Ova Magica. Monster Harvest. Coral Island. Castaway Paradise. Kitaria Fables. Littlewood.
No, those aren't the potential titles for my upcoming heavy metal album - those are just a few of the recently-announced, released, or funded farming games I can think of, and that's far from all of them. They all have something in common: they're all two-word titles (er, except Littlewood), and they all take their inspiration from Harvest Moon. More precisely, many of them take inspiration from Stardew Valley, which, in turn, takes its inspiration from Harvest Moon. The farming game genealogy gets increasingly more confusing by the day.
Cash Cow
It's not hard to understand one of the driving purposes behind this bumper crop of farming games. Stardew Valley made, at a conservative estimate, a buttload of money for its sole developer Eric Barone, AKA ConcernedApe. Who can blame other developers and studios for wanting to get in on that giant cash mountain? For many of these developers, that gamble is already paying off, in the example of Coral Island wrapping up their Kickstarter with $1.6 million raised. That's enough money to buy an actual farm.
Stardew Valley made, at a conservative estimate, a buttload of money for its sole developer Eric Barone.
Of course, that's a pretty cynical way of looking at it, even if it is true. There are many reasons that a developer might want to put their stake in the farming game genre - it's a cult favourite, after all, and you might be surprised to hear that many developers actually enjoy playing games themselves. Why not attempt to perfect a genre that you love more than anything? Why not make an entry into the oeuvre that adds everything you've ever wanted to see in a farming simulator?
Now, I don't mean to be disparaging by calling these games "Harvest Moon-likes" (or, as Rock Paper Shotgun calls them, "Stardewbuts" - Stardewbut on the moon, Stardewbut it's about cats). Many of these games have a lot to offer beyond their shared genesis, and although some are just straight-up ripoffs, like Warm Village on Steam, I'm not talking about them, because they're bad and boring. I'm talking about the games that take the seed of the farming game idea and expand on it. In fact, that's exactly why they exist: much like Stardew Valley, they see a gap in the market that's being ignored by the seven-out-of-ten Story of Seasons games and the absolutely dreadful modern Harvest Moon games.
Maybe that gap is having better romanceable characters; maybe it's a better selection of animals to care for; maybe it's a different setting altogether. Many of the spinoff games address various elephants in the room: the Harvest Moon games have never been particularly diverse, and although some of them include same-sex marriage, it hasn't been in there from the start.
Agri-Cultural Relevance
We've already covered the psychology of why people love these games, but there's often a more personal reason for making and loving these games, too. Yasuhiro Wada, creator of the Harvest Moon series, first made the game when he was inspired by his own transition from city life to country life, and that theme has not only carried through to many of its spinoffs and inspired-bys, but has even been expanded on for the modern era.
Stardew Valley is all about the threat of corporations on small, rural towns - a very real threat in America, where Barone is from - and its effect can be seen mostly in getting to known Shane, one of the game's characters, who works for Joja Co. His depression is a very real side-effect of the fictionalised, soul-draining company that pollutes Stardew Valley's rivers and oceans; one of the game's goals is to destroy the company's Joja Mart outlet by investing in the community instead. In an age where we are divorced from the sources of our food by various middlemen, and working in offices behind computer screens, returning to the farm and building a community is a pastoral dream.
But, five years on from Stardew Valley's fresh take on the 25-year-old genre of small-town farming and life simulators, we're beginning to see a theme common to the games industry: people are attempting to ape ConcernedApe. Whenever there's a success story, its splash sends out ripples that eventually coalesce into games about... three to five years later. It takes a while to make a game, you know?
The wealth of battle royale games is a great example of this: it began with 2000 movie Battle Royale, reached fever pitch with the hugely successful Hunger Games, and eventually spawned the similarly successful PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - and the rest is history, with games like Apex Legends, Fortnite, Tetris 99, and the like. In fact, around three to five years from now, expect a slew of Among Us-likes to flood the market. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Flooding The Field
But all of these merely attempts to answer the "why" of all these Harvest Moon-likes, not the question in the title: Are there too many?
I'll certainly never criticise an open market for game developers, and if this is what sells, then that's exactly how markets work. Not to mention that I, personally, am exactly the target demographic for all these games, and you may have noticed how much I write about them, too. But where does it end? How do I know which games are worth my time and which games are cynical cash-grabs when they all look so darn similar?
Here's where you come in, folks: do you find this open market full of farming games exciting, or do you feel like you're being lured in by the promise of recreating an experience you've already had, only to be disappointed? Do you feel like people are cashing in on someone else's success, or do you welcome the new perspectives of others? Perhaps you, like us, wish that these other Stardewbuts would somehow reflect back on the Story of Seasons series itself, encouraging new and creative ideas instead of the same old ones with a fresh coat of paint?
As always, we love to hear your thoughts on the matter - and there's a big empty box down there for you to write to us. Go wild!
Comments 87
Best farm game that i have played is Stardew Valley. Good game, music is lovely and i like the changing of the seasons. I married Hailey, every morning when i woke up i always gave her a Kiss before leaving
The new Harvest moon and The other farming games are not as that promising. Im going to try Runefactory 5, maybe it'll be a good game.
I always keep getting suckered into buying these types of games only to re-discover every time that I'm not really into them
Great topic for discussion, Kate! Personally, no I do not think there are too many as it is one of my favorite genres (I play games to relax, not to stress myself out). I do, however, agree that I wish developers differentiated themselves from Stardew and Harvest Moon a bit more and tried new things. You will never be the next "Stardew" if you just try to copy them.
I noticed that Summer in Mara isn't listed among the Moonlikes and Stardewbuts, which further calls this site's review into question, which criticized it heavily for not being as good as Stardew. Using how a game compares instead of how it stands on its own as the basis for a review is already problematic; but when it is based upon a comparison that the site itself does not maintain it is indefensible.
Me just waiting for Runefactory 5 to come out like (._.)
Most of those look like copy and paste. Very few of them are worthy of being called games and not a mobile trash.
The biggest standouts are ofc Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley.
I see a lot of these games, but people only talk about the same two or three.
I guess it's trendy at the moment for indies -Stardew Valley was a huge success.
@Mijzelffan I am exactly the same. Apart from Stardew which really had me in it's claws a couple of times already.
Not too many more than there are Zeldas, Final Fantasies, Overwatches, Fortnites, Mario Karts, Resident Evils, Puzzle Quests... you get the idea. That's kind of how genres work in all worldcraft media. And I can't picture a reason to mind it, at least in the kind of universe where people are NOT burdened by the mere existence of any number of similarly designed video games somewhere beyond their house walls. The universe I'd very much like to live in.
As someone that doesn't play them, Yes
I imagine for someone that plays them, No.
The answer is obviously both yes and no. You can make a life sim game that uses a similar formula without actually being about farming, but whatevz. The more the merrier.
Are there too many? Not really. The challenge is weeding out the games worth playing from those that aren't. Just about every game on the market is an iteration of something else that came before it. That's just how this industry operates.
After enough ThisButThat games we eventually get to ThisButThatButThose and eventually ThisButThatButThoseButThese and eventually a completely new take on the genre, so yes I'd say it's good to have ThisButThat games. I hope you were able to follow my odd sentence.
Stardew Valley is the king of farming sims until further notice.
Concerned Ape made a game he loves to play himself and is constantly working to improve it, and will probably continue to do so until he deems it perfect, meaning he’ll probably never stop. So becoming rich in the process is such good thing and makes me respect him much more, than i could envy him. Since Stardew Valleys release it is constantly in the charts, it is just a incredible success story. And with the simple graphics, aging will not be a problem at all, even more so if he keeps on releasing giant free updates and upgrades. Recently i have tried to get back into the almost a decade old, back then, critically acclaimed “Harvest Moon a new beginning” and let me assure you guys, It definitely didn’t age that well. So yes, Stardew took that crown. Long live the King!
This happened with Metroidvania games too.
I have no problem with variety, but the overall quality, art style and the nature of playable content are some of the factors that decide which games I end up buying. Of course these things are subjective, but it is what it is. I haven't got into Stardew Valley, but I have liked Story of Seasons games and I absolutely love and adore the whole Rune Factory series. I would lose so much comfy gaming content if the amount of series would be artificially reduced.
Let devs make what they want to make, the audience is what ultimately decides what is worth their time and money.
No, there aren’t too many. There’s certainly ones that shouldn’t have been made or released in their current state, but since when is having multiple options bad?
You could ask that question about almost any genre. Are there too many shooters? Too many platformers? Too many turned based RPGs?
While they aren’t all good, they mostly all offer different experiences even if they are based on the same loop. I logged over 500 hours across three consoles in Stardew and still play it regularly. I love it. It doesn’t stop me from trying out others in the same spectrum of games.
I bought SoS this week and am loving it so far. It feels different than Stardew, even if it shares so many characteristics because it’s a different world, different people and a different perspective. It doesn’t mean I have to stop loving Stardew or that I have to not like SoS because Stardew does some things better.
I just don’t understand the sheer number of comments I’ve seen around various sites where people are ridiculing others for enjoying the games they like because there’s one that’s “better at doing the thing” than the rest on the market.
In the end, buy and play the games you want... if you see others playing something you don’t enjoy, just move on. There always seems to be a need to trash games or genres just because someone’s personal preferences are different than yours.
I'm sticking to Story of Seasons and Stardew Valley. I'm also looking forward to Coral Island because it looks like more refined Stardew Valley. There are a bunch of them, but most will fail to live up to either SoS or SV. I'm also not a big fan of pixel art games, Stardew Valley being the only one I played (because it was like SoS).
Regarding that Pioneers of Olive Town screenshot, I could recognize that cow design anywhere.
Gimme dat new Story of Seasons review, then I’ll weigh in. 🙃
There’re a lot of farming clones but all of those are trash compared to Rune Factory even Rune Factory 3 from the DS looks better than some of this new games and yes that includes Stardew Valley
There can never be too much cuteeness....the er Original Harvest Moon on the N64 was a good game everything since has tried in some way to emulate it....some even going down the online only pay to play...... yes we have to commend stardew valley not my cup of tea but sold shed loads.....the last Harvest Moon I got immersed in was Harvest Moon A New Beginning on the olde 3ds......was going to dive into the new Story of Seasons but have heard there are a couple of issues that need sorting before I go any where near it.......no matter friends of Mineral Town will cure my Farming itch...plus I got my eye on Rune Factory 4........just a shout out to My time at Portia for me a gem.
2000 movie Battle Royale....oh my now your talking.
This sort of thing happens in all forms of media someone has a great idea it makes money everyone else copies them.
WB Bros wanted to have the same success as Avengers so they made Justice League movies
Harry Potter was a success so then come Percy Jackson
Video games are no different everyone wants a piece of the popularity pie.
Stardew Valley simply is the best game in the genre. As far as I am concerned none of it's competition can stand up to it. Every one I have tried just feels... inferior.
Competition is welcome but they need to try harder, instead of just shoveling out wannabes.
After reading the reviews for the recent SoS and HM games (and playing HM) it seems like quality is dropping there at least, which is a shame because the first Story of Seasons on 3DS is the pinnacle of farming games for me.
I've got Stardew Valley and my playtime is 5 hours, last played Feb 19 2020. So, it didn't hook me for some reason. I will start it again to see if it clicks.
The most recent game I sunk a decent amount of time into was Harvest Moon Light of Hope. I didn't mind that one at all.
@Beatrice Stardew Valley is a great one, especially if you want to give multiplayer farming a go. It’s got some light combat elements while exploring the mines for needed ores. It’s not combat heavy, but I have a friend who was turned off it because they just wanted a straight farming/crafting game.
But if you don’t want combat to be a part of your farm/life simming and multiplayer isn’t a big deal for you, Story of Seasons may be a good way to go too. It’s got a pretty level ramp into its systems and gameplay loops. It needs some more patch work on the frame rate and some loading times, but it hasn’t dissuaded me from enjoying it at all.
Those would probably be my two recommendations for an entry point. Coral Island definitely has me intrigued, but given that it’s not out until late this year, it’s a long wait til then.
@kategray I don’t see the link to pre-order the vinyl of the metal album (title TBD) - plz edit A. S. A. P.
Well now Harvest Moon has become the look-alike, Stardew Valley is pretty much the default farming game.
It’s more that they’re only now coming to Switch. After Minecraft, Steam Greenlight was flooded with crafting games. Same with roguelikes after Isaac. These things come in waves, but it’s only being seen on Switch now.
Yes, it is exciting and great to have options. Means there's more to sift through, but also a greater chance of there being something good in the pile.
Personally, I'm looking forward to One Lonely Outpost which passed it's goal on Kickstarter. Looks pretty much like a "Stardewbut" space, but the art/aesthetic are solid, and even if gameplay comes up a little short of Stardew that might be enough to keep my attention.
I think the only thing a genre can have is undersaturation. I want everyone under the sun to make whatever genre (within reason) they want. There shouldn’t be a capacity limit, because what if the next big thing is behind the arbitrary cutoff?
The market will separate the wheat from the chaff but if you go at games at a stance of “there are too many” then all you do is cut off potential gems. Look at stardew. If you go by looks and background (1 person dev team) it is easy to dismiss it. Yet it is now one of the top examples of the genre.
Also some games may click with others even if they aren’t mainstream. For instance I enjoy my time at portia better than stardew, even though from a technical perspective, stardew is better made.
Let devs make games.
Let gamers play games.
This is how the hobby keeps evolving.
I wish someone would take on the Sims. EA needs the competition.
Olive Town review when?
Re:Legend. Did somebody still remember this game ?
It's not that there are too many... but there is no innovation. The characters in most of these games are flat. Thus, it's simply a chore to have to give gifts and talk to them. The only game that stands out from the crowd are the Rune Factory games.
I do feel like there has been a surge of Harvest Moon style games lately, the only one I really care about is Stardew Valley and for me personally it is probably better that way, otherwise I would probably end up being burnt out, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. That being said I can't fault developers for wanting to have their own take on it, it just needs enough new ideas to set it apart.
I'm not interested at all in farming sims, but I don't mind if they supplement a larger experience.
I think farming should have been a part of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (we should have been able to plant our own crops in our yard, for example). The Unleashed and Makin' Magic expansion packs for the original Sims also allowed one to dabble in gardening. There was only a handful of options, but it added a little extra bit to the experience.
@Ryu_Niiyama
"I wish someone would take on the Sims. EA needs the competition."
Here you go.
https://www.paralives.com/press-kit
Each of those games appeals to different type of gamers even if they are the same not everyone is the same type of gamer. That's why they sell for their variety of gaming even if similiar. Some on KS are one time Physical so that is also why I get them as they will be gone and no longer found as well.
Since playing Stardew, I haven't purchased another farming sim. I've eyed a few that have come out since then, but I haven't purchased them. If farming sims are your absolute favorite genre, then no, there aren't too many. For now I am content with Stardew Valley. A major new aspect of gameplay would have to be present for me to consider purchasing another upcoming farm sim at this point. I feel like a lot of them do follow the same formula, more or less.
Though I really like this genre, I never felt that I needed anything else than the Story of Seasons-games on 3DS. Stardew Valley didn't add anything new and lacked two of my favorite aspects of Story of Seasons - designing the entire city and making your own clothes. I prefer its art style and it was also refreshingly liberal, not only allowing same-sex marriage but also letting you wear whichever clothes you wanted no matter the sex of your main character. SoS for 3DS was a bit grindy though, so I'm hoping patches will bring less of that to the Switch entry.
As long as they're good, I'll take as many as they wanna make.
@Beatrice Stardew
There are too many phoned in ones on the market.
I don't think well done ones would ever get boring if they all add their own strengths.
For me Stardew Valley is the absolute best game for multiple reasons but games like Back to Nature and HM 64 will always hold a special place in my heart as they were the pinnacle.
I'd love an absolutely loaded with features HM Back to Nature remake one day using that art style with Stardew Valley level exploring, crafting and combat.
Also can someone tell me which game is the game at the top left of the photos that has 4 games in it? Cows are on the left pumpkins on he right if that helps.
“There can be only one!” - The Farmlander: SDV
Addition to my post: I've also enjoyed the Rune Factory games, perhaps even more so than the Story of Season ones, but they feel sort of like two sides of the same coin with different focus.
There can only be one. There can only be one..
I made a harvest moon clone before it was cool
More games for me to enjoy. I just hope people would judge games as their own experience and not just "how much it's like stardew valley". And then getting upset when its too similar or not similar enough. I personally don't love to play SV but think the creator is awesome. Especially since SV is also another game created by inspiration from another title it's silly to get upset at other games for being created from the same inspiration. Ofcourse quality over quantity is important. Different types of experiences will be more fun for some people than others so it's a good thing to have variety.
@SpacedDuck coral island but it’s not out on switch yet.
Ironically there is not ENOUGH farming life sims. Because almost all of them follow the same type of agriculture: industrial scale agriculture.
We need a agro-ecology farming game.
Every game you start clearing the fields to plant. It's not so different from a 4 axis game, it's about taming nature.
Agroecology makes use of some native vegetation, it creates a mutualistic relationship between crop and native plants. Modern agriculture is about field expansion, agroecology is focused in increasing yield instead. It enriches the soil.
There's not enough life sims game because there are other paradigms of human-nature relationship still not yet explored in games. And underexplored in the real world. Usually we first make it commonplace in real life and then art follows with representations of reality. But it's by doing it the other way around is that an artpiece becomes "ahead of its time" and "resist the test of time".
@MediocreFarmer95 ah that's right. I ready about it recently and forgot. Yeah likely a late 2021 launch from what I can tell on Steam. Likely next year for Switch.
I personally don't see any reason to ditch Stardew Valley for any of these other games! I loved the Harvest Moon games for SNES, N64, and Gameboy, but they haven't been exciting to me since then.
Love your articles, Kate!
Short answer yes with an if, long answer no with a but (this is the appropriate response to most yes/no questions)
Is there actually a farming sim "clone" set on the Moon, or off Earth? @KateGray, don't tease me so!
Doraemon Story of Seasons is very charming.
Keep the food ones coming!
Personally the near sweet spot for me was story of seasons 3ds. I’d love to see a remake with same sex marriage added in and maybe add a few more areas to the map and a better character customization and I am done.
Edit: I am pretty satisfied with Olive Town.
Yes. I'm not into these types of (farming?) games really, but just from the outside looking in... I see sooo many of them- seemingly similar yet with different names. The popular franchises (Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Rune Factory) and probably good titles tend to get diluted amongst the tons of knockoffs and shovelware out imo.
Yep. ACNH gets popular in 2020+ Stardew Valley was already hot, and Harvest Moon had the reputation previously..so everyone and their brother now thinks their/sim life and farming game will succeed on Switch, but most of it’s shovelware.
For me, it's like saying we have too many FPSs or RPGs. The Harvest Moon style farming/life sim has become another common genre since Stardew's success. I for one am overjoyed, as I love these sorts of games. Having so many fresh indie takes on the genre is only a plus in my mind, we've seen some real innovation because of it.
While it's easy to oversaturate the market (like IMO it happened with pixel art metroidvanias), I don't think it's a bad thing that there's so many farming simulators. They're a good counterbalance to all the games based on violence. There's an argument to be made that even Kirby games are about destroying your enemies. But farming simulators are the opposite of that.
I just can't get enough of this style of game, too many? no way!
I've always loved farming and life sim games. I don't really think the genre is reaching the point where it's oversaturated but I think there is definitely a lack of innovation within the genre as a whole in the last while and devs are resting on their laurels a bit.
With that said, a game like Hades blew the roguelike genre out of the water and I think Stardew Valley did the same. It gives me hope that another game could come out that pushes the envelope even further.
@Zuljaras animal crossing is not a farming sim.
I like the idea of these games but what I've always hated is the outdated daily stamina systems and when they add events that can be missed if you don't do them at certain times/seasons. Hoping Rune Factory 5 at least avoids the stamina issue.
I feel most of the games leaning on Harvest Moon don't improve or change up the formular enough. At least, not enough for me to feel engaged again.
This actually goes for Natsume's own releases too.
From a logical perspective not really? I mean just because there are thousands of these games, doesn't mean I'm going to buy every single one. Game developers have the right to make whatever they want. "Harvest Moon like" games are fun and fairly simple. Some are better than others and people get to pick the perfect experience for them because of how many there are to chose from. I personally prefer Stardew Valley and Rune Factory and am looking forward to Monster Harvest. I was also disappointed in the last Harvest Moon game though and the newest story if seasons looks too similar.
@GHROTIC Eh... That's an interesting thing to be bothered by... It's not really that outdated. They give you plenty ways decent to manage your stamina in most games. In fact many games in general have some kinda stamina or mana management. Eating food and resting usually helps and in Rune Factory if you just stand still for a while, you can slowly recover that way as well. Some games even have a bath house or hot spring. In most of these games there are ways to get more efficient equipment or a leveling up system. Is it a hassle? Just another thing to keep up with? Probably. Definitely. But as a video game, it's important because it adds depth and some level of realism. I invite you to come to my dad's farm in the real world and do nothing but till the fields, cut wood, feed the animals, cut and pull weeds, bust up rocks, make fences, cook and grow crops all day without a break from 6AM-10PM. No bathroom breaks and no food or water breaks. It's not possible. That's why games that are based off some aspect of real life have a stamina system. In a life sim game, you will be limited. So take care of your character as you would yourself, and stamina should be less an issue.
I recently decided to give Stardew Valley a go, but I was torn between that, SoS Mineral Town and SoS Olive Town (didn't even consider Harvest Moon One World after Reviews came out). At the end, Stardew Valley is a cheaper game with more features. I may get SoS Mineral Town in the future but not until it gets discounted.
I made an account solely to comment this because this made me a little bit angry, you guys DO know that Story of Seasons IS Harvest Moon right..? They developers got into a dispute and they broke off. They changed the name to Story of Seasons; the games that keep being released as Harvest Moon aren’t made by XSEED.. they’re used by the company who they got into a dispute with to bank on nostalgia. Do a little bit of research
@DoubleDate The new Harvest Moon goes by Story of Seasons now, btw. The game that just game out isn’t made by the same people; they keep using the harvest moon name to make profit off it.
A growing trend in Farming sims is noticeable. So was collectathons in the 90's and military FPSs in the 2000s. If someone makes a successful game, there will be those who follow a trend.
Though Stardew Valley never done it for me, to be honest.
I don't think there will ever be a valid argument for too many games in any genre. There could be, potentially, a -conversation- about it being unfortunate when there are an overabundance of low quality games in any particular genre, but that's about where it should end. Realistically speaking, there are infinitely fewer farming simulator slice of life games on the market than virtually every other real genre out there. This is especially true if we consider ones that are actually worth even ten minutes of your time, as the vast majority are $5 indie knockoffs that are barely above the level of Steam asset flips.
And while I have nothing against indie games (some of them, like Stardew Valley, are better than their brethren created by much larger non-indie developers), it would be nice to see more than Story of Seasons coming from these large developers. I know some consider Animal Crossing in that same category, though I wouldn't.. and it's still only one franchise.
My point.. I'd absolutely adore seeing some AAA farming/life simulator games in the vein of Bokujou Monogatari/Farm Story/Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons, not just a great indie game every once in a blue (harvest) moon and a sea of garbage from tiny developers looking to turn a quick buck.
@TheFarmboy Are there any farming/daily life sims similar to Stardew Valley that you've ever liked?
@Deltath I haven't delved in that genre really. With only Animal Crossing being the one I play frequently. With finite time like work, I feel I might not commit.
It would be interesting if there was one more like A Wonderful Life, since that was the game that got me into the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons games to begin with.
@Styrophoamicus Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town isn't a bad game, but it's mostly for people who played Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, Harvest Moon 64 or Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. It's not fully featured enough to feel worthwhile to people who aren't getting a kick out of the nostalgia of being back in Mineral Town.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town... I haven't played it, but honestly I think you're going to run into a similar experience except without the nostalgia. Not a bad game, but it feels like the real developement time and money went to Rune Factory 5 instead.
Even though I've been a huge fan of the franchise since the original SNES game, I don't think most of the modern entries are really worth the money or push the genre forward. Especially with a game like Stardew Valley doing it all and more with visuals I enjoy more and at a fraction of the price.
There was about a 15-year period where there were basically none worth playing, so I'm pretty glad we're spoiled for choice these days. It is kind of interesting that Stardew released right around the same time that Bokumono finally got it's mojo back, but I'll take as many as I can get.
Sidenote: I'm not really sure I'd count Portia, a lot of the secondary elements are similar, but the focus isn't on farming at all.
@Deltath To be fair, it's not like the non-indie titles have had a great hit-rate over the last decade or so either.
@JadePhoenix It feels like you missed my point. There haven't been virtually any in the genre from non-indie developers other than some mostly ho-hum Story of Seasons games. There literally aren't any AAA farming simulator/slice of life sort of games. That's the point.
@SigourneyBeaver screams into the internet void IT'S BEEN SIX YEARS how come people STILL don't know Story of Seasons is the rebranded original!
Probably because of articles like this that still call it "Harvest Moon" even though Harvest Moon is now a knockoff series.
I think that nothing will ever be "the next stardew valley," so people should try more unique things to differentiate itself from that game.
@Nakego I suppose it's down to how interested you are. I've been playing Harvest Moon games since the Gamecube, so I at least read any news about the new games over the years and that's how i found out about the split.
@SigourneyBeaver Interest doesn't equal reading news sites and social media, though. Many gamers and people in general avoid this kind of coverage for a variety of reasons that don't include disinterest. I, for one, spent many years never reading gaming news (beyond the occasional announcement headline) because games are so much more fun to me when I know virtually nothing about them.
I missed the days of gaming in the 80s and 90s where most everything you learned was from personal experience or in-person word of mouth, rather than just a non-stop assault of news and opinions. Because of that, I spent a couple of years not knowing about the Story of Seasons situation right after it happened.
@Deltath Yeah and the majority of times I've seen the change mentioned and thoroughly explained is by fans. All the game news coverage still refers to "Harvest Moon" because the branding is more important than the actual game series to draw in the casual eyeballs and only half the time do they actually mention it as a throwaway line in the article. A lot of them seem to treat Story of Seasons like it's another knockoff.
@Nakego I would say considering how often games media gets really obvious, common knowledge stuff wrong that it's a fair bet many of them reporting it have no idea that Story of Seasons is the real series and not just another knockoff. I've read an article on this very site a few years back that talked about the "confusing", "inexplicable" and "troubling" dip in quality of the Harvest Moon series, which of course bad dozens of people in the comments trying to set them straight.
It's not devs fault it's an attractive concept
That said, if you want to do something different to the others, you could start with the presentation. For Story fo Seasons, I've always wanted a freely open experience for some time now.
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