Itโs safe to say that Stardew Valley is a global gaming phenomenon. A once-in-a-lifetime surprise smash hit that every indie developer dreams of making one day. To this date, it has sold more than 10 million copies across all platforms – an amazing achievement for even AAA games, let alone a one-man production.
Inspired by the agricultural sim/role-playing game hybrid Harvest Moon series, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone set out to create a spiritual successor that would include and refine everything he loved about the Japanese game, address what he considered to be problems of its later entries, and put his own spin on HMโs classic gameplay mechanics.
The result is one of those games that appeals to a wide-ranging – almost universal – section of players. Some play it for the farming, others for the social interaction elements, and still others like to craft or explore its procedurally-generated caves and combat the creatures therein.
For this reason, games like Stardew Valley have become something of a specific sub-genre in their own right in recent years – comparable to describing a game as โItโs like Dark Souls.โ Some of these titles predate Stardew Valley, others are clearly trying to cash in on its success, but all of them have that same sense of addictive gameplay and fun that Stardew Valley exudes.
#1 Recettear: An Item Shopโs Tale (2007)
Have you ever wanted to run your own little shop in faraway fantasy land? But wait, before you answer yes, just be aware that anyone owning this particular shop (oh, letโs call it a shoppe – spelling it like that gives it an air of whimsy) is going to be up to their ears in financial debt.
Thatโs what Recettear: An Item Shopโs Tale is all about – managing your store while desperately trying to pay off the loan collectors. Along the way, it also answers some of the biggest questions that players have been asking themselves since the invention of video games, such as: โWhere do the items in RPG stores really come from?โ and โHow the heck is a business model where you sell apples, enhanced rings, and old boots side by side economically viable?โ
Gameplay
Racettearโs gameplay is neatly divided into two distinct halves. In the first part, you manage your store. Here, you will place items on shelves and display cases. Just like in real life, you should pay close attention to save the best ones for the front window – this strategy will attract more shoppers.
When a customer has selected something that they want to buy or sell to you, you can – and should – attempt to bargain with them. The goal is to, as the old saying goes, sell high and buy low. Similar to haggling for a better monster contract reward in The Witcher, if you are too greedy the customer can get angry and call off the entire transaction altogether. Itโs a delicate balancing act, but you will soon get the hang of it. By successfully
The second portion of the game involves dungeon delving. You hire a member of the local Adventurerโs Guild – only one such character is available at the start, but you will uncover others as the game progresses – and lead them into battle against monsters.
Exploiting the time-honored tradition of enemies dropping valuable loot after you defeat them, you pick up these items to sell them in your store. If you encounter a particularly good piece of equipment, you can give them to your adventurer instead. As they clear levels, your adventurers will gain XP and become more powerful.
You have to be careful about how much you
Graphics & Audio
Being a dลjin production – which is the Japanese classification of indie and fan games, often created by hobbyists in their spare time – the graphical style is exactly what you would expect from a low-budget Japanese game. So, manga-based, with the usual exaggerated features, oversized eyes, and so on.
When characters are talking, they are rendered in a style comparable to visual novels – their speech text will appear in the lower screen, while they are presented as static pictures, changing cutesy expressions and body poses according to how the conversation plays out.
At all other times, they are 3D models, designed in the so-called chibi (aka – super deformed) style – featuring a prominent head (which takes up about a third of the characterโs overall proportions) and appearing even cuter and more child-like.
While all the text in the game is translated into English, the characters are still voiced in Japanese. Depending on where you fall in the โSubs vs Dubsโ side of the debate when it comes to anime, this may or may not be a problem for you. Personally, I think it adds to the experience and the voice actors do a good job of selling – pun intended – their characterโs personalities.
Story
Our protagonist, the peculiarly named Recette Lemongrass, is the daughter of a shop owner who has gone missing. She soon finds out that her father owes a sizable debt, which, if left unpaid, will cause her to lose her home.
Determined not to wind up homeless, Recette enters into an agreement with Tear, the fairy representative of the organization to which she is indebted, to convert her home into an item store. Bubbly, enthusiastic, and overly naive, Recette names this new enterprise by combining hers and Tearโs name into an unfortunate portmanteau – Recettear. Tear is quick to point out that this sounds an awful lot like racketeering and is the last thing any self-respecting business should be called, but Recette is undeterred.
Relying on Tearโs financial advice, she has a month to collect 820,000 pix (the imaginary in-game currency).
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Recettear is one of those games that is chock-full of charm. You get to really care about the characters, and root for Recette to keep her home.
The dungeon part of the game is a bit simple compared to most action games, but it, too, is not without the occasional thrill and sense of progression.
In the words of our spunky little businesswoman: โCapitalism, ho!โ
#2 Slime Rancher (2017)
One of the absolute best things about gaming is that, when it comes to off the wall, kooky concepts and ides – anything is fair game. So a game where you tend to slimes in the same way you would to regular farm animals? Sure, why not.
Ah, but youโre not just any run of the mill farmer here, no, youโre a rancher. A slime rancher. And just like in old Western movies, we all know that being a rancher is a lot more exhilarating. Replace livestock with bouncy slimes – and youโve got a sure-fire recipe for fun.
Gameplay
As a slime rancher, your job is to collect, feed, and breed slimes on your newly acquired ranch (called, appropriately, if somewhat too on the nose, The Ranch). But slimes are not the same thing as ordinary barnyard critters, so interacting with them is quite different.
To start with, slimes are gelatinous blobs that come in several types. Some of these are docile and farmable, and others are dangerous and feral. There are over a dozen types of slimes, including Pink, Tabby, Honey, Phosphor, Rock, Fire, Crystal, and more. Each one has distinct habits and feeding preferences.
When fed, the slimes will excrete โplortโ, a primary resource that can be exchanged for Newbucks (this gameโs currency). Newbucks are then spent on various upgrades to your characterโs equipment or on purchasing new farming structures.
The player manipulates their environment – sucking in and firing out – slimes, food, and items through their โVacpackโ. This is a handy-dandy tool that combines the best parts of a vacuum with those of a backpack to form the ultimate sucking and storing farming appliance.
Graphics & Audio
Full of vibrant colors and happy slimes bobbing to and fro, Slime Rancher is a game that immediately puts a warm smile on your face. There is an element of the Pokรฉmon franchise to their design – minimalistic, yet delightful and evocative.
Likewise, the sound is made up of upbeat music and pleasant sound effects. It has enough variety to it that you will not get bored when you hear the bouncing motions and the slimesโ babbling for the thousandth time in a row.
Story
Beatrix LeBeau has come all the way from Earth to the distant alien world named the Far Far Range to start her new life as a slime rancher. Her new ranch has been left in a state of serious disrepair by its previous owner, the cantankerous old Hobson Twillgers, and she has to fix it up.
Like in many games such as this, there really isnโt that much of a story, and what little of it there is present is more in the form of optional background lore.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Slime Rancher is, paradoxically, both a highly relaxing and wholly addictive experience. Herding slimes across the many biomes of the Far Far Range soon becomes second nature and a soothing, though at times also repetitive, gameplay loop.
It is one of the best open-world games when it comes to indie titles.
#3 Graveyard Keeper (2018)
If youโve had your fill of the cutesie stuff, then how about something more macabre? Since many of these games have plainly self-explanatory titles, it should come to no surprise to you that Graveyard Keeper is about playing as a person in charge of taking care of a graveyard.
But donโt worry, besides the initial premise, this really isnโt a horror game it all. In fact, it actually has a lot of humor to it.
Gameplay
It would be unfair to call Graveyard Keeper a straight-up Stardew Valley clone, but besides a different setting and game focus, it doesnโt do all that much to differentiate itself from its obvious source of inspiration.
Meaning, you will do most of the same activities as you would in SD, only with less farming and more graveyard-related projects. First, you will have to get the graveyard operational again. To do that you will have to pull out all the weeds, clear the many rocks and tree stumps obstructing it, and so on.
But this is just the first step. After the graveyard is once again open for business, you will be in charge of managing every aspect of it. Digging graves, transporting the bodies, doing autopsies and burials, etc.
You will also have to farm your plot of land, keep bees, do extensive crafting, mine, fish, converse with the many citizens of the town, and go into dungeons. During the course of the game, you will gradually uncover more locations, earn experience, and unlock more skills in the Technology Tree.
The โBreaking Deadโ DLC shakes up the formula with the option to raise the recently deceased as zombies and have them work on your land performing simple tasks.
Graphics & Audio
The game is done in a pleasant, retro pixel art technique. Though it is far more detailed and in a higher resolution than the games of that era, it succeeds in evoking the look and feel of classic 90s games.
Another great nostalgic throwback is the way that characters talk – every one of them communicates in a sort of garbled made up speech, reminiscent of The Sims and their nonsensical language. The environmental sounds are also rich and do a lot to make the world seem more alive – despite the subject matter.
Story
During the gameโs opening, the player character is hit by a car and they wake up to discover that they are now in another world – stuck in charge of a crumbling medieval cemetery. Having no other choice but to go along until you can figure out how to get back, you start your new career.
The other NPCs know how you can accomplish your goal, but you will first have to get into their good graces – usually by gifting them some rare and crafted items. Only then, when you have endeared yourself to them as a friend, will they want to tell you what they know.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
If you want to play something that is very similar to Stardew Valley – you canโt go wrong with Graveyard Keeper. While it could (and probably should) have done more to stand out as a unique game on its own, playing it at least once is a rewarding and engaging experience.
Just be sure to also get the DLC, it greatly improves the often humdrum base game.
#4 My Time at Portia (2019)
Successfully Kickstarted in 2017, My Time at Portia promised a unique combination of Stardew Valley and The Sims, wrapped up in a Ghibli-inspired aesthetic, and peppered with a plethora of other things to do.
Gameplay
Your primary task is to build items in your workshop and endeavor to upgrade and expand it. You do this by taking on commissions from the citizens of Portia. In order to build, you will need materials and relics. Raw materials can be acquired by engaging in gathering, logging, and quarrying, while relics are mostly found inside dangerous long-abandoned ruins.
These ruins are infested with monsters, and you will need to fight them. Unlike most games of this type, the combat is more dynamic and involved.
The other important part of the game is the social interactions and relationships you can develop with characters – regardless of their gender. You can flirt, date, and eventually even marry them.
Farming and raising livestock are also present, but these features are underdeveloped compared to building and socializing.
Graphics & Audio
True to their word, My Time at Portia does have Ghibliโs sense of wonderment and playfulness to it. This isnโt evident in the character designs so much as it is felt in the overall atmosphere and background environments – especially the more futuristic machinery.
As in The Sims, you will have the chance to customize your avatar, choose their outfits, makeup, and hairstyles, and refurbish your workshop.
The accompanying OST and sound palette are equal parts cozy and ardent and ramp up in intensity as the action mounts.
Story
Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world – Portia – where humanity has been reduced to just a handful of people and are once again trying to rebuild their civilization, your job is to construct objects that will help your fellow citizens. The largest of these can transform the town itself.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
My Time at Portia is an interesting mishmash of ideas and gameplay elements. Many of these donโt gel together well, but thereโs no denying that the game is ambitious.
If you are looking for a Stardew Valley-like game that is more action-oriented and which puts a greater emphasis on social aspects, then My Time at Portia could be the ideal game for you.
#5 Undertale (2015)
This might seem like an odd choice, but, please, hear me out. Though at the surface level these two games seemingly couldnโt be more different, both Stardew Valley and Undertale share many similarities – they are both indie titles made almost entirely by just a single person. This is reflected in their strong artistic vision and a constant sense that you are playing a game that an incomparable amount of love, care, and attention went into.
Gameplay
Weโve already covered Undertale in-depth in our best single-player PC games article, but the game is so unique, so singular in its scope and design, that we simply had to sing its praises again.
At first, you could be fooled that this is yet another JRPG-inspired game, but the more you play it, the more it becomes obvious that it is anything but.
A blend of an adventure game, RPG, and relationship sim, you can go through it without ever hurting a single creature. Or you can slaughter everyone. Or just some who you feel deserve it. Your choice.
Graphics & Audio
Undertale uses every part of it to tell the story it wants to tell and its visuals and audio are no different. Featuring a magnificently eclectic soundtrack and disarmingly adorable, primitive graphics, it draws you in and uses this effect to constantly subvert your expectations.
Story
The story and its many twists and turns, unexpected revelations, and wonderfully written characters really must be experienced to fully absorb everything that the game is trying to convey to the player.
Just be prepared to play the game multiple times if you want to see all that it has to offer.
Overall Review/Final Thoughts
Itโs no wonder that Undertale has struck a chord with so many players of all ages and gaming preferences. At the same time, it is a difficult game to recommend, because to spoil any part of it is to diminish its whole.
Because of its holistic approach to design, every part of it – from its font choice to the layout of its menus, everything about it something that only games can achieve. It is a true example of the power and potential gaming has as an artistic medium.
Final Words
There is something just so immensely satisfying about growing your own food, raising animals, and crafting your tools. In most games, repetition is an unwelcome feature, but in Stardew Valley and its brethren, this comes off as fulfilling – almost like a zen exercise.
These games like Stardew Valley have been chosen specifically because, just like Stardew Valley, they are addictive and fun to play. But, unlike some games where this is a bad thing, these are designed to be played at your own personal pace, instead of binged.