If you’re searching for games like Stardew Valley in 2024 because you’ve already played it and are looking for alternatives, or couldn’t get into it for whatever reason, check out this list we’ve put together.
Farming simulators offer a dose of escapism from the humdrum routines of everyday life.
It’s that little chicken farm or bountiful fruit orchard people dream of retiring to while enjoying a sense of community that is missing from modern life.
Allowing players to feel like they can go on a unique farming adventure no matter where they are and whenever they choose is one of the many allures of the games similar to Stardew Valley that we have included in this list.
What are farming games?
Farming and agricultural games let you obtain a piece of land and manage it as you please. Really good games in this genre make you feel like you can create a perfectly mimicked reality in them by tending to the field around you and shaping it as you like.
It helps if the developers throw in complementary elements like side quests, alternate professions or activities and back stories for other characters in the sim.
But the main draw should always be what the protagonist can achieve on his land and in his tight-knit community.
If you enjoyed the game in question and want to try other similar games, go ahead and pick one from our list of the best games like Stardew Valley.
About Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is a farm simulator game that offers a side plot of romance for your character.
The game draws its inspiration from the famous Harvest Moon video game series. It is available on all major platforms, including PC, Linux, mac OS, Xbox, PS, Switch, and mobile.
You can buy it from distribution services such as Steam, GOG.com, and the indie-specific Humble Games platform.
As players, you take on the role of a character who has just inherited a plot of farmland left behind by his grandfather.
Your job is to tend the plot with the usual activities such as farming, raising livestock, and crafting items in this open world.
There is a strong socialization aspect in the gameplay element too which lets players find love, date, marry and start a family with one of the 12 NPC villager characters.
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Stardew Valley has you starting from scratch. You need to create everything from base one.
As you progress, you learn to live off the land and the resources you can find. Apart from tending the land, you can fish, mine, go on quests, support the restoration of the town’s Community Center and much more.
The game employs a top-down RPG art style in an open-ended universe to provide players with endless opportunities to exercise creativity.
It uses the C# language and Microsoft’s XNA framework for its technology stack. Critics have applauded its technical soundness and well-thought-out game design.
Stardew Valley was built as a labor of love by its sole developer, Eric Barone, who first began his journey with the idea of merely honing his coding skills.
Barone refused to put the game out on Steam’s Early Access program, citing his intention of only launching a finished product.
The game enjoyed great success on release, and critics and gamers hailed it as the “spiritual successor” to Harvest Moon.
Barone has won several accolades for his single-handed dedication, including praise from the creator of the Harvest Moon series, Yasuhiro Wada.
Wada complimented Barone for keeping the legacy of the original Harvest Moon game alive and adding exciting new elements in the genre.
So if you’d love to explore more simulation games like Stardew Valley, here we go.
Best farming and Life Sims Games like Stardew Valley
#1. Kynseed
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Steam
- Price: $10.39
- Keep your legacy alive even after you die
- Get to know other villagers
- Run your farm and shop
Kynseed is the perfect choice for fans looking up RPG farming games similar to Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon to play.
Besides farming your land, you can also a family or run a shop while gaining an understanding of the personalities of those around you, their fears, desires, and even phobias.
One thing we love about the little details is that this game does a fantastic job of portraying the atmosphere of small villages.
For example, you will note the hints of jealousy over who harvests the bigger and better crops.
READ: Harvest Moon Alternative To Play When You Want To Relax
When you die, a gratifying aspect of the title is that you can keep living your legacy through your children.
This means that when playing Kynseed, you’re in for a never-ending farming adventure.
#2. Moonlighter
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, iOS, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Steam
- Price: $25.99
- Combine running your field with magical elements
- Enjoy an in-game system of selling goods or trading items
- Find endless new worlds through the game’s many mystical gates
Moonlighter brings together farming and action RPG elements that we all love and adds a dash of exciting magic to those.
You will face with a Mystical Gate that leads you to Rynoka, a city in which you can make acquaintances and create valuable bonds with its villagers.
In addition to this, you can also enjoy maintaining your shop where you sell goods, or trade essential and rare items you find on your quests.
And if a tiny town isn’t enough for you, you will be pleased to discover the multiple mystical gates existing in the game.
You can walk through these to discover more new worlds and adventures.
Moonlighter is one of the best games like Stardew Valley. It is an ideal pick for you If the idea of running a shop during the day and going off on exciting adventures come nightfall seems interesting.
Other closely similar games are Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale and the games in the Fable series. Both of these fantastic action RPG games offer similar fun.
#3. The Island Castaway: Lost World
- Platform: Mobile App for Android / iOS
- Price: Free but offers in-app purchases
- Ensure your survival on an island after you’ve suffered a shipwreck
- Decipher cryptic messages and fight foes who lay obstacles in your journey
- Gather and craft supplies to sustain yourself and the group of survivors that you lead
This action adventure game provides something extra over the usual, starting-from-scratch and building-your-way-up gameplay of the other farming simulators we’ve listed.
For instance, your character is the leader of your journey and the people who were with you when you suffered a shipwreck. The primary goal is trying to escape the island and get back home.
To do this, you will face many challenges, the first being gathering enough supplies or creating sources for the same to keep yourself alive.
You’ll also find other challenging obstacles like needing to decipher cryptic messages left on the island and fighting an evil and powerful crab monster.
#4. Staxel
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Steam
- Price: $19.99
- Vast customization features
- Enjoy a new adventure every day as the game’s multiple activities will stop your days from feeling repetitive
- Take care of every aspect of your field
If you’ve ever wished for a game that you can customize to fit into either the modern era or a rustic background, then you should check out Staxel.
This excellent blocky RPG blends the best of Minecraft and Stardew Valley to render an exciting gaming experience.
The game’s rich customization options allow you to alter your surroundings however you prefer, based on your gameplay style, so that you can grow the farm of your dreams.
While waiting for your plants to be ready to harvest, the game lets you hang out with the other inhabitants of the place where your field is located, enabling you to discover new quests or even earn rewards.
But you can also choose to take a more passive approach to the game. If you prefer this, you can enjoy the many benefits of living in the countryside, like spending your hard-earned money on items to improve your field and character customization.
#5. Graveyard Keeper
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Steam, available on the tinyBuild Platform
- Price: $9.99
- Manage your graveyard – a fun task if you enjoy darker games
- Buy resources from the living or ransack the buried bodies
- Live out your journey in a medieval-era setting
Graveyard Keeper is also a great farming game. But instead of allowing you to nurture a field, it entrusts you with taking care of a medieval-era cemetery.
The name of the game, Graveyard Keeper, makes perfect sense as your character is tasked with taking care of a cemetery and utilizing the resources found in it and the surrounding territories to thrive in the game.
When you tend to this graveyard, you will face ethical dilemmas that will prompt you to either take advantage of what you can extract from all the dead bodies lying around or spend your precious money buying resources from the living.
ALSO SEE: Factorio Alternatives For Construction And Management Games Fans
Of course, being set in medieval times, Graveyard Keeper would not be a complete game without offering you dungeons to explore, where you can venture into the unknown and maybe even find new poisonous ingredients as a reward for your bravery.
#6. Don’t Starve Together
- Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Steam, and Linux
- Price: $5.99
- Play through multiple seasons and biomes
- Fight monsters and creatures who may harm you during your adventures
- Develop skills and gather supplies to survive
Don’t Starve Together offers you the choice of a multiplayer game with friends or strangers online, or a single-player version.
Whichever you choose, you will have to gather and craft together resources to improve your chances of survival and overall experience in the game.
These resources, however, are not limited as the game gives the player access to multiple characters, seasons, biomes, and challenges.
To gather these raw materials, you will have to garner all of your survival skills as you walk into strange places inhabited by monsters and other creatures that will of course attempt to harm your character and make your existence more challenging.
#7. World’s Dawn
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Steam
- Price: $9.99
- Bring life back to the quiet Sugar Blossom village and restore its former glory
- Hang out with fellow villagers, get to know them, and even start a family
- Have adventures while tending to your land
World’s Dawn challenges you to bring the fun and life back to the tired village of Sugar Blossom.
World’s Dawn offers you the option to befriend your fellow villagers from among whom you can select a special someone to spend your life with.
Besides offering more than thirty hours of beautifully crafted gameplay, it also provides you with interesting activities like fishing, cave exploration, mining valuable materials, and discovering magical secrets.
Of course, you also have your field and land to take care of, tame, and harvest according to your imagination.
#8. Farm Together
- Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, Switch, PS, Xbox, Steam
- Price: $12.99
- Start from scratch, and grow your field in an expansive world – no limits whatsoever
- Customize almost all in-game elements including fences, buildings, roads, and clothes
- Have fun driving your tractor around the field
- Play as a single owner of a private field, or collaborate with players online with a simple permission tweak
Farm Together comes from the stable of the developers of the successful Avatar Farms. You can play this game on their official Milkstone Studios platform.
In this title, you have to manage your farm from end to end by planting trees, growing crops, raising animals, and of course, riding your tractor.
It provides you with a rich set of customization options that adds to its charm. You can tweak almost all in-game items and even your player’s appearance.
One cool aspect is that the game-time progresses even when you are not playing. Be prepared to be surprised with new developments every time you log in and visit your farm.
Finally, the game lets you play in a relaxed solo mode by restricting anyone else from accessing your farm. You can permit your friends to visit you though.
If you enjoy multiplayer games, there is a setting to open your farm to your online buddies and collaborate to beautify it further.
For lovers of farming simulators, this game is a must-try. The tractors mimic their real-world counterparts closely, and for the mechanically oriented, driving these virtual farm machines will be great fun.
#9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Price: $59.99
- Create the island and paradise getaway of your dreams
- Personalize every aspect of the world around you
- If you need to take a breather from your island, visit one owned by your friend
Instead of allowing you to explore new worlds, this game focuses on improving what you already possess on your little island.
You can customize this island by undertaking different tasks to collect resources, catch bugs and insects, and gather items from the available area.
You can interact with other in-game characters who you can also shape in terms of looks and personality in order to fit the atmosphere of your island.
Even if you’re not given multiple unknown worlds to visit, your friends can come to your island, and you can go to theirs.
This stops the game from ever getting boring. The customization options along the kick you get out of creating a better biome than your pals offers a compelling reason for owners to do more for their island.
It might remind you of Animal Crossing: New Horizons which offers you the possibility of building your small paradise with all comforts and items you desire, letting you escape into the happiness of this private space.
#10. Farm For Your Life
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Steam, and Linux
- Price: $9.99
- Bring together farming and zombies in this game
- Manage your plot of land, cultivate fruit and vegetables, raise animals, run a restaurant supplied by your farm
- Keep a zombie apocalypse from destroying your community any further
How does it sound to play a game that combines both farming and zombies? Awesome? It offers that experience as your character plays in the setting of a chaotic, post-apocalyptic community that was destroyed by zombies and now depends on you to bounce back to life.
The farming part of the game comes into the picture here. You’re the person responsible for finding sustainable ways of living by cultivating and taking care of your land while providing food through your restaurant and dealing with the ever-present zombies.
This game brings together aspects that you usually don’t find combined – farming and zombies.
These unique elements put together is the main draw of Farm For Your Life. This little world is dark, and because of this it contrasts heavily against the other candidates on our roster.
#11. Slime Rancher
- Platform: Windows, Linux, macOS, Xbox, PS, Steam
- Price: $5.99
- Roleplay as a ‘slime-rancher’ on a planet far away from Earth called Far Far Range
- Slimes are ‘slimy’ living creatures of various shapes and sizes
- Have fun rearing and breeding these gelatinous organisms
- Your slimes produce ‘plorts’ which you can sell to enhance your farm with new items and builds
Slime Rancher offers an interesting twist to building a feild of your choice and the action takes place on a fictional far-Earth planet.
As the name suggests, you have to create a “slime-farm” in this first-person life simulation game.
The slimes in the game come in a wide variety of sizes and capabilities. They are the central element.
Your job is to ensure the economic success of your slime-ranch by using their produce, items called “plorts,” to sell and collect the necessary resources.
Extensive customization options provide you with plenty of fast-growth opportunities.
You can combine slimes, feed “plorts” from one type to another to enhance their productivity, and collect “slime keys” by shooting certain species to teleport to new worlds with exciting items.
For those looking to combine business, sci-fi, and of course, farming elements, Slime Rancher is a fantastic game to play.
#12. My Time At Portia
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam, Mobile (Both Android and iOS), Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
- Price: $29.99
- Create the best workshop that Portia has ever had
- Take care of your farm and enjoy a little friendly competition about who grows the better crops
- Engage with townsfolk and even start a romantic relationship or raise a family
My Time At Portia is yet another title on our list that offers you the experience of a post-apocalyptic world that you can rebuild, or not, depending on how you choose to spend your time at Portia.
As a fantastic Stardew Valley alternative, My Time At Portia also enables you to get acquainted with all other town folks and engage in any kind of relationships with them.
These could include friendship, romance, or even choosing who to build a life and spend it with.
The excitement doesn’t stop at you making your farm the most productive one out there – you’re also entrusted with your Pa’s neglected workshop to give it new life and ultimately try to make it the best of its kind on Portia.
The player will have the opportunity to live out the experience of building up their life and status from nothing while being influenced by their unique and quirky neighbors and fellow citizens of Portia.
#13. Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 5
- Price: $39.99
- Explore to your heart’s content in this open world limitless adventure
- Figure out how to help Yonder get rid of the evil barrier surrounding it
- Enjoy multiple character quests and challenges as you interact with the world and people around you
Yonder offers an adventure that knows no limits as the action occurs in an open world that allows you to explore and discover new things endlessly.
A lot like the other games like Stardew Valley on our list, Yonder is also a post-apocalyptic place that despite maintaining its beauty and allure, is trapped within an evil barrier encircling it.
This dark boundary leaves the people and lands of this world in despair and indecision.
You advance through this game by interacting with other characters, which will allow you to gather resources, information, and even new challenges to help you grow.
Even though your achievements and in-game successes can be won from a single area, nothing stops you from exploring the farthest corners of Yonder Island and finding exactly what they have to offer.
#14. Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
- Platform: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Steam
- Price: $49.99
- Spend time getting to know your fellow folks
- Keep your territory running and productive
- Take part in activities such as fishing, letting your hair down at the hot springs, or horse racing
The legendary games under the Harvest Moon title are now rebranded and marketed as the Story of Seasons series in North America.
This excellent farming simulator game series includes several fan-favorite features such as horse racing competitions and multi-floor mining.
The world of this game called Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town gives the player endless opportunities to embark on a new adventure, whether that is exploring their surroundings, fishing, or having a relaxing experience hanging out around the town, especially at the hot springs.
Of course, all of these are options after you’ve taken care of your land, watered and harvested your year-round and seasonal crops, arranged for the livestock to be well-fed and gathered the best possible resources.
Besides letting you enjoy multiple activities every day, the game never bores you as the vast pack of townsfolk allows you to discover new plot lines.
Pay attention for these narratives may even affect your story. In addition, you get many opportunities of making friends or even meeting ‘the one’.
#15. Rune Factory 4
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows
- Price: $23.99
- Enjoy a profoundly customizable game and character journey
- Take part in the game’s special ‘Heart Events’ through which you can find travel companions or a special someone
- Worry about managing your plot of land and its success
Rune Factory offers the experience both of improving your land and discovering a possible love interest while doing so.
The game contains events called ‘Heart Events,’ through which you can get to know other characters and their personalities. Alternatively, you can also select up to two traveling companions.
A fully customizable experience is brought to the player since apart from some default options, you can tweak almost everything from your living space to the world around you.
Speaking of the world around you, besides harvesting crops, you can also go off to explore your surroundings, face smooth yet challenging combats and try to tame any boss monsters that you find.
#16. Forager
- Platform: Android, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iOS, Steam, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS
- Price: $8.99
- Expand and discover new worlds and maps
- Keep tabs on your inventory supplies, which you can use to craft items that can be sold
- Experience a dangerous setting where you have to defend yourself against enemies and monsters
Forager brings together aspects of Stardew Valley, Terraria, and the genre-classic, Legends of Zelda.
In this addition to our games like Stardew Valley roster, you can expand your territory as you explore and discover new worlds and maps, each offering unique qualities and an enjoyable experience to the player.
Expanding your horizons will let you find new resources that you can craft and build to sell later, and earn game currency that helps you advance your journey.
If all of this does to interest your survival skills and craving for dangerous game environments, we have good news.
You will get ample chances to fight foes as you discover new places and reach farther expansion levels for your land.
#17. Voodoo Garden
- Platform: Microsoft Windows, Steam
- Price: $1.49
- Create your farm far away from the standard-setting
- Forge potions and dangerous brews to make profits
- Live this journey alone or with a companion, as you can sacrifice farm animals to transform them into spirits who help you take care of your garden
As the title suggests, the game entrusts the player with a voodoo garden. You can create and grow you own farm in a cool, mystic setting.
You start as an inexperienced farmer of a magical garden, but you can add exciting features into it as you advance in the game.
The items you get by harvesting the produce after you grow crops are intended to allow your character to create potions, dangerous or not, and other magical brews that you can later sell for a profit.
There are some darker aspects to it that may not be for everyone. Players can buy animals either to use parts of them to brew voodoo potions or to sacrifice them and thus turn them into helper spirits who aid in tending the garden.
The highlight of the game in terms of design cover its aesthetically pleasing graphics and soothing soundtrack.
Honorable Mention: Farming Valley – Minecraft Modpack
- Platform: Windows, Mac, PS, Xbox
- Price: Free mod pack
- Use this exciting mod-pack to convert Minecraft into a farming sim
- Survive in a sandbox world without any limitations
- Exercise creativity in a loosely-ruled game to come up with brilliant builds
- Choose from multiple modes
Minecraft is a no-brainer for farming games lovers who want to enjoy the freedom of a sandbox environment.
The game is immensely popular, and most people are already familiar with its mechanics.
The beauty of Minecraft lies in the ability to turn it into anything you like, courtesy of the game’s open-ended nature and vast options.
Likewise, you can convert it into a game like Stardew Valley using one of its most popular modpacks, Farming Valley.
This add-on lets you turn Minecraft into an excellent farming sim which can stake its claim as a worthy alternative, if you have the skills.
Minecraft Modpack lets you grow seasonal crops, harvest them, sell goods with the in-game shipment box, and even construct your own town.
FAQs
Is Terraria similar to Stardew Valley?
Yes, the playing style is very similar, though they focus on different things. For example, while Terraria is heavy on battles and boss fights, Stardew Valley is more interested in community and the interactions between the protagonist and the NPCs.
Will there be a Stardew Valley 2?
A Stardew Valley 2 isn’t planned for the foreseeable future, but the current release will likely benefit from a new version or a minor update.
How rare is the strange capsule in Stardew?
The Stardew Valley Strange Capsule was one of the rarest events in the game before it was updated to version 1.5. Previously, there was a mere 1% chance of its occurrence. But the odds of it happening are higher now.
