploring dungeons to earn loot and useful upgrades. While the experience is entirely single-player, you’ll never feel alone in its vibrant world.
See on Steam
My Time at Portia
- Developer: Pathea
- Platform: Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Release Date: January 23, 2018
Like some others on this list, My Time at Portia plays much like Stardew Valley but with an entirely different art style. My Time at Portia and its just-as-good sequel, My Time at Sandrock, are both 3D with a cartoony vibe to them. You can craft, farm, forage, mine, and engage with the town’s residents much like you can in Stardew Valley. There’s a lot more stress on the story, however, with various questlines and a post-apocalyptic setting filled to the brim with mysteries to solve. My Time at Portia isn’t multiplayer, but you can play with your friends in the sequel, My Time at Sandrock.
See at Best Buy
Paleo Pines
- Developer: Italic Pig
- Platform: Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
- Release Date: June 19, 2023
Stardew Valley, but make it all about dinosaurs: That’s basically what Paleo Pines is, and it’s as fun as it is adorable. In this game, you collect cute dinosaurs that you can befriend, ride, and explore alongside. You'll get your very own plot of land to farm and home to decorate as you do in Stardew Valley, and you'll be able to make various friends out of the quirky townsfolk you meet. There are all sorts of secrets to uncover on the island with the help of your prehistoric pals, making this single-player game feel far less lonely. Your scaly friends can also help around the farm, from fixing it up to farming your crops, so they’re just as useful as they are precious.
See on Steam
Palia
- Developer: Singularity Six
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam (PC)
- Release Date: August 10, 2023
Palia is the Stardew Valley-like MMO we’ve always wanted. Unlike most online multiplayer games, Palia is a serene experience focused entirely on crafting, decorating, farming, and questing alone or with friends. This relaxing game offers a life in its peaceful world in which you can do everything you can in most farming-adjacent titles, from collecting rare critters to fishing. One of its most exciting aspects is the sheer amount of customization. You’ll expand your home and be able to decorate it as you please, building up your plot of land however you’d like. You can also befriend characters and even pursue romance if you choose to, a rare feature to find in MMOs.
In a nice move, Palia supports cross-play and cross-progression. If you decide to jump in, we've got a list of Palia meals and locations to help you get the most from the experience.
See on Steam
Rune Factory 5
- Developer: Marvelous
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam (PC)
- Release Date: July 13, 2022
Rune Factory 5, and all of its predecessors for that matter, are just one step removed from Stardew Valley’s own inspiration, the Harvest Moon series. This game offers a refreshing blend of farming game fun and RPG-esque action, making for a uniquely cozy yet challenging experience that features everything from crafting to fishing. You can befriend NPCs, embark on grand quests, farm special crops, tame and care for fantastical creatures, and even get married in Rune Factory 5. If you find that the mix of more relaxing life sim elements and more difficult RPG tidbits suits your tastes, you can also play the recently remastered version of Rune Factory 3 or Rune Factory 4 Special.
See on Amazon
Slime Rancher
- Developer: Monomi Park
- Platform: Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Release Date: January 14, 2016
Take the slime hutch from Stardew Valley and make it a whole lot bigger, a whole lot cuter, and you'll get Slime Rancher, a cozy creature-collection game in which you capture colorful slimes of all species and care for them at your farm. You can grow crops to feed them and explore various biomes as you search for new variants of slimes. There’s also a recent sequel, Slime Rancher 2, that carries many of the same features with many more to come. If your favorite aspect of playing Stardew Valley is caring for animals or getting your hands on anything cute, then you may just find yourself falling in love with the ever-charming Slime Rancher.
See on Best Buy
Spiritfarer
- Developer: Thunder Lotus
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
- Release Date: August 18, 2020
Perhaps the most unlike other games on this list, Spiritfarer is somehow both a lovely Stardew Valley-like game and something much different. The genre's usual mechanics of farming, crafting, cooking, and creating bonds with others are all present, but they unfold on a customizable boat which, by the way, one ought to mention happens to be a ferry through purgatory. As you usher strangers and even friends through to the afterlife, the game is both somber and sweet, saddening and uplifting. It grapples with grief in a meaningful way. If you want a Stardew-style game that has a lot to say about life and death, this is the only such game we can confidently point to. The Farewell Edition is currently available to play for free on Xbox Game Pass.
See on Humble
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
- Developer: Marvelous
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam (PC)
- Release Date: February 25, 2021
It’s no secret that ConcernedApe was inspired by Harvest Moon (which now goes by the name Story of Seasons) when creating Stardew Valley. One of the series’ more recent entries, Pioneers of Olive Town, is a great place to start if you’ve not dipped your toes into Story of Seasons’ diverse pool of titles. You can farm, you can fish, you can forage, and most importantly, you can craft to your heart’s content thanks to its extensive “maker” machine system. Whether you want to create jewels or some homemade yogurt, you’ll be able to thanks to these makers. You can also mine, befriend and romance the townsfolk, and play rewarding minigames much like in Stardew Valley. The only downfall is that Pioneers of Olive Town is entirely single-player.
See on Amazon
Sun Haven
- Developer: Pixel Sprout Studios
- Platform: Steam (PC)
- Release Date: January 25, 2021
Sun Haven is Stardew Valley with much more magical flair and some dragons mixed in. Pixel Sprout Studios’ enchanting life sim whisks you away into a multiplayer-compatible world rich in lore with plenty of collecting, combat, farming, fishing, and romancing to partake in. You can choose from various races, whether you’d like to play as an angel or an elf, each with unique buffs. Just like in Stardew Valley, you can explore the mines, take on quests, and attend various seasonal festivals. There are also a few different cities to check out and build farms within, from ghastly Halloween-themed areas to whimsical woodland ones. In many ways, Sun Haven feels even more fleshed-out than Stardew Valley, with its more expansive skill system and fairy-tale-esque features. This game is a great stepping stone to land on once you’ve depleted your interest in ConcernedApe’s own farming sim.
See on Steam
Continue reading...
