The best games like Stardew Valley will let you not only live out your dreams of being whisked away from your normal life into something more rural, more earthy, and possibly more monstery, but also the ones that let you mix and match cultivating crops and adventuring as you please. It’s fair to say that farming games have come a long way since their inception and that Stardew Valley set a new standard for them.
There are a lot of awesome games that capture the spirit of Stardew Valley and change the formula in a variety of ways; some of those actually have a lineage that goes back far further than Concerned Ape’s indie hit, and some clearly took inspiration from the blend of farming and action. Here we’ve listed the best games like Stardew Valley you can get out there and buy. So, get on it.
1. Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom
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A brief history lesson of sorts before we dive into why this game is so good. Story of Seasons is actually the modern-day name for the Harvest Moon series developed by Marvelous, which many regard as the original farming sim games. These aren’t to be confused with games released after 2014 with the title Harvest Moon, which belong solely to the publisher Natsume. Doraemon is a manga series about a cute robot cat who is afraid of mice. There are a couple of crossover games featuring this unique intersection, and this is the most recent one.
Doraemon Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom has an intensely clunky title, but the gameplay is a delight. You get to grow crops, raise animals, and meet a lot of cool characters, but you also get to use Doraemon’s Secret Gadgets to help people out too. It’s just a really wholesome game, and it’s an excellent choice for the top of our list of the best games like Stardew Valley.
2. Sun Haven
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Sun Haven is a very new farming game that takes the whole genre and plonks it into a fantasy world. Not only is the world filled with monsters and magic, but you can play with up to eight people in total. It’s a little more adventure-heavy than some others on this list, but it still wants you to grow carrots and whatnot.
The change of traditional settings allows for a bit more fun and appeal for those who don’t just like pulling weeds. It might seem silly, but being able to airdash when you’re running around just makes farming a lot more efficient. It’s also being updated fairly regularly too, which is good news for those who like to replay these games.
3. Slime Rancher 2
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Despite still being in Early Access, it’s very easy to see how good Slime Rancher 2 not only is, but how good it’s going to be. For those not in the know, Slime Rancher is a little different from other farming games because it’s not only set in space, but also has you running around with a futuristic vacuum to suck up adorable slime creatures, put them in pens together, and then they breed and crossbreed themselves.
Slime Rancher 2 continues the adventures of Beatrix LeBeau, the lead character from the first game, but has you coming into new worlds. That means there are not only new slimes to find, which is probably the biggest win, but also new technology to play with, and new ways to accidentally breed monstrosities that ruin your farm. It’s a surprisingly chilled game and a good one for those who like a side of mystery with their farming games.
4. Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin
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Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin is a deeply underappreciated farming game, so we’ve put it on our list, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Sakuna has a lot more action than most other farming games, but that’s not a bad thing. While you’ll still be tending to your fields of rice as you’d expect from the name of the game, you also need to go out into the wilds to explore and protect your village.
You see, Sakuna is a harvest goddess who’s been banished to this island for being kind of the worst. You need to master not only the fine art of growing food, but also be able to fight off monsters, big bosses, and generally redeem yourself in the eyes of the mortals you’re protecting and those who banished you.
5. Garden Story
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Have you ever been playing a farming game and just wished you could play as a grape instead? Well, good news, that’s what Garden Story has you doing. There’s actually a little less farming in this one really, but that doesn’t change the fact that it has good vibes all over the place. You need to complete requests for the town to help everyone learn to trust each other properly in order to fend off something called Rot.
You then get to go out into the world and figure out tricky puzzles, use different items to grow gardens, and just generally build up not only your little farm, but the entire village you reside in. It’s a good one for those who love the idea of building up a community, or just being a grape.
6. Rune Factory 5
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Rune Factory has always been a series that basically asked, “What if Harvest Moon was also an action RPG?” It’s a good question that a lot of the best games like Stardew Valley have also answered, but the latest iteration in this series is sublime.
Rune Factory 5 has you actively trying to tame the monsters in the world to help you grow crops more efficiently. Aside from being able to go fishing or farming as you normally would, it’s nice to go out into the world and take a more hands-on approach to problem-solving. Also, you can get married, so that’s good if you’re looking for that perfect digital partner.
7. Moonlighter
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Moonlighter isn’t actually about farming, but bear with us, because it’s definitely a lot more like Stardew Valley than you might expect. First of all, your days and nights are split between two completely different roles. During the night time, you go out into dungeons to find materials to not only upgrade your weapons and armour, but also help rebuild the town you live in, and most importantly sell them in your shop.
You run the shop during the day, and you need to constantly keep an eye on the prices of items to make sure you’re not over or underpricing them. The dungeons get really quite hard by the end of the game, and the DLC adds even more into the mix. It’s a truly excellent game that’s definitely worth a look if you want something that’s a lot like Stardew Valley, but not a farming sim.
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