Simulation games have always been a hit among gamers. They let the players take on different roles as situations play out in surroundings depending on the role being played.
One great example of a simulation role playing game is Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game that was initially released in 2016 on different platforms like Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PS4 and the XBOX One. It was later released on Nintendo Switch in 2017 and on Playstation Vita & iOs in 2018. In 2019, it finally made its way out on Android as well.
The game’s story revolves around a person who has moved out of city to their grandpa’s ravaged farm and tries to resurrect it. There are various tasks ready for you to take upon right off the bat. Players can create their custom characters and choose cutom map for their farm. The tasks that you need to perform include cleaning, rowing, sowing and basically everything that farming needs. You can pe cattles and make friends with neighborly Non Playable Characters too. All in all, this game is a source of unlimited fun that you can play for hours without getting bored.
But once you eventually grow tired of it, we have curated for you a list of games similar to Stardew Valley that you can look forward to.
Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon is often considered to be the best and a trailblazing video game series when it comes to farming simulation. That stands true as the first Harvest Moon game is the oldest known farming simulation video game that was released in 1996.
The first Harvest Moon had a limited release to just Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game’s gameplay is pretty similar to as that of Stardew Valley. In fact, Stardew Valley takes a lot of inspiration from this video game. You are given ownership of a farm where you have to perform some daily tasks, such as clearing land, planting crops, selling harvests, raising livestock etc. You can build relationships with the Non Playable Characters that reside in the village along with you.
The Harvest Moon series was renamed to Story Of Seasons in 2015. As of present, total of over 30 video game titles have been released under this series across gaming platforms like Nintendo DS, Wii, PSP, PS Vita, PS2, Gamecube etc.
All of the games have a lot of common elements when it comes to the gameplay. In most of the games you have to perform similar tasks related to farming, livestock and building relationships. Different games include different stories as well as tasks like shopping, trading, management etc.
Some of the titles from this series that you can play are Trio Of Towns, A Tale Of Two Towns, Hero Of Leaf Valley, Island Of Happiness, Magical Melody etc
My Time At Portia
My Time At Portia is a roleplaying and simulation based video game creates by the Chinese studio Pathea Games. The game was released in 2019 across all the major gaming platforms like Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. My Time At Portia follows a gameplay and setting similar to typical farming simulation video games while bringing some different new elements and better visuals.
My Time At Portia puts you into a thriving town named Portia where the player plays the role of a youngster trying to restore a farm previously owned by his father to its former glory. There is a lot you can do in this happy town instead of just growing crops. One key prospect of the game is the character’s father’s workshop.
You can gather material and craft new machines that fulfill different purposes and crafting requests made by the villagers. In return you get money which can be used for attending festivals, buying gifts, trading or buying more material. With time you build relationships with the fellow residants along which also includes romantic relationships.
There are various activities and mini-games that you can participate into like horde riding, llama riding, fishing etc.
The game has received mostly positivie reviews and has been a fan favorite when it comes to simulation games.
Doraemon : Story Of Seasons
This game is a part of the already mentioned game series Story Of Seasons previously known as Harvest Moon. But it still needs a separate mention of itself as it is one of the games that stand out amongst the rest.
Doraemon : Story Of Seasons, as the name suggests is based on the popular kids’ Doraemon crossed with farming simulation. The game was published by Bandai Namco and released to Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch in 2019. This also marked the release of an official Doraemon game in the western gaming market.
This game’s storyline starts when Noby, lead protagonist of the anime, plants a mysterious seed he found and gets transported to an otherworldly place called Shizen Town along with Doraemon and his friends.
The player is given ownership of a piece of land by a town resdant which he needs to take care of to survive until they find a way back. You can perform various tasks like rowing, sowing, watering, gardening, feeding cattles, fishing etc.
Other Doraemon character like Gian, Shizukaz Suneo and Doraemon himself give the player assistance in various tasks. As time progresses, player can unlock various original Doraemon gadgets as shown in the anime for different tasks.
All of it combined makes for a lengthy and fun gameplay.
Graveyard Keeper
Graveyard Keeper is a simulation based roleplaying game developed by Lazy Bear games and published by tinyBuild. While being another simulation game, Graveyard Keeper stays completely different from other games mentioned on this list yet.
The game is set in an open world and instead of a farm or a city, the player is given the duty of maintaining a graveyard. The storyline of the game starts when the main character wakes up in a graveyard follwing an accident. The game’s universe is set around that ruined medieval grave itself.
There are various tasks that you are given the duty of as the caretaker of the graveyard. These tasks include cleaning, digging graves, placing headstones, keeping bees, crafting goods, mining for stone and metal etc. There are various other activities too that tou can partake in aside of the main quest. These activities are all based on the medieval and dark theme of the game ; for example witch hunting.
Various NPCs too exist in this world who can give you different quests from time to time.
In 2018, a DLC was released that added a morgue to the game where you could manage corpses and even reanimate them turning them into zombies.
The game is available on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, iOS and Android.
Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles
Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles is a video game that combines simulation and roleplaying with fantasy. Yonder was in released in 2017 on Playstation 4 and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was then released on Nintendo Switch in 2018, one year later. Another year later, in 2019, Yonder saw its release on Xbox One.
Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles is set in an open-world island where mystical creatures live. The island is under a threat created by a malignant fog called Murk. To stop Murk from laying waste to the island, the player must gather magical entities called Sprites. Aside from gathering them, the player has to perform tasks like farming in Stardew Valley. You can also cook food, catch fishes, brew beverages and trade goods.
The major goal is to wipe away the Murk and the depression caused by it to bring back the happiness of the island.
Garden Paws
Garden Paws is another roleplaying and simulation combination that creates an identity of its own different amongst other similar video games.
Garden Paws is an indie simulation video game created by Bitten Toast Games. The game was first launched on Kickstarter as a campaign with a demo version in 2018. The full version game was launched one year later in 2019 on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Nintendo Switch.
While being pretty similar to other farming simlators, the key difference in Garden Paws is that instead of playing a human character the player takes on the role of an animal.
You can choose between different type of animals for your character which includes a bear, a fox, a cat, a dog etc. There are 10 animals for you to choose from. You can also choose three companion animals for your journey into this aesthetic world.
You go through performing standard farming simulation tasks like growing crops, taking care of cattles, trading, going for fishing etc. Unlike a lot of other farming sims, in Garden Paws you can pet a wide variety of animals. It also includes wild animals like hippos and foxes.
There is a lot of crafting, collecting and leveling you can do that keeps you glued to this game.
Slime Rancher
Slime rancher is a life simulation video game developed by an American indie game studio Monomi Park. It was released as an Early Access game in 2016 and got a full fledged release in 2017 when it was released on Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS and Xbox One.
The game is set in an open world setting with the whole game being in a first person perspective. It takes you onto a different planet than Earth named Far Far Range and puts you into the shoes of Beatrix LeBeau. Beatrix LeBeau is a rancher, or Slime Rancher as called in this world.
The game follows the traditional gameplay traits of farming simulators like Stardew Valley where you breed cattle. What’s different here with Slime Rancher is that instead of cattle like cows or goat, you take care of creatures of the Far Far Range called Slime. The main premise of the game revolves around these creatures. They grow when you feed them and in return produce ” Plorts ” which can be traded in exchange of in-game money. This money can be used for purchasing equipments and upgrading the farm.
There is a lot of fun things you can do like mixing two big slimes together to create a hybrid slime. In short, this is a game you can play for hours without getting bored.
Moonlighter
Moonlighter is an indie video game developed by Spanish game studio Digital Games that was released in 2018. Moonlighter is an exciting combo of action and simulation based roleplaying games.
The main story of the game is based around you getting handed the ownership of a shop in a town. Most of the tasks revolve around managing and upgrading your shop. You need to keep it clean, keep a stock of the goods in check, repair any broken parts, selling goods and managing customers. In return of selling goods, you receive in-game money which can be used for upgrades in the shop and the town. But that’s what goes on in daytime.
At night, everything goes berserk. At night you turn into a warrior-like explorer who goes on adventures exploring dungeons in search for treasures that can help with your shop. What stands in your way is a lot of enemies trying to take you down. You fight your way through the hordes so that you can go back to being a happy shopkeeper in the day.
Moonlighter is a perfect combination of fantasy and RPG simulation. It can be played on all of the major gaming platforms like macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Animal Crossing
The Animal Crossing series kicked off in 2001 but it is more popular than ever in present 19 years later. Animal Crossing is a series of five social simulation video games where you take part in social activities with in-game animal friends you make. These games are set in an open world that you can limitlessly explore while the game simulates the passage of time according to the real life timeline.
The games follow some chronological story along with keeping some common character throughout the series. The game starts with you creating a highly customizable main character, a 9 to 13 year old child. The games have no main objectives and allow the players to explore everything in any way desired while performing tasks like fishing, crafting, building, gathering fruits, catching insects, searching for fossils, interacting with fellow villagers and what not. The games are truly unlimited in this sense.
There are 5 main Animal Crossing titles that have been released yet : Animal Crossing, Wild World, City Folk, New Leaf and New Horizons.
3 spinoff games too have been released under this series : Happy Home Designer for Nintendo 3DS, Amiibo Festival for Wii U, and Pocket Camp for Android and iOs.
These were 9 games that you will surely love to stay glued to if you loved Stardew Valley. Each of these games have some elements unique to themselves that can keep you playing them for hours.