Developed by Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, Stardew Valley is a popular simulation role-playing video game. The role-playing game is all about growing crops, raising livestock, crafting goods, and more importantly creating a massive farm that can be envy to everyone. Being open-ended, it offers a ton of opportunities to players to showcase their farming skills. However, if you’ve had enough of this game and want to enjoy more titles that offer similar gameplay style then we’ve got you fully covered with an extensive lineup of the 20 best games like Stardew Valley in 2020
Having given a close look at a variety of Stardew Valley alternatives, we have picked out the games that not only make a solid match with Stardew Valley but also bring something new to the table. While some games put more emphasis on action-adventure, others aim at making role-playing gameplay a bit more engaging.
1. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
If you’re looking for a great Stardew Valley alternative but have already played a Harvest Moon game, then you should definitely check out Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. The game is essentially a successor to the Harvest Moon series and is like a more refined version of the older titles.
In this game, you start off as a young and inexperienced farmer who has to successfully cultivate their plot of land. You used to live in a city and has come back to town to tend to your grandfather’s farm. Compared to Stardew Valley, Story of Seasons: Story of Seasons: friends of mineral town plays at a better pace, making the game a whole lot more fun.
2. Rune Factory 4
Rune Factory 4 is another game that offers a great mix of farming simulation along with some great RPG elements that make it a completely unique game. The game makes huge improvements over its predecessors by offering a better in-game marriage system and gives the player a whole town to manage instead of just a small farm area.
Note: Rune Factory 5 is slated to release sometime in 2020. If you want to by the latest version, you will have to wait for the release.
3. My Time at Portia
Much like Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia offers players a delightful and immersive world called Portia in which you are tasked with restoring your Pa’s neglected workshop, and in order to do that, you have to fulfill commissions, grow crops, and raise animals.
4. Fantasy Life
Fantasy life, as the name suggests is all about living and leading a prosperous fantasy life in the virtual world. The game offers a beautiful and vast open-world with cute graphics and a lot of different classes for added gameplay value. Each class sports different traits and activities that add to the overall replay value of the game.
You get to choose which life you will play and get to enjoy all the skills and benefits that come with your chosen life. Playing each life adds to the overall replayability of the game and provides you with hours of fun and excitement with each different class.
5. Moonlighter
Moonlighter is another great Stardew Valley alternative that you can pick up if you’re fond of action RPG. In the game, you play as Will, an adventurous shopkeeper who has to tend to his shopkeeping duties during the day and give in to his fantasies of becoming a hero by night.
6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
There’s no fun in just playing a farm simulation when you can actually play entire life simulation in Animal Crossing: New Horizon. The much awaited game from Nintendo released during the pandemic and has been a resounding success since its launch. The game sold 1 million copies in the first 11 days of launch, and has now sold more than 26 million copies.
7. Recettear
If you are a simulation fan but want to try out something new and different than farming, then we’ve got the perfect game for you. Recettar: An Item Shop’s Tale is a game very similar to farm simulators in terms of gameplay, however, in this game you are in charge of an item shop and your job is to manage the shop. You start off as a young girl who takes ownership of an item shop after her father’s untimely death.
- Publisher: Carpe Fulgur LLC
- Platform: Windows
- Genre: Role-playing game
- Buy: ($19.99)
8. Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles
If Stardew Valley and Breath of the Wild had a love child, Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles would be the outcome. The game is a perfect mix of a relaxing open-world adventure game with a farming simulator and its definitely a whole lot of fun. The game features a vibrant open world with a ton of things to discover, elaborate character customization, crafting, building, and, of course, farming.
9. Farm for your Life
Normally, in a farming game, you grow a farm, protect it from bad weather, expand it, and sell your crops. This is mostly fun, but it can sometimes become a bit repetitive and boring. Well, in Farm for your Life, you never get bored because it offers a lot of different genres mixed in a single game.
You get to grow a farm and expand it as a farming simulator, you also get to protect your farm from undead and zombies by using defenses which also makes it a tower-defense game, and in addition to all that, you also run a restaurant. So, Farm for your Life is a wacky mixture of different genres into one exciting game that offers a little something for everyone out there.
10. Voodoo Garden
Voodoo Garden is another great Stardew Valley alternative in which players need to grow herbs, trees, plants, and more at a very relaxing place. The game is for those of you who’re just looking for a casual time-killing game, but if you do get into it the game has a ton of interesting things to offer. You can adopt pets, take care of them, and watch them grow bigger.
11. Wild Season
Wild Season is the perfect alternative to both Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley because it offers the same style of gameplay with pretty much the same objective. You start off as a young farmer who buys a fresh new land in the rural town. Your job is to get rid of all the obstacles on your land including boulders and logs.
12. World’s Dawn
Similar to Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, World’s Dawn offers you a chance to spend your life in a seaside village where you get to grow crops, raise livestock, go fishing, mining, and even go hunting. World’s Dawn provides all the gameplay elements you would wish from a life simulation game and adds some extra features to it.
- Publisher: Wayward Prophet
- Platform: Windows
- Genre: Indie, RPG
- Buy: ($9.99)
13. Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
While Stardew Valley is a fun and uplifting game, Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor is the exact opposite. The game can be classified as an anti-adventure title and requires players to pick up trash in an alien bazaar.
14. Staxel
If you’re a Minecraft fan and are looking for something that says “Minecraft and farming game”, then Staxel is a game that you shouldn’t miss. Staxel is a blocky RPG with a world like Minecraft with farming and social aspects like Stardew Valley.
The gameplay is much faster when compared to Stardew Valley, so if you’re someone who doesn’t like waiting for things to happen in-game, I’m sure you’ll really enjoy the fast-paced gameplay of Staxel.
Buy: ($19.99)
Don’t Starve Together, the sequel to the popular survival game Don’t Starve, is another great Stardew Valley alternative that doesn’t have the same chirpy vibe. The game is a stark contrast to Stardew Valley, right from the dull and drab world to the condition of its residents.
Platform: Windows, macOS, and PlayStation 4
For the folks who have a penchant for farming and also like to take control of cemeteries in reel life, Graveyard Keeper appears to be a great choice. As you may have already guessed, in this game you have to don the role of someone who has the responsibility of taking after a medieval cemetery.
In short, it’s all about increasing profits as high as possible through farming and taking control of the medieval cemetery. It’s how you balance between the two will show how far you would go in the game.
17. DORAEMON: STORY OF SEASONS
If you are done with the typical farming game, you should give a shot to DORAEMON: STORY OF SEASONS. This Stardew Valley alternative presents farming with a fresh take. With the fascinating natura setting coupled with the mystical big tree, the game is a treat to play.
Just like Stardew Valley, it also offers players a lot of opportunities to explore. So, you can go on exciting adventures and even catch bugs. With plenty of awards and achievements to keep you motivated, you will never get enough of farming.
18. Slime Rancher
Slime Rancher is the sort of game that doesn’t take long to win you over. So, just in case you find Stardew Valley lacking in the fun department, I would recommend you to take on this game. It offers intriguing first-person sandbox experience.
- Publisher: Monomi Park
- Platform: Windows, macOS, and PlayStation 4
- Genre: Action-Adventure
- Buy: ($19.99)
19. Farm Together
Claiming to deliver ultimate farming experience, Farm Together is the sort of game that looks a complete alternative to Stardew Valley. The game is about choosing a small plot and then give your best by growing crops, planting trees, and taking care of animals to develop a massive farm.
20. The Island Castaway: Lost World
What makes “The Island Castaway: Lost World” an exciting option is a good mix of three genres like action-adventure, RPG, and strategy. And it’s this interesting blend that makes it an able substitute for Stardew Valley for the folks who want the gameplay to be full of adventure without being too simplistic.
The Island Castaway: Lost World’s gameplay is a little more dramatic than that of Stardew Valley. In this game, you are stranded on a remote island after an unexpected shipwreck. Now, your goal is not only to survive but also to become the leader of the castaways to ensure the well-being of everyone. And this is where your long journey begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Stardew valley similar to?
Stardew Valley is similar to many popular simulation role-playing games like Story of Seasons and My Time at Portia.
Stardew Valley is a simulation role-playing video game that has been developed by Eric “ConcernedApe”.
Being open-ended, Stardew Valley offers plenty of freedom to players to take on several activities including raising livestock, growing crops, and crafting goods. And that’s what makes it so fun-loving!
How big of a game is Stardew Valley?
Stardew Valley is one of the most loved simulations role-playing video games that’s available across platforms. Moreover, the game has got overwhelmingly positive (97%) reviews on Steam.
Stardew Valley is a great game, but if you want something extra added to your farming life then definitely try out the above-mentioned games. If you’re bored of just farm simulations then try out some of the mixed-genre games with extra features and quirks that will definitely keep you entertained for a long time.
