Second Runner Up: Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley spun an old formula, just like Planet Coaster did. While you may ask, “Well, is it fair to include this, then?” the reality is that Stardew Valley has made an entire name for itself, in spite of its striking similarities to the retro Harvest Moons. It scratched an itch that PC gamers hadn’t been able to even touch, providing the cute farming simulator RPG hybrid to Steam users everywhere (and later on, PS4 and Xbox One).
But let’s talk about, for a moment, how much of your life you’ll dedicate to this adorable farming sim, shall we? A lot. We’re talking 100+ hours. And it won’t get tiring. You wake up, you gather any crops, water the leftover crops, you gather your livestock’s produce, you feed your livestock, you brush your livestock, then head to the orchards you have and pick all of that produce, every single morning.
What I just described may be my character’s chores every day, but not yours, and that’s the beauty in Stardew Valley. There’s so much to do that you can find yourself playing through a completely different way than a friend is. Not to mention, your farm might look totally different, too.
It’s the heart of a personal story that gives this love letter to the genre the edge it needs to stand above the farming sims we’ve seen for years now.
