Stardew Valley is a charming, cozy game with a surprising amount of depth. Released back in 2016, nobody expected this little indie farming sim to take the world by storm quite like it did.
Developed by a single person, Stardew Valley is one of those games you can load up before bed, only to look out of the window to find that the sun is beginning to rise.
The combination of building, farming, collecting and developing relationships—alongside an ingenious energy mechanic—results in an expertly paced drip of dopamine that takes dozens of hours to complete.
If you’ve finished Stardew Valley and are looking for new games to scratch that itch, we’ve got you covered.
Ooblets
Platforms: Windows, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Ooblets doesn’t really reinvent the wheel when it comes to farming games, but proves that a single unique twist can go a long way in making a game feel unique. In Ooblets, you begin the game by arriving on an island and are given a farm to look after by the Mayor. Sounds fairly familiar, right?
Like Stardew Valley, you’ll spend a lot of time growing your farm, building new structures, and building friendships with residents. However, the difference here is that the island is inhabited by creatures called Ooblets, and you’ll use your farm to grow them.
Once grown, Ooblets can help you work the farm, follow you around on your adventures, and partake in dance-offs to get new items and move the story forward. If you enjoyed Stardew Valley and Pokemon, you’ll be right at home with Ooblets.
My Time at Portia
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Android, IOS
For a game set after the apocalypse, My Time at Portia is surprisingly cheerful. Rather than a farm, you inherit your family’s workshop, meaning it’s up to you to restore Portia to its former glory. In many ways it’s a 3D version of Stardew Valley, sharing a lot of mechanics such as mining, farming, crafting, and earning favor from townsfolk.
There’s also a fairly large map to explore, with new areas opening up as you progress through the game. Throw in a bunch of minigames and dungeons to traverse, and you’ve got another addictive game that offers plenty of variety and can keep you busy for a long time.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Animal Crossing: New Horizons acted as many a gamer’s savior back in 2020. Released around the beginning of the pandemic, it provided people with a cozy, safe place to escape to while the world around them was going crazy. If you’ve somehow never heard of New Horizons, the game begins with you purchasing a one-way ticket to a deserted island, with the aim of turning it into a thriving community.
Similar to Stardew Valley, you’ll scavenge the island for resources, such as wood, fruit, and minerals, and use them to craft furniture, sell to the world’s richest shopkeeper, Tom Nook, or give them as gifts to the anthropomorphic animals that begin to populate your island over time.
You’re able to freely place crafted items anywhere on the island, and eventually you’ll unlock the ability to terraform, allowing you to shape the terrain as you see fit. Like Stardew Valley, you’ll spend most of your time scavenging, crafting, and building relationships with fellow islanders.
Interestingly, the game uses real-time to determine time of day and even the season, with the environment and items available changing dramatically depending on the time of year.
By the time you’ve collected everything the game has to offer, and created the island of your dreams, you will have easily spent 100s of hours with New Horizons.
Cult of the Lamb
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Don’t be fooled by Cult of the Lamb’s cute and cuddly aesthetic; this one’s definitely a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As one of the newer games on this list, Cult of the Lamb sees you play as a possessed lamb who is tasked with building a cult in service to a strange god. While a wildly different setting, it ends up playing quite a lot like Stardew Valley.
You’ll spend much of the game scavenging the world for resources and using them to build a base for your followers. You’ll also need to recruit new sheep to your cult, and make sure they’re serving their new deity with zealous determination. Between all of this, you’ll head off to rogue-like dungeons to defeat the blasphemers who would challenge the authority of your god.
Farming Simulator 22
Platforms: Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
The Farming Simulator series has been around for many years, and the latest version of the game is the best yet. As the name suggests, this farming sim takes a hyper-realistic approach to the world of farming, meaning that looking after your farm will take a lot more work than you’re used to in Stardew Valley.
It’s a bit more of a hardcore experience than the more casual farming games on this list, so if you’re looking for cosy games that don’t ask too much of you, maybe skip this one. That being said, short of quitting your job and spending your life savings on a farm, Farming Simulator is the closest you’ll get to being a farmer.
Graveyard Keeper
Platforms: Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mobile
The developers behind Graveyard Keeper aren’t afraid to wear their inspiration on their sleeves, and that’s a good thing. Graveyard Keeper essentially takes the magical formula of Stardew Valley and swaps out farming for graveyard management. It might sound creepy, and in some places it is, but it’s also packed full of charm and humor.
Like Stardew, you’ll be given a plot of land that’s infested with weeds, trees, and other annoyances, and it’ll be your job to clear out that space for your cemetery. As your cemetery expands, you’ll be kept busy with the day-to-day upkeep of running a graveyard, as well as doing quests for villagers, crafting items, and unlocking new technologies.
Minecraft
Platforms: All of them, literally.
Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last decade, you’ll have certainly heard of Minecraft. Still wildly popular to this day, Minecraft is a sandbox survival game where it’s really up to you to set your own goals. There’s hundreds of items to craft, hundreds more to gather, and the only real limit to what you can build is your imagination.
Also Read: 55 Awesome Minecraft House Ideas to Check Out
You can play Minecraft how you like, and if you want to run your own farm like in Stardew Valley, that’s totally fine. Build your own farmstead, grow crops, raise animals, and live off the fat of the land. If you’re playing on PC, there’s a number of mods you can use to truly take the farming experience to the next level.
Dragon Quest Builders 2
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
Another ‘blocky’ game on the list, Dragon Quest Builders 2 also shares many similarities to Stardew Valley. The game combines the building elements of Minecraft with the resource gathering / relationship management of Stardew Valley, and even throws an epic story of good vs evil into the mix.
The first dozen or so hours of Dragon Quest Builders 2 are uncannily similar to Stardew Valley. The first area sees you restoring an area of barren land to its former glory; a fertile, thriving, and prosperous farm. As your farm grows, you’ll attract more and more workers, unlock new buildings and item blueprints, and grow an ever-expanding variety of crops.
Although you won’t spend the whole of the game at this farm (you’ll also be developing a mining town and castle town), you’ll have access to your own personal island to build the farming community of your dreams.
Spiritfarer
Platforms: Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mobile
If one of your favorite parts of Stardew Valley was building relationships with the colorful characters of Pelican Town, then you’ll love Spiritfarer. The game sees you take on the role of Stella, a young woman who replaces Charon (the ferryman of Hades) as the ferrymaster responsible for preparing souls for the afterlife.
It’s a heart-warming and sometimes heart-wrenching game in which you’ll cater to the souls’ wants and needs as they’re aboard your ferry. Doing this involves crafting their favorite items, building them suitable bedrooms, cooking their favorite meals, and a bunch of other stuff.
There’s also extensive exploration, resource gathering, and character backstories to uncover. Just have a tissue ready for when you finally say goodbye.
Doraemon Story of Seasons
Platforms: Windows, PS4, Nintendo Switch
This game is a strange yet nevertheless successful crossover between the longstanding Story of Seasons game series and the popular Doraemon manga. It’s a fairly wacky combination that’s brought to life by a beautiful watercolor aesthetic and detailed rural environments.
There’s lots to see and do, from growing crops on your farm, tending to animals, fishing, catching bugs, and lots more. It feels a bit more old-school when compared to Stardew Valley, but after you get used to a different style of farming gameplay then you should feel right at home.
And there you have it!
So far, no other team has managed to create a game with quite the same level of charm and magic that Stardew Valley has. The games on this list are, however, pretty close.
Hopefully they can keep you occupied until Stardew Valley’s spiritual successor, Haunted Chocolatier, gets released sometime in the next few years!
