Stardew Valley is a farming sim that is so much more at heart. You gain relationships with the townspeople, you can mine, explore caves, fish, and there is even combat. If you love that kind of game and want to enjoy something similar but need a Stardew Break read on for fifteen games that will give the same feeling but add their own twist to the gameplay.
15. Dave the Diver
Dave the Diver is a pixel style game based around inheriting property that needs work., much like Stardew Valley. Players will step into the role of Dave, a SCUBA diver who is pushed to become the manager of a sushi restaurant. Dave gets the fish for his recipes by diving to catch them. Talk about fresh sushi! The player also gets to do some crafting and favors for people they meet during the game.
Combat is also part of this adventure when Dave encounters sharks and must also be aware of his oxygen level.
Dave the Diver presents elements of Stardew Valley in a way that makes you forget the two are similar but don’t be fooled, both have elements of crafting, recipes to unlock and favors to build relationships with the people around you and combat with sharks.
As with Stardew Valley, where the end goal can be seen as having the best farm possible and unlocking achievements, that also seems to be the goal of Dave the Diver, to have the best restaurant.
Consider this game if:
- you enjoy restaurant sims because this game is more of that than anything.
- Underwater adventures are your thing. A large portion of the game is underwater or interacting with the sea life and that adds a relaxing feel even when you see sharks.
- ou love building relationships and finding more about a game’s NPCs. Building relationships is one of those things that can set a game apart and the quests from people you meet along the way in this game definitely add an element of personality to the game.
14. Farm for Your Life
A storm leaves the town you farm in in the grips of a zombie apocalypse. You now get to figure out how to pick up the pieces of the town, your farm and start a restaurant.
Stardew Valley and Farm for Your Life are two sides of the same coin. In Stardew Valley you are rebuilding a farm and helping a town come together the way that they used to be. In Farm for Your Life, you are helping a town recover from a zombie apocalypse while also continuing to try to build a farm. Both games have supernatural elements as well as townspeople who are more than they first appear.
The goal of Farm for Your Life is to rebuild the town and find a way to help as many people as you can. But do it while constantly under threat of a zombie invasion. And while also trying to manage relations between people who don’t always get along.
Consider this game if:
- You enjoy zombie apocalypse stories: the game really is about more than zombies but the zombies are a key element of the story that is different from Stardew Valley..
- You are wanting your farming and restaurants with a side of combat. If you want something a bit more exciting than just straight farming, this game ramps things up with zombie combat.
- You enjoy sandbox type story games. You are in charge of rebuilding the town and placing everything just where you want it.
13. Voodoo Garden
Farming and the supernatural are at the forefront of Voodoo Garden. In this game you live in the swamp and grow plants that you use to make items that are powered with voodoo magic. There are several helpful spirits you will meet along the way who will be by your side, as long as you have some gold, of course.
This game is what Stardew Valley is in a very simplified version: grow crops with supernatural creatures (in Stardew Valley these are the Juminos) and earn gold. A relaxing, less story based alternative to Stardew.
Consider this game if:
- You enjoy farming sims, after all, this game is all about the crops.
- You need a relaxing game to wind down, it doesn’t get too exciting or stressful and is a good game to play at the end of a long day.
- You enjoy a witchy or dark aesthetic: the art style of this game will be a dream come true for you.
12. Slime Rancher
In Slime Rancher you are once again a farmer, but now you are farming slimes. Your job is to feed them their favorite foods in an effort to make them produce plort, which you can then sell.
Both games offer a chance to farm slimes, but Slime Rancher takes it further, giving the slimes different looks, and they are the only “crop” of the game. Each different type of slime makes a different kind of plort. Different plorts are worth more. However, be sure to save plort in your refinery as well. That is how you craft your upgrades.
Consider this game if:
- You really loved the slime farming in Stardew Valley. This is a whole game that covers slimes. And gives the slimes more to do than just get mad and attack you.
- You would rather play in first person. This is another key difference and one that makes the game feel a bit more personal.
- You have always wanted to feel like a Ghostbuster or Luigi in ‘Luigi’s Mansion.” Your character wears a vacuum pack and can shoot food at slimes that get too big to make them explode!
11. The Graveyard Keeper
The Graveyard Keeper is a game that really leans into the management simulation of things. You play as a character who gets in a car accident and wakes in a fantastical world where they are in charge of fixing up a forgotten and dilapidated cemetery in order to find a way back to the land of the living.
In Stardew Valley you inherit your grandfather’s farm and are tasked with fixing it up. Much like you are tasked with fixing up the graveyard in this game. Both games also rely on NPC’s for storytelling and plot progression. The biggest difference is that you absolutely do have to fix up the graveyard so that you can find your way back to your own realm. You can’t run off and do your own thing, like you can in Stardew, neglecting the farm for other activities.
Consider this game if:
- You enjoyed the maintenance aspect of Stardew Valley. That is the main point of this game.
- You are looking for something a bit spooky. Nothing says spooky like a graveyard that is overrun with weeds and broken stones.
- You like a game that unlocks with experience points. This game has three levels for unlocking the story and is a great way to pace yourself.
10. Garden Paws
Garden Paws puts you in the roll of a cat who has inherited her grandparents farm and must finish construction on it. Obviously, that costs money so you open a shop, try running a farm, raise animals and so on.
Garden Paws and Stardew Valley are similar in that you have inherited a farm, are fixing it up and helping to rebuild the town. You can also mine and set up a mining camp in Garden Paws.
Consider this game if:
- You want to play as an adorable animal. That’s the key difference. Your character is an animal. And a cute one at that.
- You want more freedom to explore. You are in control of the way the town feels, giving you more freedom to explore.
- You want something besides a top down person. This offers a third person view from eye level, making gameplay feel more personal.
9. Moonlighter
Moonlighter is about a young man named Will who wants to explore the caves and find “the 5th door.” Will also runs a shop in town and part of the gameplay is pricing the items you find in the mine so that you make money and also keep the customer happy. With the money you make in the store you can provide funding to open new stores and return the town to it’s former greatness.
Moonlighter and Stardew Valley both provide mining and combat as well as a relationship with customers or townspeople and you are an integral part of rebuilding the town. Moonlighter is much more combat heavy and has a more intricate magic system.
Consider this game if:
- You wish Stardew Valleyhad more combat. Most of the tutorial is combat heavy so you will not be disappointed.
- You like an intricate backstory that you uncover as you play. You get a hint to the story in the first few minutes and it definitely makes you want to keep playing.
- You like management simulators. You are managing a store and there is a guide to help you price things as accurately as possible.
8. Grounded
You are part of a group of children who have been shrunk down to the size of a bug…to a bug. You must figure out how to get back to normal size while fighting off other bugs and spiders. Crafting and foraging are also a big part of this game.
Stardew Valley requires a large amount of crafting and this game does as well. Foraging is also a key element in both games that can be crucial to combat and survival situations. Watch out for spiders as those are a big threat and can break into your base of operations.
Consider this game if:
- You liked the Honey I Shrunk series. Seriously, you get to live it in this game. Which might make you rethink the humor of that movie.
- You enjoy looking at nature from a different angle. You get to see a whole new side of insects as you are running around amongst them.
- The idea of a random robot who sends you on quests intrigues you.
7. Minecraft
This one might seem a bit out of place. Minecraft is a game that has evolved over time from being made to teach coding to a game with storylines of its own. You can mine, fight mobs of different monsters, visit different biomes, craft, farm, build or enchant. Honestly, at this point there isn’t much you can’t do.
Stardew Valley and Minecraft don’t seem very similar on the surface but one of the most calming parts of Stardew Valley (once you advance enough) can be the mining. And Minecraft is full of that. Minecraft is also great for farming and foraging. Upgrades are more of an unlocking resources situation but both games do offer upgrades the farther you advance in the game.
If you want an open world to explore, Minecraft is great for that, as well. Run in any direction and watch the world spawn in around you, you’ll enjoy seeing what biomes appear.
Consider this game if:
- You want to explore an open world setting. Minecraft can go on forever in any direction spawning random biomes as it goes.
- You don’t mind that enemies can spawn in any area with a moderate amount of shade. Make sure to light up your shelters, you don’t want a creeper or skeleton spawning in there.
- You need something that can be relaxing if you play it a certain way.
6. Garden Story
Garden Story is a game about a grape who is on a mission to destroy the Rot that is taking over his grove. He visits different towns helping where he can. Concord the Grape is also able to plant seeds to gain more resources as he goes.
While you don’t play as a grape in Stardew Valley and you definitely aren’t fighting an evil Rot, you are planting seeds and helping townsfolk to advance. Both games are also very cozy and have a warm, homey feel. Being a grape is part of the game’s charm. And it doesn’t get old, so you won’t end up feeling like a raisin.
Consider this game if:
- You want some more story in your game. You are on a singular mission in this game, instead of several tiny missions along the way.
- You enjoy puzzle solving. In this game you can use your weapon to solve the puzzles!
- You want a game with a cozy feel. Let’s face it, we all need these games on bad days.
5. Coral Island
Coral Island is currently in early access and is a farming and lifestyle simulator. It has no real story and allows you to play at your own pace and go where the waves take you, so to speak.
Coral Island is Stardew Valley with a less rigid structure. If you want just farm, do it. If you want to just mine or fish? Go ahead. You can also build relationships with the NPCS and complete missions for them, as well. Where Stardew Valley has a very strict way it wants you to proceed and to do things this game lets you do it your own way. There is no set path so you can play it anyway you want.
Consider this game if:
- You want less grinding. Stardew Valley can get a bit grindy at the beginning and this game has much less of that.
- You enjoy a cute aesthetic. The aesthetic doesn’t take away from the story and who doesn’t love cute farm animals.
- You enjoy romancing the townsfolk. As of this writing there are 28 dateable characters in Coral Island. And they have a bigger age range than the ones in Stardew Valley.
4. Animal Crossing New Horizons
Tom Nook has designed a real estate opportunity that allows you to help populate a desert island and make it an island paradise. You can fish, farm and mine. Help to restock the museum and compete in competitions but first, make sure you payback Tom Nook.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a more laid-back environment than Stardew Valley. Both games have fishing, mining, farming and foraging. It is also crucial to build up relationships with your fellow Islanders, otherwise, well it might get uncomfortable on that small island.
Consider this game if:
- You enjoy cute animals as your main friends. As in all Animal Crossing games, the NPCs are animals and many old favorites are back in this game.
- You like fishing in video games. This game does the fishing part much better than Stardew Valley. It is much simpler than the fishing minigame.
- You want to do some terraforming. In this game you can change the land to suit what you want it to look like.
3. My Time at Portia
I kind of imagine that if Robin from Stardew Valley made a video game it would be like this one. As the child of a former architect, you inherit his old shop and start to rebuild in a post apocalyptic society. Your goal is to become the best builder.
This game relies heavily on foraging and crafting, which is also something Stardew Valley touches on. Of course, building relationships is crucial, too. You can't be the best builder if no one wants to hire you, after all.
That’s what sets this game apart: there isn’t much of a competition in Stardew Valley (unless you count Pierre, and he doesn’t even come close to being second place to any farmer). But this game has that element that will force you to try just a little bit harder to be the very best.
Consider this game if:
- You want more control in what you build. You are the builder and don't have to wait for Robin to do the work.
- You want to do more foraging. You are in charge of finding the materials.
- You want a change from the pixelated top down view of Stardew Valley.
2. Starbound
You are aboard a spaceship on a peacekeeping mission. Earth is now destroyed. And you get to go explore the galaxy, help other planets. And customize your ship. Story missions and side quests abound in this game. But you are also free to explore the galaxy.
Starbound and Stardew Valley have many of the same relationship forming and missions. There is plenty of combat in both and lots of exploring to do! Not to mention more customization. Sure you can add furniture and fix up the wallpaper and floors in Stardew Valley. In Starbound though, whatever you want your ship to look like it can. Not sure furniture based changes.
Consider this game if:
- You want more exploring in your game. Every planet is procedurally generated and you get to travel the whole galaxy.
- You have always wanted your own spaceship. The spaceship is customizable so feel free to make it your own.
- You enjoy the simplistic, yet well done, art style of Stardew Valley. This game is like that but in a more astrological way.
1. Disney Dreamlight Valley
Disney Dreamlight Valley puts you as a long lost citizen of Dreamlight Valley. You are on a quest to find out who the lost ruler was and on the way you rebuild the Valley and travel to distant realms.
Along the way you add new Disney characters to the Valley and work in Remy's restaurant or harvest pumpkins so you can shop in Scrooge's store. You raise your friendship level with each of the villagers to learn more about them and to unlock more of the story.
Stardew Valley and Dreamlight Valley have a lot in common, between farming, foraging, mining, finishing and relationship building. But Dreamlight Valley takes the story building to a whole new level. It is a cute, cozy, Disney game at the surface but once you unlock the story you can see how deep and touching it really is.
Consider this game if:
- You have ever wanted to be friends with a Disney character. While I cannot wait for them to add Chip and Dale I love hanging out with Wall-E.
- You want a pet that follows you around. You can unlock companions from birds to crocodiles to foxes and you get to pet them and take pictures with them.
- You want a more mission centered experience. While you are free to do what you like, DDLV is arguably more fun if you have some quests to do. And with new characters being added all the time that means more missions.
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