Stardew Valley has become a massively successful mainstay in the world of life simulation games, and it’s provided inspiration for a lot of other games that follow in its cozy footsteps. There are a lot of these games on Steam, but here are some of the best available right now.
I’m always on the lookout for a new Stardew Valley-esque game to play, and, as evidenced in this list, ConcernedApe’s hit game has inspired a wide range of games, just as the Stardew Valley developer found inspiration in Harvest Moon.
This list is in no particular order, and the games on it feature wildly different art styles, but they all take at least some (if not a huge part) of their inspiration from Stardew Valley. With that said, let’s get into it.
Dinkum
Dinkum is a 3D life simulator game set in the Australian outback. In it, you explore the wilderness to gather resources and build relationships with residents and visitors to your island.
Although you could argue that Dinkum is more Animal Crossing than Stardew Valley, and you admittedly can’t romance your residents, you do have the option to completely renovate your island. As with most life simulation games, you will be crafting, fishing, farming, and there’s even a mine that can be accessed in order to find rare resources.
Dinkum is available on Steam for a base price of $19.99 USD.
Travellers Rest
Just from appearances alone, there’s no arguing that Travellers Rest has been heavily inspired by Stardew Valley, but it also features everything you’d expect: cooking, fishing, crafting and building relationships with those around you.
In Travellers Rest, your aim is to become the best tavern keeper you can be by perfecting recipes to serve your customers. The game began as the passion project of one person (sound familiar?) but has gone on to become a team effort on behalf of Isolated Games.
Travellers Rest is available on Steam for a base price of $17.99 USD.
Palia
Although Palia is a much more 3D experience than Stardew Valley, I’d argue that this is possibly the most similar game on this list, mainly because of the fact that you can romance villagers in exactly the same way you do in Stardew Valley. However, Palia is technically a cozy MMO, so you’ll encounter other players while you’re exploring the world.
Palia has been out on PC and Switch for a while and is coming to Steam on March 25. Best of all, it’s free to play, although there are some pretty hefty Premium Store items that are released with every patch, which happen pretty regularly.
Coral Island
Coral Island is described by its development team at Stairway Games as a “reimagined farm sim game, inspired by the classics.” In the game, you’re situated on a tropical island and surrounded by townsfolk who can become friends and perhaps even more, should you provide them with the right gifts. There’s even some Merfolk who can be romanced if that’s what your heart desires.
Again, although Coral Island is a much more 3D experience than Stardew Valley, there’s no doubting where they got at least some of their inspiration from.
Coral Island has a base price of $29.99 USD on Steam.
Graveyard Keeper
Of everything on this list, Graveyard Keeper is undoubtedly the most similar to Stardew Valley in terms of its art style, but the gameplay is probably the most different. It’s hailed as “the most inaccurate medieval cemetery management sim of all time,” and you need to turn your Graveyard into a thriving business. That said, there is a love story element to Graveyard Keeper, too.
You’ll face a whole lot of ethical dilemmas while playing, and how you play is up to you, but be careful not to poison your villagers with strange objects found while exploring dungeons. Yeah, this game gets a bit dark, but it’s definitely fun.
Graveyard Keeper is available on Steam for the base price of $19.99, but at the time of writing it is on sale for $3.99 USD, so if you want to get your hands on this gem, now’s the time.
