Lauren Morton
Ten years on, there are virtually too many video games like Stardew Valley out right here. Let’s be actual: There are quite a lot of mid ones hiding among the many darlings and it may be robust to inform that are which when so many look cute. After enjoying sufficient farm sims to grow to be choosy about my preferences, I bounce off farmlife sims with clunky controls and often suggest ones with glorious characters. With the variety of hours you possibly can sink into simply one in all these video games, you solely actually need to seek out a couple of that you just actually love, so let me inform you about my private favorites.
The latest farm sim launch I’d been anticipating is the Animal Crossing-like vampire village Moonlight Peaks. You will not see it on this listing as a result of, sadly, I discovered it disappointing regardless of being very playable. You can learn my Moonlight Peaks assessment for extra however, mainly, I do not suppose its cute theme makes up for some actually bland character writing.
The greatest video games like Stardew Valley
Fields of Mistria
Why: The degree of coronary heart and element within the character dialogue is unmatched.
Fields of Mistria
❤️ Romance: Yes
⚔️ Combat: Yes
🤝 Co-op: No
After two years of early entry and an imminent 1.0 launch, Fields of Mistria has grow to be my absolute favourite within the post-Stardew farm sim scene. It solves so lots of my little farm simming gripes with little quality-of-life touches and simply feels prefer it was made with a deep love of the style.
Mistria commits so arduous to the ’90s anime and Game Boy Advance aesthetic with pastel colours and a bunch of loveable cuties sporting capes and shoulder pads. I am unable to stress sufficient that it is acquired a lot substance beneath that anime trope crust, although. Yes March is a textbook tsundere and Juniper is a witch who says “OH HO HO” with that smug hand pose when she laughs, but it surely leaves room for characters who defy stereotypes too. Mistria has a lot detailed, character-building dialogue that I actually love attending to know its characters and their quirks.
Roots of Pacha
Why: It’s the very best exactly-like-Stardew factor on the market.
Roots of Pacha review (88%): “It delights in genre staples while tuning the formula just enough to create something engaging and fresh.”
Roots of Pacha
❤️ Romance: Yes
⚔️ Combat: No
🤝 Co-op: Yes (4-player)
Roots of Pacha is by far the closest thing to just playing more Stardew Valley, only set in the stone age. It’s got a very similar pixel art style, character types, and soundtrack, but unlike so many things chasing Stardew’s coattails, Pacha doesn’t suffer for the comparison. It’s just downright solidly good with lots of little extras like a fun musical minigame to tame animals and a tech tree for unlocking farm inventions that your community members come up with. This is the one that I managed to get my group of friends to play together for several weeks despite never doing co-op Stardew together.
Coral Island
Why: It’s one of the biggest farm sims around.
Coral Island
❤️ Romance: Yes
⚔️ Combat: Yes
🤝 Co-op: Yes (4-player)
Coral Island has 30 dateable characters. That’s wild, when the standard in this genre is more like a dozen. Plus there’s all the other characters on Coral Island who are equally personable and unique. After a year of early access and several post-launch updates with massive feature lists, Coral Island become one of the biggest farm sims around. It’s now got multiplayer, a (toggleable) jealousy system if you’re neglecting your spouse for other datable characters, and even more big updates on the way. I came to this one later than most, but honestly I’m glad I’m seeing it after it’s been jam-packed with goodies.
Moonstone Island
Why: Creature-catching will always be catnip to me.
Moonstone Island
❤️ Romance: Yes
⚔️ Combat: Yes (turn-based)
🤝 Co-op: No
Moonstone Island leans closer to a crafting sim than a life sim, so some of the community and social elements like dating are shallower than other Stardew-like games. I cannot deny that adding creature-catching to a genre I already like is pretty much always a winner, though. Moonstone brings my favorite bits of base-building and procedural generated world exploring into a cute farming and crafting experience the way that almost no other post-Stardew life sims do. It flips the usual farm sim priorities on its head by making my creatures the focus instead of my rows of crops.
Kynseed
Why: The world feels so enticingly creepy and interesting.
Kynseed review (89%): “A hearty stew made from elements of Fable, Stardew Valley and Crusader Kings.”
Kynseed
❤️ Romance: Yes
⚔️ Combat: Yes
🤝 Co-op: No
Kynseed is an odd one, in general and also, admittedly, as a pick for this list. It’s built on creepy fairytales with an almost overwhelmingly dense pixel art style. Having roots in the older Fable games means that its characters are more like simulated little pawns in your world and don’t really have that Stardew-style depth of character. It has gotten more Stardew-like with all of its years of updates though, adding in more house customization and other personal bits. Playing through family generations means you can sink a lot of hours into this one. I’m always fascinated by the crusty old RPG feeling of exploring its world and chasing down quest hints between coming home to farm. I just think it’s very niche and neat and I’ll never shut up about how its super tactile cooking minigame is amazing.
Staff Picks
I may be the tender of this list, but I’m just one of many farm sim lovers at PC Gamer, so here are the latest favorites from my fellows.