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Stardew Valley has become one of the smash-hit indie games of the last few years.
It is simple, relaxing, and compelling with its day-to-day story elements.
Recommended Read: Nintendo Switch Games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons
You can build a life in this game, with marriage and everything.
Needless to say, this is not the first game to adopt this concept, and it likely won’t be the last, especially on the Nintendo Switch.
When you get to a point where you want something new to play in the same genre, the games in this list will help you scratch that Stardew itch.
Table of contents
- Littlewood
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
- Garden Story
- Grow: Song of the Evertree
- Castaway Paradise
- Forager
- Cozy Grove
Littlewood
In Littlewood, you have saved the world by defeating the dark wizard, but now you need to rebuild your town and convince more people to live in it.
As the player character, you have lost your memory of saving the world and feel like meeting new people will help you remember as you make homes for them and yourself.
Little wood allows you to learn new crafts and hobbies, like gathering, woodcutting, and mining. Your town is also fully customizable to your tastes and design.
You can farm, collect materials from mines, and sell your wares to merchants. Almost everything that you can do in Stardew, you can do here as well.
With a similar pixelated art style, Littlewood is the perfect game if you love Stardew Valley.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
A social simulation game where you make a character, move to an island, and make your home there.
Design your home and the town around you with the furniture and accessories you can buy or sometimes craft.
This beloved franchise has been loved the world over by all ages for its relaxing gameplay and cute animal citizens with their quirky and loveable personalities.
In the newest iteration, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can customize your island as you see fit.
There are festivals happening along with calendar holidays and events, like the Fishing Tourney and the Bug Off, happening regularly throughout the year. It also runs on a real-time day and night system, much like New Leaf.
You can utilize the services of Dodo Airlines, which will take you to other islands to find other villagers and items you might not have on your island yet.
Stardew Valley fans will feel the relaxing nature of this game and the unique crafting feature in this installment’s gameplay.
You can also invite your friends to visit your island and chat with you. Give Animal Crossing: New Horizons a try today!
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
Ever wanted to play Stardew Valley but with 3D graphics? Well, then you should check out Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town.
The Story of Seasons series is essentially the re-branded name for the Harvest Moon franchise.
The name was changed, and the first game under the new name was on the Nintendo 3DS back in 2015.
The game follows a character who has inherited a farm from their grandfather in a town that he had founded.
The player must build their farm in the woods, take care of the animals, make social connections, and even get married.
Much like the Harvest Moon games before it, the franchise is still going strong with this entry, adorable cows and all.
You can see the elements that Stardew Valley has borrowed from this series, like milking the cows and even petting them to make them love you.
The game is now on Nintendo Switch, bringing back the classic farming simulator that has been going strong and hasn’t stopped since the very first crop was planted.
Garden Story
You play a grape named Concord who has just had greatness thrust upon them where they have become the Guardian of the Grove.
The guardian must protect the grove from a devious and mysterious presence called Rot.
Your goal as Concord is to protect the town, rebuild, and bring together the broken community.
Much like Stardew Valley, the game is divided into days of the week with daily objectives and requests to help level up the town.
The requests often have something to do with the main objective and help you buy better upgrades for your tools because who doesn’t want upgrades?
You can build, defend, and forage with tasks that go along with those game mechanics.
Garden Story is a bit more combat-based than Stardew. It even includes boss battles where you must defeat the boss to protect the town.
This game is a must-have for Nintendo Switch owners who double as Stardew Valley fans but want a little more challenge to their farming and crafting.
Grow: Song of the Evertree
The evertree was once a life-giving organism that was a source for life, but once it was overcome by a dangerous disease, life as you know it was almost wiped out.
As the last alchemist, you must bring hope back to the universe and repair the magic and bonds that helped life thrive.
After putting your character’s look together, you will build a community, and people will start showing up in airships wanting to be a part of your new town.
Once you get your town to a fully developed state, you can go to another area and establish a village there in your efforts to rebuild the world.
You can even break things down to their core essences to find the perfect climate for your chosen world that you want to build on.
Grow: Song Of The Evertree is like Stardew Valley but with mystical creatures and a fantasy feel.
Castaway Paradise
You have woken up on an island where you can build and design a home and establish a farm.
You can also fish and interact with the locals. Once you make your character, you are off to enjoy the beauties of the island and its people.
Animal Crossing meets Stardew Valley once again in this game that was once a free-to-play mobile game before being put on steam and later the Switch with many upgrades.
You can help out the locals by giving them fish, fixing their houses, etc. The shop is also always accessible via the “-” button where you can buy things you need without needing to wander to the store.
For the Animal Crossing lover and the Stardew Valley Fan, this game is the perfect fit.
Forager
This game includes many borrowed elements from The Legend of Zelda, Terraria, and Stardew Valley.
The game begins much in the vein of Minecraft, where you are a single character alone in the game world with a pickaxe on a small island with trees to cut and ore nodes to break.
Explore the islands and find more things to forage and fight on your way around.
Fight monsters, forage food, and craft materials to make weapons and sustain yourself. Complete the quests given to you by the locals and unlock new items.
There are several areas you can unlock, each with a unique element, including fire, ice, desert, and crypt. The last island in a biome has a dungeon that you can explore to find plants, ore nodes, and enemies that are only found in that area.
As combat is a part of this game, you can be defeated by enemies. But worry not. There is no rogue-like element here.
When you’re defeated by an enemy, the game just takes you back to the start screen, where you can load in without losing any of your progress.
Cozy Grove
Cozy Grove is a life-simulation game with elements of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley but with an art style reminiscent of Don’t Starve.
In Cozy Grove, you are a Spirit Scout who has arrived on the island for the first time. You meet Flamey, your campfire guide, and ghost bears with different backstories and personalities that will serve as your employers for the whole of the game.
There are no enemies in this game, but there are small, adorable ghost sprites that come and go as you go around. They are timid, so they end up disappearing once you walk by them.
The game features a real-time day and night system much like Animal Crossing.
There is only a limited number of tasks per day that Flamey will require from you, so the game is designed to be played over days.
There isn’t much farming in this game, but the crafting mechanic is sure to keep that crafting itch scratched.
If you’re looking for a blend between Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley with an interesting art style and a different vibe, then give Cozy Grove a try!
Those are our picks for the best Nintendo Switch games like Stardew Valley!
Know of any other great games for the Switch that are like Stardew Valley? Let us know in the comment section below.
