Simulation games have made quite some headway since the dawn of video games. We had city simulators, life simulators (yup, The Sims clones), or farming simulators, and recently, even the simulation of animals (Goat Simulator is so cool!). With the evolution of simulations, some of them offer a different approach – game mechanics allow life management, while the central game is focused on a particular theme. It is with that theme that Stardew Valley made it big in the online world, leading to the production of games which have similar themes, but have certain different features, mostly ones like Yonder : The Cloud Cather Chronicles, My Time At Portia, and case in point, Staxel.
Staxel is a multiplayer, farming, sandbox game. The game is developed by Plukit and published by the Humble Bundle. The game released for the PC on 23rd January 2018.
Games Like Staxel On Ps4
14 Games like Staxel for Nintendo Switch, daily generated comparing over 40 000 video games across all platforms. This list includes Summer in Mara, Littlewood, Farm Together, Stranded Sails Explorers of the Cursed Islands and 10 more. Here are 11 games like Stardew Valley that you should seek out next, and one more that is coming in the very near future. Staxel’s what you get if you decide to smash together Stardew Valley.
Gameplay
The game features a prominent singleplayer as well as multiplayer mode. While singleplayer is a typical feature of most of the ‘life management’ simulators, multiplayer from launch is an unique feature that adds variety to the game. Also, since you’re pretty limited in what you can do, extra hands in doing farming, gathering, shopping and other stuff is appreciated. Many hands make light work,after all! Not that the game’s a bad experience in solo.
Staxel’s essentially a farming simulator by heart. You grow crops, sell them, and continue to do the same till you make enough money to move on to bigger stuff. You can cultivate a wide range of crops, some of which can be harvested only once, while others can be harvested multiple times. You also need a wide assortment of stuff, like better gear for faster harvesting, or better seeds, or even grow out orchards of trees or rare animals.
It’s rather the open ended approach to progression that is most interesting, and keeps people hooked. Staxel allows more freedom than the games it borrows from so heavily (cough cough Stardew cough cough), and the non-linearity means that you can do a lot of stuff (other than game-breaking stuff, like killing NPCs) in different ways.
You could for example plant and look after crops, apply fertilizer and water to ensure the crops have a good yield, (both of which are time consuming activities) all so that you can earn more money. Or you could simply roam around aimlessly, wasting time that otherwise could be used in bringing up a profitable farm, or taking care of your pet. But hey a rebel can’t help but be a rebel.
The only cliche stuff here is, you buy the animals and seeds, but you don’t need to contact anyone to setup a barn for you. You set them up yourself, designing on the go. Crafting is one of the better portions of the game, and unlike other games,Staxel employs extensive use of crafting, allowing you to save money for better/essential stuff.
In-game quests help you understand the NPC’s better, and improve your relationship with them, which provides benefits in the long run. There isn’t a real sort of story, but this adds to the progression. Interested in free beer from the tavern, or discounted seeds from the supermarket? All you need to do is to sugar-talk your way to it.
Sadly, while the game does try to do a lot of stuff by adding the crafting, the game essentially copies mechanics from games like Stardew Valley and Yonder : The Cloud Catcher Chronicles, and does little to innovate there. The farming and gathering remains same – there isn’t a change.
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Games Like Staxel
Sound and Music
The music is a pretty relaxing one, and ensures you do not feel bored while playing the game. It is pretty soothing – not something masterful, but it gets the job done. Sound effects give a real feel of what happens at a farm – digging,digging and more digging! Also a bit of the mooing and snorting and the sounds made by the various animals, besides the occasional bark from your pet dog. The bustle of the settlements, and the cricket’s chirping at night. All ensure that you get the feeling of living out in the countryside (which you will never do in the real world anyways).
Graphics and Optimization
The game is voxel-based, just like Minecraft (one of the games which inspired this). The textures are pretty well done for a voxel-based game, especially for the particles which you can interact with. (flowers, crops, and the like) The only real problem with the game was a texture loading issue, which happened occasionally (depends on the specifications of the rig you are trying to run it on). The draw distance is pretty small, and it does affect your experience in the game, as it causes quite some pop-ins while playing.
The game was tested on the following specifications :
AMD FX 8320
GTX 660 2 GB DDR5
6 GB RAM DDR3
There were quite a few stutters, freezes, and huge pop-ins and texture bugs. Game appears to be RAM heavy, which is seen from the frequent freezes. Also, the draw distance for textures is very less, and really needs to increase, which is seen in the amount of pop-ins that occur frequently. The freezes also need to be looked into.
While we did play a majority of the game a week before the release, and considering that the game is just in its 2nd week of official release, we do expect most of these technical issues to go away in the future.
Staxel is worth buying only if you have an okayish PC, and can put up with the frequent pop-ins and graphical glitches, and have not looked into games like Stardew Valley, My Time At Portia, and Yonder : The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. It’s pretty much a hopeless combination of Stardew Valley and Minecraft, and the few additions to the gameplay mechanics do not make it better.
The framer in you would be always craving for games like stardew valley. If you are looking for alternatives to stardew valley then you are at the right place. I have jotted down 8 of the best games like stardew valley which would keep you going.
I have not only listed the alternatives to Stardew valley but also given the price with my ratings and reviews on star dew alternatives. I know rating and reviews won’t do so I have put up the trailer.
Read this article if you want to know what happens when you die in Stardew valley?
Farming Valley (Minecraft Modpack)
Farming valley Minecraft Modpack is a game like stardew valley and Minecraft combined. A super addictive game if you have played Minecraft before. Startdew valley players would love playing this game and definitely get hooked.
Players would first need to spawn into a goddess in order to build and maintain your farm. Its a very simple gameplay you would have to first build the farm, grow crops and sell then.
There are 4 seasons in this game and each season has its own crops. The earning from selling the crops would give you the income to buy parts and reach the goals in your achievement books.
Compatible Platforms: PC
Price of Farming Valley: Free of cost if you have Minecraft
My review on Farming Valley
A mix of Minecraft and Stardew valley which is why I have Placed Farming valley (Minecraft Modpack) on the top of my list of best games like stardew valley.
If you have love minecraft you will definitely fall in love with this game and you don’t have to spend a dime on it if you have minecraft which is an icing on top of the cake. I have written in detail comparison between Stardew valley vs Minecraft.
My Rating on Framing valley: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Animal Crossing (New Leaf)
Animal crossing 4th tile the New Leaf was launched in 2012 on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan and soon become popular which made the developer also release the game in Asia, North America, and Europe.
Unlike the previous versions, users can move all around the town farm, fish and even catch bugs. Once users participate in such activities they get rewarded bells which is a virtual currency with which they can renovate their home, pay loans, and purchase clothes and furniture.
Players don’t just get a house at the start, they live in a tent and can use the virtual currency to purchase a house.
Compatible Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Price of Animal crossing: $19.99
My Review on Animal crossing: If you are looking for a game like stardew valley then Animal Crossing 4 edition would definitely keep you wanting for more. If you are a Nintendo 3DS users then you definitely need to check out this Stardew alternative.
If you don’t have time on your hands and what to know more about the difference between Animal Crossing and Stardew valley read this article on Stardew valley vs Animal Crossing.
My Rating on Animal crossing: 4 out of 5 stars
Yonder (The Cloud Catcher Chronicles)
You don’t have to build a farm or but create your own magical creatures called spites to kill murk. Yonder is not a game like stardew valley where you can build farms but a game which you can create creatures to kill murk.
The game has been so popular it was first released in play station and Windows later was launched and Nintendo and in 2019 was launched on the Xbox one
The gameplay is amazing and you would love this game it has got good reviews by its players from all over the world.
Developers: Prideful Sloth
Compatible Platforms: Windows, PS4, Nintendo switch, Xbox one
Price of Yonder: $17.97
My review on Yonder
If you are looking for a farming game then look at the other alternatives to stardew valley as it does not have farms but creatures. The gameplay is amazing and the game is available on all platforms. Watch this video below to check out the gameplay.
My Rating of Yonder: 4.5 stars out of 5
My Time at Portia
My Time at Portia is a farming game that allows its players to combine resources and create games.
Players can buy more tools and farm fasters. The tools also help in speeding up the harvesting process. Players would also need to fight enemies and can create their own town once their level is progressed.
Games Like Staxel
Developers: Pathea Games
Price My Time at Portia: $29.99
My review My Time at Portia
Overall a good game but not my cup of tea I would still recommend you to check out other games like stardew valley in this list
I have written a detailed review on My Time at Portia in this article
My Rating My Time at Portia: 3.8 out of 5 stars
Rune Factory
Rune factory is a game like stardew valley and harvest moon combined. The players can grow and harvest crops with the equipment purchased.
There are battles with opponent and players are given Rune Point or RP which indicated the stamina of the payer.
Players can not only grow crops for gold but also fish, mine, and collect milk and eggs. The gold earned from these activities can be used to purchase more land, house, and equipment.
Also Read: Rune Factory 4 All about, Game Play, developers with pro and cons
Compatible Platforms: Play Station 3, Nintendo DS, 3DS, Wii, and switch
Developers: Neverland Co
Price of Rune Factory: $29.99
My review on Rune Factory
Overall good gameplay and players who love playing Stardew valley would love playing Rune Factory too. The game is compatible with multiple devices that make it even more appealing and a good alternative to stardew valley.
My Rating on Rune Factory: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Moonlighter
Moonlighter has very interesting gameplay, players need to manage a shop. Players need to buying and selling of goods and inventory.
Players need to protect the shop from looters at night and need to buy weapons. The game was launched in 2018 and since then has grown in popularity. The game is available on many platforms.
Compatible Platforms: Windows, MacOS, Play Station 4, Xbox one, Nintendo Switch
Developers: Digital Sun
Price of Moonlighter: $19.99
My review on Moonlighter
If you are looking for a different concept than stardew valley then Moonligher is ideal and I would recommend it as one of the best games like stardew valley. Is also compatible on most of the platforms so you don’t need to worry of having a specific console
My Rating on Moonlighter: 4.7 out of 5 stars
Story of Seasons (Trio of Towns)
Story of Seasons (Trio of Towns) was released in 2016 in Japan then Asia and Europe on 2017 due to its popularity. Just like Stardew valley, players can grow crops and ranching livestock.
Players also revise a pet like a dog or a cat which makes it even more interesting. Most of the crops can be grown on the farm. The game is compatible with many devices which make it even better than Stardew Valley.
Developers: Marvelous
Compatible Platforms: Game Boy, Play station, Wii
Price: $29.98
My review on Story of seasons
If you are looking for a game like Startdew valley then Story of Seasons is one of the best in the list. Story of Seasons has become a very popular farming game and most of the players love playing Story of seasons as an alternative to stardew valley.
I have written on Everything you need to know about Story of Seasons (Trio of Towns)
My Rating on Story of seasons: 4.5 out 5 stars
Staxel
Staxel is a farming and village and lifestyle game like stardew valley with tons of features. The player can build farmhouses and collect coins for the produce.
Players can also invite their friends along and play along. You can go fishing and also catch bugs in Staxel which makes the gaming experience even better.
Compatible Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, SteamOS
Developer: Plukit
Price: $19.99
My review on Staxel
If you are looking for games like stardew valley then you must have definitely come across staxel. Staxel has the farming and village vibes
My Rating on Staxel: 4 out of 5 stars
Final words
Stardew valley has gained a lot of users and has a cult following but people constantly look for more. I hope you liked the farming games like star dew valley I have listed in this article. If you know of any Stardew alternative we can add to the list then comment below and our team would write about it.
Also Read: Stardew valley vs Harvest moon, A detailed comparison between the two
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