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This has the same kind of relaxing vibe as Stardew Valley. A very rare instant purchase for me once it is released. For me personally these games stand out in
by pixard 5y ago
This has the same kind of relaxing vibe as Stardew Valley. A very rare instant purchase for me once it is released.
For me personally these games stand out in a huge way in the sea of generic AAA micro-transaction "games". If anyone wants to drop some more SV-like game recommendations I'd love to hear them.
I am in continued awe ConcernedApe was able to accomplish all this largely on his own.
And beyond this that he continues that approach with his new game even though he could surely afford to just bring on as many developers/designers as he needed. He could even churn out a new game on a yearly basis and "milk" it all to maximize profit. The fact he is doing none of this speaks volumes (at least to me).
Eric if you somehow happen to stumble upon this comment know you've brought one couple many many happy hours together. We wish you all the best, and much love!
- weeeeelp 5y agoCheck out Graveyard Keeper, while a mildly more morbid vibe, the gameplay loop, graphics and general feel are quite similar. Definitely worth a try, but I had to mod it a little bit to make the energy mechanics a bit more forgiving and to speed up the gameplay a bit - YMMV.
- Freak_NL 5y agoGraveyard Keeper is good on the story side, but it comes with much more grinding (performing repetitive tasks in the game) compared to Stardew Valley. Something to bear in mind for potential buyers. I didn't bother with the extensions in the end after completing the main game (at this point you can often pick up the game with all of its extensions on sale). Refreshingly original game nonetheless in terms of setting and 'job'.
- lfowles 5y agoI agree it's pretty grindy, but there was a free DLC that introduced "workers" (zombies) and that cut down on a lot of the grind.
- umvi 5y agoNot exactly farming or SV-like, but "A Short Hike" (https://ashorthike.com/ https://ashorthike.com/) is a laid-back, wholesome, "no-stress" kind of game I can highly recommend.
- poulpy123 5y agoLittlewood has similar vibes than SV
- drusepth 5y agoAnimal Crossing has a pretty heavy overlap in vibe, although it is a decently-different game (e.g. not really about farming). Also, Moonlighter has some similar vibes.
- blackearl 5y agoNot really like SV but all of Lucas Pope's games definitely stand out. Another individual who does pretty much all his own work. Paper's Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, both excellent and very unique.
- psyc 5y agoI just played Obra Dinn. For years I have been saying “Why aren’t there any games like Sierra’s Manhunter series?” Obra Dinn is the first game that ever reminded me of Manhunter. Also, it was fun and very well made.
- viceroyalbean 5y agoYour mention of Return of the Obra Dinn reminded me of this article[1] which I found quite fascinating about dithering, the technique used for the game's art style. One of the neat things about these types of small indie games is that they can do unique things with (among other things) art style which bigger budget games that need a wider appeal can't afford to. [1] https://surma.dev/things/ditherpunk/ https://surma.dev/things/ditherpunk/
- blackearl 5y agoIf you're interested in that you'll probably like this post by Lucas Pope on how he handled dithering and camera movement - https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=40832.msg1363742#msg1363742 https://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=40832.msg136374...
- schnitzelstoat 5y agoI never really got into "Papers, Please" but "Return of the Obra Dinn" is one of the best video games I have ever played. The mechanics are amazing and make it a better detective game than most detective games. Plus, I really liked the story and setting. Just in case OP hasn't played it, I genuinely cannot recommend it enough.
- jawarner 5y ago
- the_lonely_road 5y agoYou would likely enjoy Spiritfarer. As a bonus it has a built in local co op and can be played with two controllers from the same steam purchase. It tackles the theme of dealing with our own mortality and can be a bit hard to handle if you are depressed, but otherwise amazing experience.
- xmprt 5y agoThere's a game called Atrio which is probably closer to Factorio than Stardew Valley but you might enjoy it. I've heard good things about Animal Crossing too although I've never played it.
- verifex 5y agoI don't know if it's been said already, but Starbound seems like it kind of fits into this world as well.
- busfahrer 5y agoI remember there was some controversy around Starbound's Early Access status when it was first released, haven't heard of it since - I'm assuming that it has turned out fine based on your recommendation?
- verifex 5y agoThey have done a number of major updates and now it has enough of a story and gameplay mechanics to make it fun to finish the story. I think previously, you just were supposed to hunt upgrades without any story motivation.
- damidekronik 5y agoStarbound is more like Terraria than Stardew Valley sadly.
- akuji1993 5y ago> instant purchase for me Also, in comparison to AAA games from the biggest companies like EA (BF2042 Beta, hello) and Ubisoft, I KNOW that Eric will release a "ready to play" game, without massive bugs and missing content looming.
- zibzab 5y agoThat's probably more due to one guy running the show in contrast to a slave driver / project lead with a team in 20 different countries who are barely aware of other team members existence?
- schnevets 5y agoYeah, I didn't play a ton of SV, but I will buy this on day one for two reasons: 1. It will be wonderful to explore alongside a big culture of people without everyone being beta testers. 2. I like to support small, high quality games. As the new mantra goes "i want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and i'm not kidding" (https://twitter.com/jordan_mallory/status/1277483756245442566?lang=en https://twitter.com/jordan_mallory/status/127748375624544256...)
- aspaviento 5y agoKynseed is another one, by the people who developed Fable but its development is taking quite long.
- jgalecki 5y agoI'm working on my own indie game that's inspired by Stardew Valley, so I've done a good bit of looking at similar cozy farming games. I also wrote an analysis of Stardew's game design that was well-received on Hacker News [1]. Animal Crossing is the granddaddy of cozy games, but the core loop didn't keep me engaged. More "arranging your house and island" than farming. Cozy Grove is Animal Crossing with a far better narrative. Graveyard Keeper, Littlewood, and My Time In Portia are closer to being "Stardew, but X". Your mileage may vary with each, but I enjoyed parts all of them. Spiritfarer is my favorite of the lot. It plays differently enough with your hodgepodge boat-city of ghosts, but it feels the closest in spirit (rimshot) to Stardew. Bring a box of tissues. My own game, Moondrop Mountain, is trying for a roguelike farming experience. It should be coming into Early Access early next year [2]. [1] https://www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/sidequests/game-design-perspective-stardew-valley https://www.pixelatedplaygrounds.com/sidequests/game-design-... [2] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1417750/Moondrop_Mountain/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1417750/Moondrop_Mountain...
- beaconstudios 5y agoDon't forget that Stardew Valley itself is based on Harvest Moon.
- Karuma 5y agoIndeed. It's kind of surprising that this is the only comment mentioning Harvest Moon so far, since SV is so similar... All the games mentioned in these comments are great, anyway. And I found some new ones to try now. :)
- capitainenemo 5y agoCould it be due to HN being more PC than console? I personally have not played Harvest Moon and am only vaguely familiar with the name. Stardew Valley however runs on Linux and has a large mod community (Stardew Valley Expanded for example) which has ensured a lot of replay in our house. It's the preferred family coop.
- fho 5y agoNot a farming sim, but Celeste tight platforming paired with a very wholesome story made it stand out for me.
- hh3k0 5y ago> If anyone wants to drop some more SV-like game recommendations I'd love to hear them. Not SV-like in terms of gameplay but if you're looking for gorgeous feel-good pixelart games you'll find all that in Eastward.
- thrower123 5y agoSomething in a similar vein that I enjoy a lot is RimWorld. It's more of a simulation than an RPG, but it has some similar vibes. Especially if you tone down the combat portions of the game in the difficulty settings so you can focus more on base building and exploring rather than getting raided by Mad Max vagabonds every few days.
- bart_spoon 5y agoThere's a new game coming out this week called Moonglow Bay which looks like it will have a similar vibe, but focused more on fishing. No idea if it will be good, but it looks interesting.
- samstave 5y agoI still want a remake of 1997's 'Knights and Merchants' Great game. AI went wonky when you reached ±100 serfs.
- rubylark 5y agoAground is not as cozy, but has the same sort of pixel style and indie game feel. It's more like Terraria than anything. Like Stardew Valley, it has waaay more content and story than you expect at the start of the game.
- poulpy123 5y agoSun Haven is a early access stardew valley like happening in a fantasy universe
- smoldesu 5y agoGive Noita a try, it's a fun indie roguelike with subtle powder toy mechanics. It's a proper hearty, arcade-like experience too. If I've got some spare time between projects, I seem to always find the time to fit a couple Noita runs in...