12 great games like Stardew Valley to play next

After it came out in 2016, Stardew Valley set a new standard for the farming sim genre. It’s a game that can be as chill or as intense as each player wants, and the charming pixel art and iconic soundtrack really cement it as a quintessential “cozy game.”

But if you’re a little Stardew Valley-ed out after running through patch 1.6, or simply looking for something with similar vibes but different gameplay, then we’ve got you covered. From relaxing games about the afterlife to Disney crossovers, here are 12 games with big Stardew Valley energy.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Where to play: Nintendo Switch

What it is: The quintessential cozy game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is right up there with Stardew Valley in terms of chill games where management and friendship are huge mechanics. Build up an island and invite adorable villagers to live there with you!

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: This is an obvious entry, but it bears repeating on the off chance a Stardew Valley fan in your life hasn’t yet tried New Horizons. Like Stardew Valley, New Horizons can be super chill and based on vibes — or you can really try to maximize everything and make a million bells, invest in the stalk market, and turn your bare-bones island into an intricate themed wonderland. It’s up to you! —Petrana Radulovic

Bear and Breakfast

Image: Gummy Cat/Armor Games Studios

Where to play it: Nintendo Switch, Windows PC

What it is: Just what it says on the tin. You’re a bear named Hank, and you run a bed and breakfast with your forest friends. Renovate old buildings and deck them out with kitschy furnishings to attract guests, while decorating their rooms and cooking their favorite dishes to divorce them from as much cash as possible. Eventually you’ll expand your empire to include bigger lodgings and bring employees onto your crew to handle some of the day-to-day drudgery. Bottom line, Bear and Breakfast is a game with a charming art style and witty dialogue paired with a satisfying gameplay loop.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: If you enjoy the satisfaction that comes from making something of worth from nothing, Bear and Breakfast has that in spades, allowing you to build your cozy empire from the ground up. Bear and Breakfast doesn’t gamify its relationships with other characters in the same way as Stardew Valley (you are a bear, after all), but your interactions with its diverse cast of characters are still a big part of the overall experience. —Alice Jovanée

Cozy Grove

Image: Spry Fox/The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild

Where to play: Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

What it is: An idle, ultra-casual life sim where you, a Spirit Scout, have to complete errands for an island full of ghosts to literally bring color back to this muted world and learn about their pasts. Unlike other games of its kind, you can complete your daily tasks in 20 to 30 minutes each day, and you’re encouraged to log off after.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: It features some obvious similarities, like farming and quest-taking, but Cozy Grove is, most importantly, about connecting with the NPCs and improving their lives with small gestures. —Carli Velocci

Coral Island

Image: Stairway Games/Humble Games

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox Series X

What is it: From Indonesian studio Stairway Games, Coral Island is a farm life sim that gives familiar gameplay and genre tropes some Southeast Asian flair.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: Take the basic framework of Stardew Valley — fixing up a farm and helping a struggling community — but add a whole museum to renovate, a mermaid kingdom, and a theme of environmental restoration. Also, there’s a whole host of hot singles to date! And boy, they are —PR

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Image: Gameloft via Polygon

Where to play: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

What it is: Disney’s life simulation game combines iconic characters like Ariel, Mickey, and Scar with rebuilding a small town. Additionally, there’s a fun overarching plotline to get more characters back, which involves your player character reconciling with their inner child. Ah, that Disney magic!

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: There’s farming, fishing, and mining — all with your favorite Disney characters. Unfortunately, you can’t marry them, but you can build up friendships and have them help you with your little tasks! This is especially fun with the villain characters, who will still be sassy and rude, but with a soft spot for you. —PR

Dredge and Strange Horticulture

Image: Black Salt Games/Team17

Image: Bad Viking/Iceberg Interactive

Where to play: Dredge is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X; Strange Horticulture is available on Mac, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, and Xbox One

What they are: Dredge is a horror fishing management game, and Strange Horticulture is a horror puzzle game centered around plants. They’re the perfect spooky double feature, with satisfying gameplay and eerie atmospheres.

Why they’re like Stardew Valley: At first glance, these two games don’t really evoke Stardew Valley… but there’s always been some creepier magic tones to Stardew, from the Skull Cavern to the sewer. Dredge and Strange Horticulture have the management aspects of Stardew, though each focuses on one particular element. Both slowly build up the scariness, lulling you in with satisfying simulation play as the horror and unease steadily build. It’s Stardew Valley, if you ever wanted your favorite cozy games to have a tinge of the macabre. —PR

Graveyard Keeper

Image: Lazy Bear Games/tinyBuild

Where to play it: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

What it is: Manage the dead, exploit the living. Graveyard Keeper is a macabre twist on the usual plant-farm-craft-repeat mechanics from similar farming games. Clean up and decorate plots in your cemetery with different headstones, urns, and mausoleums by gathering resources in the wild. Remember, if things get too tough to handle on your own, you can always reanimate your would-be tenants into unwitting drones to assist with production and upkeep.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: Graveyard Keeper hits the same satisfying notes of developing your own homestead and optimizing processes to help you turn a tidy profit. You’re just harvesting organs instead of crops. Graveyard Keeper even has a robust modding community that has developed an extensive suite of quality-of-life improvements. —AJ

Palia

Image: Singularity Six

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, Windows PC

What it is: Palia is a free-to-play game set in the middle of a idyllic valley, where humanity has emerged after a long magical isolation into a vibrant valley of elves and golems.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: Players meet neighbors who help them learn the skills of hunting, fishing, bug catching, furniture building, gardening, and cooking. A low-stakes story unfolds over new patches released by Singularity Six. —Cass Marshall

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

Image: niceplay games/tinyBuild

Where to play it: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

What it is: Grow herbs, craft potions, and manage customers in a medieval, magical world. Most of the game takes place inside your shop, where you navigate and explore a map to unlock even more potions. You can make money by selling what NPCs ask for or you can choose not to provide service for a potentially evil customer — the choice is yours.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: While other shop management games build up stress by throwing tons of customers at you, Potion Craft allows you to take your time. You can go about your day however you want, so it has a lot of the same chill vibes you’ll get in Stardew. —CV

The Sims 4: Cottage Living

Image: Maxis/Electronic Arts

Where to play: Mac, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

What it is: The Sims 4 has many (arguably too many) expansion packs, but this one adds a quaint countryside town so that your Sims can live their best cottagecore life.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: The base Sims 4 game already has gardening, fishing, and mining (without the combat), but Cottage Living takes it up a notch by introducing farm animals to take care of and a whole community errand aspect. Nothing says Stardew like a bulletin board of chores to perform for your neighbors! —PR

Spiritfarer

Image: Thunder Lotus Games

Where to play: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X; it’s also included in Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra.

What it is: A life management sim where you play as a spiritfarer named Stella, whose new job is to shuttle spirits on a boat through the afterlife and all the magic it entails. You’ll have to help them fulfill their final wishes by completing tasks, feeding them delicious food, and upgrading their boat abodes for maximum comfort.

Why it’s like Stardew Valley: Put simply, Spiritfarer is like Stardew Valley but on a boat. You’ll have to tend to crops, build structures, cook, and do tasks for others to make them happy. Instead of maybe marrying an NPC, though, you’ll help them move on — and shed some tears in the process. —CV