What Are The Best Games Like Harvest Moon?
If you’ve spent any time at all with the Harvest Moon series, you know all about milking cows, growing potatoes, and giving your in-game crush 300 eggs until he/she confesses their love for you (seriously the worst games to take relationship advice from).
Harvest Moon has been making farmers out of us since 1999, and many developers over the years have tried to emulate its iconic formula.
If you’re looking for a new slice-of-life game to whisk you away from your own responsibilities, look no further. These top 10 games are so addictive, you won’t even miss the iconic blue feather.
10. Terraria
Terraria Official Trailer
At first glance, Terraria seems like a normal crafting game. Then nightfall hits, and you find yourself stuck hundreds of meters underground, being swarmed by zombies from all directions. While not always the most relaxing title on this list, Terraria is still an addictive game that you can spend countless hours on without even scratching its surface.
Top 3 Things That Make Terraria Fun:
- The worlds are procedurally generated, meaning NPCs and item chests all spawn at randomized locations. The parameters that you can choose from are world size, map difficulty, and type of evil. Corruption is a purple wasteland, and Crimson focuses on gore.
- Expect to die a lot in this game, whether it be from a boss, random monster, or falling into lava. Enable permadeath if you’re a masochist — one mistake means instant game over.
- Build bases to keep your items and crafting materials safe. You can also use them to hide in when the zombies arrive. No judgment here.
“The blood moon is rising…” These words are enough to make the palms of any Terraria player sweat. When the sky begins to turn that evil crimson red, this is where the nightmarish monsters and hordes of zombies arrive en masse. In other words: run and hide, if you know what’s good for you.
You can play Terraria alone or with friends. Digging into the depths of Hell (yes, that’s its actual name) is extra fun with fellow comrades by your side.
9. Minecraft
Minecraft Stranger Things Skin Pack Trailer
Minecraft is a game that seemingly everyone has heard about, whether it be toddlers or middle-aged moms who have never touched a video game in their life. If mining blocks, building a base, and dealing with unrealistic physics sounds appealing to you, Minecraft should be next on your list to play.
Top 3 Things That Make Minecraft Fun:
- The base building system is both intuitive and fun, and players have spent countless hours designing mansions and fortresses.
- You can slay Endermen and take lava baths in solo mode, but playing with friends takes the Minecraft experience to new heights. Craft, build, and wreak havoc with your closest buddies.
- Minecraft’s community is one of the most widespread and extensive fandoms in the gaming industry. There is no shortage of YouTube tutorials, merch, informative articles and mods. It’s a pop culture phenomenon, so you might as well see for yourself why the world exploded over these pixelated blocks.
One of the benefits of Minecraft being so popular is that it’s on practically every modern system imaginable. PS3, PS4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Wii U, PS Vita, iOS … do I really need to continue?
Sure, you can play on Peaceful mode if you don’t want to get wrecked by mobs. But if you’re into survival games, don’t be afraid to crank up the difficulty. A depleting hunger meter and hardcore enemies are available on the more punishing settings.
8. Staxel
Staxel Launch Trailer
Water your crops, brush animals, and get married. The concept may sound pretty boring to some, but don’t let the naysayers fool you. Staxel is yet another addition to the farming sim genre that proves these games are more than captivating. In fact, you’ll enjoy its world so much, you’ll want to quit your real life and live inside your console instead.
Top 3 Things That Make Staxel Fun:
- Staxel doesn’t have a combat system or a stamina meter, meaning you can farm and fish all day without having to pay a small fortune if you faint.
- Catch fish, hunt for bugs, pick wild berries, and donate items to the museum. The NPCs you encounter are eagerly awaiting your presence to give you quests and advice. Pro-tip: speak to Rowan at the pub for some juicy gossip.
- Due to its sandbox nature, everything in Staxel is customizable. You can completely rehaul the village and its surrounding areas, or spend your time exploring instead.
You grow a farm and take care of animals, that much is obvious. However, the other activities that Staxel offers is what makes the game feel unique.
Aside from the super charming graphics, there’s a whole sandbox-style map for you to explore. The village may be at the center of it all, but the surrounding areas have tons of fish to catch, bugs to pick, and stone to mine.
7. Fantasy Farming: Orange Season
Fantasy Farming: Orange Season Early Access Trailer
Fantasy Farming: Orange Season doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It’s a farming simulator, and a pretty great one at that. Grow crops, raise animals, have children — you know the drill. If that doesn’t make you geek out, you’re reading the wrong list.
Top 3 Things That Make Fantasy Farming: Orange Season Fun:
- You’re playing as a virtual farmer. No crazy action sequences, no stressful countdown, no linearity. Orange Season is casual with a capital C.
- Orange Season is still in Early Access, but full mod support (once it’s released) will allow people to change or add anything they want. Get ready for zany character dialogue and bizarre looking animals.
- You can romance any bachelor/ette regardless of gender. A rival marriage system will eventually be implemented, allowing you to play matchmaker for the remaining single candidates.
A farming sim without fishing is like The Cheesecake Factory without cheesecake. Go to one of the ponds or lakes scattered around the town, take out your fishing rod, and see what bites.
Crush the villagers’ egos in festivals, complete their requests, and ask them to hang out. The game places a high importance on being social and making pals.
6. Rune Factory
Rune Factory 4 Relationships Trailer
Rune Factory is like Harvest Moon’s edgy younger brother, who prefers dungeon-crawling and crafting opposed to watering turnips all day. Arguably one of the most Harvest Moon-like titles on this list, Rune Factory is for people who love the romancing and farming elements of its ‘older brother’ series, but would like a more RPG-catered experience.
Top 3 Things That Make Rune Factory Fun:
- Rune Factory requires an equal balance of defeating monsters, growing crops, and crafting weapons/armor. Although there are shops where you can buy and sell goods, almost all of the high-quality materials will be found by swinging the sword yourself.
- For the romance lovers, there is no shortage of potential waifus/husbands to choose from. Sure, they’d be the type of people that you would immediately get a restraining order on if you encountered them in real life. But this is Rune Factory after all, where stage-5 clingers and emotionally-stunted stalkers are the definition of normal.
- If you’re expecting a sweet little livestock shop where you can shell out coin and instantly purchase cows and chickens, think again. In Rune Factory, the only way to obtain new furry friends is by brushing the monsters that are found in the wild — if they don’t kill you first. Any monster that you tame will live in your barn. There are ‘normal’ monster types that will produce items like eggs, milk, or wool, and there are fantasy-style monsters like fairies and trolls.
Each Rune Factory title has a mix of diverse and colorful characters with a wide range of personalities. In Rune Factory 4, there’s a tsundere man-wolf, a girl whose best friend is a ghost, and a dragon who acts tough and formal (even though she’s secretly a big dork).
Don’t judge a monster by its cover. Even if they look cute and cuddly, such as these Wooly, they’ll send you to the clinic before you can even finish the word ‘adorable.’
5. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2017 Presentation Trailer
If you’re the owner of a Nintendo Switch and/or try to keep up with the hottest titles, you probably remember how everyone lost their minds in 2017 when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released. On the off chance you haven’t played this critically-acclaimed gem, now would be a great time to start. You play as Link in an open-world environment, solving puzzles and completing side quests to stop the Calamity Ganon from destroying the kingdom of Hyrule.
Top 3 Things That Make Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Great:
- Link has places to be and a world to save. Ride in a raft or on horseback, paraglide through the open skies, and use your shield to surf down mountains.
- With over 180 available weapons and an assortment of trendy outfits (it’s like Zelda’s version of Fashion Souls), you can customize Link to fit your desired playstyle. Get in close with a sword, or keep at a distance and use explosives.
- Breath of the Wild has enough activities to make an open-world lover swoon. Climb on towers to survey the land, solve puzzles at shrines, or attack enemy camps for supplies.
Long gone are the days where Link only existed in 2D. Breath of the Wild has beautiful landscapes and environments that are as immersive as the gameplay itself.
Breath of the Wild has countless bosses to challenge your skills. Pictured above is the Hinox, a cyclops-like monstrosity that is as tough to beat as he is ugly.
4. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles Trailer
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles is a very laid back game that’s set in the beautiful world of Gemea. With a huge map to explore, different biomes to venture through, and questing to be had, Yonder is a game that is for the true slice-of-game lovers at heart.
Top 3 Things That Make Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles Fun:
- The game has no combat system. Yep, you read that right. Yonder focuses entirely on giving the player a relaxing and meditative experience, with no violence or sword-fighting present.
- It would be pretty boring to explore a world that always stayed the same, right? Fortunately, Gemea has a day/night cycle, changing weather patterns, and animal migration. Your journey will constantly be evolving and changing as much as the world around you.
- Yonder has no time limit or pressing objectives. Go fishing, cook food, grow crops, or become a tailor. You can take things as fast or as slow as you want.
Adopt a variety of animals, such as fabbits (which are the precious white balls of fluff pictured above).
Yonder has eight distinct environments, ranging from grasslands and snowy mountains to scorching deserts.
3. Graveyard Keeper
Graveyard Keeper: Gameplay Reveal
Graveyard Keeper is a self-proclaimed “inaccurate medieval cemetery management sim,” so that should already tell you what kind of game it is. If you’re a fan of black comedy and/or think attending a witch-burning festival sounds like a grand old time, Graveyard Keeper is the best inaccurate game for you.
Top 3 Things That Make Graveyard Keeper Fun:
- You can receive perks. Not only are they permanent enhancements, but they make your character sound even creepier. If you want to be a butcher, cultist, or surgeon, no one’s stopping you. There are also less violent ones to choose from, such as playwright or beekeeper.
- Has a variety of quests for role-playing lovers and moral decision makers. Many of the choices revolve around dead people, such as involuntarily removing all of their organs or making them into a meat burger. You know, normal stuff.
- Dungeon crawling is totally obligatory, yet totally worth it (if you like finding bat wings and alchemy ingredients, that is). Just like other casual games that require mining, you descend deeper underground to get better loot while simultaneously fighting off annoying monsters.
You aren’t a total crazy person, you’re just a businessman who runs a graveyard … And throws corpses in the river ... And grinds up bodies, and poisons all of the villagers. Okay, yeah. Maybe you are crazy.
As quirky as the subject matter is, Graveyard Keeper is still a management sim. You must upgrade your cemetery, gather resources, and craft items.
2. My Time at Portia
10 Things To Do In My Time at Portia
Am I really saying that yet another open-world farming sim is great? Yes. Yes, I am. You may be up to your knees now in new slice-of-life games to play, but just like every other gem on this list, My Time at Portia is stellar at what it does.
Top 3 Things That Make My Time at Portia Fun:
- Flaunt your inner designer and make a crib that 2000’s MTV could only dream of. The furniture you place provides stat boosts, so it’s both stylish and effective.
- Ride horses and llamas wherever you go. You can also own a cat, dog, and pet pig.
- Attend in-game festivals. The Winter Solstice is where all of the Portia residents gather together and eat hotpot, and the Day of Memories is a festival to remember the loss of loved ones.
Is it really a slice-of-life game without character customization? In My Time At Portia, you can customize your avatar however you please.
My Time at Portia was inspired by Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animated film studio that creates truly magical works of art. If that gives you any indication of what Portia is about, you know you’ll be embarking on a wonderful journey.
1. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley Gameplay Footage
Stardew Valley is one of those games where you glance at the clock, see it’s already 4 a.m, and realize you’ve spent the last eight hours taking care of chickens and getting the townspeople to confess their undying love. It’s fueled with that same addictive juice that Harvest Moon has been injecting us with for twenty years. If you are looking for a tried and true Harvest Moon-inspired game, there is no greater choice than Stardew Valley.
Top 3 Things That Make Stardew Valley Fun:
- Stardew is one of the most inclusive games on this list when it comes to romance. You can date any of the twelve marriage candidates regardless of your gender, and are able to marry and have children once you raise a person’s affection level high enough.
- Mining is one of the best ways to make a profit in Stardew, even though you’ll probably want to rage quit from it on occasion. Use your pickaxe to unearth ores and gems, and dig to deeper levels if you want rarer materials. Watch out, though. You’ll have to fight monsters while you travel underground, and getting knocked out means you’ll pay a hefty price.
- Play with up to three of your friends. Build a farm together, share the resources you gather, and watch as the valley thrives. If you want to challenge yourselves, scale the profit margin.
For Stardew Valley veterans (or newbies who like a challenge), there are five different maps to choose from when starting a new playthrough. The Riverland Farm has more water for fishing, the Hill-Top Farm has more mining space, and the Wilderness Farm spawns monsters at night. That being said, whichever farm you choose from may give you an advantage in one area, but a disadvantage in another.
Your first animal in Stardew Valley will be either a dog or a cat. As you progress, you’ll be able to unlock other livestock like cows, chickens, pigs, and … dinosaurs?
Craving more Harvest Moon-inspired games? You may also be interested in:
