Stardew Valley is one of the most easily recognizable farming-simulator games on the market, with its music, graphics and game features becoming a standard for the genre. While Stardew is available on almost every platform, it can often feel like it’s the only game in the genre that really competes, but luckily there’s plenty more to choose from. Here are six games that are similar to Stardew Valley if you’re looking for something along the same lines.
Roots of Pacha
Roots of Pacha is incredibly reminiscent of Stardew Valley, both in gameplay and in image. Holding true to the pixelated graphics, Roots of Pacha is an absolute joy to look at, and actually has a bit more detail to the textures than Stardew does. If you’re aiming for visual appeal, this might be a hit for you.
Themed around a civilization in the Stone Age, Roots of Pacha gives players a look into what Stardew Valley might have been like before the modernity of civilization. You’re given the freedom to raise your society the way that you see fit, like choosing if you want to raise your corner of life with or without meat, being vegetarian or vegan depending on your preference. In Roots of Pacha, you can expand the entire village to your liking as opposed to Stardew, where you can only expand your own personal farm with the town around you remaining unchanged.
Roots of Pacha is also structured heavily around playing with multiple people, so you can build your civilization on your own or with friends! Collaboration is a huge deal for an early civilization like the one you’ll be raising, so being able to balance the workload of farm life will allow for a much more relaxed experience. Speaking of relaxing, don’t forget to play some minigames and attend festivals now that you’re able to spend some extra time with friends.
Roots of Pacha is available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
My Time At Sandrock
The sequel to Pathea Games’ successful 2019 farming simulator My Time At Portia, My Time At Sandrock is the modern, early-access game that allows you to build, explore and mine to your heart’s content. You have a plethora of machines that you can use to your advantage in building and customizing your dream workshop, and just like in Stardew Valley you’re able to use those creations to personalize your home or give gifts to the townsfolk.
The exploration in My Time At Sandrock is actually more in-depth than that of Stardew Valley. Where Stardew has the Mines and the Skull Cavern to dig through, the rest of the exploration is mostly in the form of going from point A to point B in the town. Exploring different areas of the game allows for you to access unique building materials and rare treasures to use however you see fit. The NPCs have plenty of side quests to keep you busy, which is also more of an expansion on the job boards that Stardew Valley offers. Those quests serve as more of a way to guide you towards growing certain crops or fighting certain enemies, but My Time At Sandrock has more story-oriented quests for you to pursue.
While the graphics offer a change from the pixelated sprites of Stardew Valley, My Time At Sandrock provides many of the same types of experiences but with a three-dimensional perspective. The graphics look almost like a cross between Stardew Valley and Sea of Thieves, which helps the characters really come to life.
You can play My Time At Sandrock on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
Everdream Valley
Bringing along the tried and true theme of “restoring the old homestead,” Everdream Valley makes sure to bring the cuteness to the farming sim genre. You can build collections of insects, play with your dog or even cook new recipes, all while growing your personal paradise and uncovering the secrets of the valley.
Everdream Valley has over 20 different animals that you can raise on your farm, and in your dreams you’re able to become them. Nighttime brings mini games in the form of you turning into the animals you’ve got on your farm, which serves as great incentive to expand your farm and your collection of wildlife so that you have more games to enjoy.
Like Stardew Valley, Everdream Valley offers more than just farming and raising animals. There’s fishing, building, cooking and you can even practice your photography. There are NPC sidequests to keep you busy in the meantime, but Everdream Valley is really all about your mystical, animal-based dreams. Enjoy being transformed into different farm animals and win minigames to uncover just why you’re having these dreams.
Everdream Valley is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
Sun Haven
If you love the pixelated graphics of Stardew Valley, Sun Haven is gonna be the right direction to look in. With a top-down perspective similar to that of Stardew, Sun Haven also brings the multiplayer aspect into focus. You can play online with up to 8 friends, which is twice as many as you can have on your farm in Stardew, and there are plenty of customization options to set you apart from other players.
Sun Haven also has three different towns that you’re able to settle in, the titular Sun Haven, Nel’Vari and Withergate. This is in contrast to Stardew Valley where you can only choose the type of farm that you have, and this adds a whole extra layer of depth to the exploration in the game. This plays well with having so many people on the server, because Eeeryone can explore their own areas and directions before coming back together to share a common home. Although, that home might soon be shared with any one of the 15 eligible bachelors you can romance.
If you’re looking for a little more adventure, the combat is also similar to that in Stardew Valley. In Sun Haven’s mines, you have to explore to get certain materials and resources that you can take back to your farm. You’ll have to fight monsters with your arsenal of swords, crossbows and even magic, but having up to 8 players should allow for combat to be a team exercise.
Sun Haven is available on PC on Steam.
Coral Island
With a soundtrack as delightful as that of Stardew Valley, Coral island is a great alternative of you’re not so focused on the pixelated graphics. You can make friends, play games with the islanders, mine for resources and even dive in the ocean, all while designing and restoring an island paradise.
While holding true to many of the same features as Stardew, there are some changes that are worth noting. There are over 70 characters that you can get to know, far more than the quaint cast of villagers residing in Stardew Valley. You may not be able to romance every one of them, but there’s plenty of story and relationships to be built and expanded upon.
Not only are you able to design your farm how you like, but you can explore the island, search the mines and even dive and explore the ocean if you get tired of spending all your time on dry land. Use what you collect on your adventures to take back home and upgrade your farm to suit just the kind of lifestyle you’d like to live and share with your fellow Islanders.
Coral Island is available on PC on Steam.
Travellers Rest
If you love life on the farm, but want to create something a bit more handy for the townsfolk, look no further than Travellers Rest. Similar to Stardew Valley, you’ve got the top-down, pixelated graphics that many people often associate with farming simulators, but you get more ways to interact with the world around you.
Stardew allows you to sell your crops for a profit, but you never really get to see people enjoying the fruits of your labor. Travellers Rest let’s you customize your own inn to make it the perfect hangout spot for all people in town. You can change the layout of the floor plans, craft your own drinks be it beer, wine or spirits and also cook up dishes using the crops you’ve grown.
Travellers Rest is still in early-access, which makes for a great opportunity to be a part of something as it grows and provide helpful feedback to the developers. Overall, the game is still the perfect option for someone looking to expand their farming a little bit past the growing stage.
Travellers Rest is available on PC.
Published: Jun 1, 2023 11:29 am