5 Games To Play if You Like Stardew Valley

Feb 11, 2022

One of the most iconic simulation roleplay games is Stardew Valley. Not only is it infinitely replayable, but its fanbase has developed and shared free mods to expand upon the base game. Stardew Valley is getting another round of hype lately because its developer, ConcernedApe, has begun releasing information about their next game, Haunted Chocolatier.

Stardew Valley is special because of how integrated the players become part of the character’s world. Not to mention the secrets that lie within their backstories. I’m looking at you, Wizard.

This game isn’t just about farming and marriage, it's also about fishing, crafting, and exploration! These elements are what makes it stand out from other games in its category (or those that try and match Stardew Valley caliber).

If you’re looking to expand your simulation RPG palette, here are five alternative games to play if you love Stardew Valley!

h/gaming • 266 guides

h/popculture • 125 guides

h/pc • 29 guides

One Sentence Summary

My latest obsession, nobody bug me.

Official Summary

Welcome to Cozy Grove, a game about camping on a haunted, ever-changing island. As a Spirit Scout, you'll wander the island's forest each day, finding new hidden secrets and helping soothe the local ghosts. With a little time and a lot of crafting, you'll bring color and joy back to Cozy Grove!

Each spirit has a unique, extensive story for you to unravel over time.

Cozy Grove is the most similar to Animal Crossing: New Horizons because it's synced to real world time. This means you have 30-60 minutes of content to play per day, leaving you to decorate, fish, and craft to your heart’s content after!

Your goal as the Spirit Scout is to help the bear ghosts come to terms with their lives and move on. To fulfill their requests, you have to craft, gather, or even wear items found with the island’s resources. There are also mystical animals who require your care as well (and even some troublesome imps who I don’t trust).

Key Elements

Animal Tending, Crafting, Relationships

Developer

Spry Fox LLC

Publisher

Spry Fox LLC

Available On

PC, MacOS, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X/S, iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

One Sentence Summary

If Stardew Valley had a goth phase.

Official Summary

Wytchwood is a crafting adventure game set in a land of gothic fables and fairytales. As the old witch of the woods, explore a strange countryside, collect magic ingredients, brew sorcerous spells, and pass judgement upon a capricious cast of characters.

After all, how will they ever learn if you don’t teach them the moral of the story?

My favorite part of this game is the dialogue and characters. It’s sassy and magical! Wytchwood takes a darker turn because the main character is all about researching and concocting devious spells. Turn people into frogs or curse someone while offering next level sass in response to their outrage.

Key Elements

Exploration, Puzzles, Crafting

Developer

Alientrap

Publisher

Whitethorn Games, WhisperGames

Available On

Playstation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, MacOS

One Sentence Summary

Little emotional challenges, but definitely skill challenges.

Official Summary

Explore procedurally generated islands in this fast-paced, sandbox survival adventure filled with building, crafting, fighting, farming and quests. Build a base, hunt, cook, battle ogres, make friends with a mysterious Totem, ride an alpaca, fly a plane and do whatever you need to survive.

Make the Totem happy and become its best friend forever.

That’s right. Your best friend on the islands is a totem. Nira is more focused on survival and dungeons rather than the calming farming or fishing aspects of Stardew Valley. However, it still serves the audience of SV that loves a good challenge. It also has similar sarcastic 4th wall breaking that SV likes to do, which I can appreciate.

Key Elements

Crafting, Gathering, Fighting

Developer

Graffiti Games

Publisher

Graffiti Games

Available On

Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch

One Sentence Summary

Hey look, My Time at Portia’s sequel--oh wait.

Official Summary

Grow your own worlds and nurture a deep natural connection with everything they hold. See your actions change the world for the better! Bring the Evertree back to life in this breathtaking world-crafting sandbox, with life management and adventure elements.

You hear the sun as it sings across the sky. You hear the language of rain against the earth.

While Grow does look a lot like My Time at Portia, it’s actually got nothing to do with it. Grow is similar to SV with the big difference that you’re able to choose where buildings go and what they look like in the town. Grow is more of a fantastical version of SV and certainly more family-friendly than the others. It’s up to you to use alchemy to heal the earth and bring about new worlds and old friends!

Key Elements

Crafting, Farming, Building

Developer

Prideful Sloth

Publisher

505 Games

Available On

Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch

One Sentence Summary

The parent to Stardew Valley (and therefore not as edgy and doesn’t see its faults).

Official Summary

Welcome to Olive Town, a peaceful community established by your trailblazing grandfather and his friends. Now that you've taken over his farm, it's your job to carry on his legacy. Plant crops, raise animals, build relationships, and get to know the residents of your new home!

You may even find love with a special someone!

For those unfamiliar with the history of Stardew Valley the developer created the game in order to fill a need he felt towards another Harvest Moon game. How does that relate to Story of Seasons? Well Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons are the same franchise. SoS seems to be the new era of HM games but they have the exact same features? Either way, SoS is more heavily focused on a linear storyline that doesn’t deviate depending on whom you marry. I won’t say that Stardew Valley is the better, more “woke” version of either franchise, but you don’t have as much freedom and choice in Pioneers of Olive Town. So if you prefer to focus on relationship building and storyline, than still consider trying out any Harvest Moon or Story of Seasons game!