So… farming games recommendations? (Steam sale)

SixtyTwoMike · May 4, 2024

I've noticed a huge boom in farming games over the past few years and I've been tempted to dip my toes in the water.

I did play a few hours of Disney Dreamlight Valley last year and enjoyed it - I guess that counts? It's more in the Animal Crossing realm.

Anyway there's a sale on Steam right now and I was wondering what your recommendations are, what's the pros and cons of different mechanics, and how should I approach a farming odyssey?

Farming

Steam Farming Fest 2024

store.steampowered.com

Siri · May 4, 2024

There's a reason why everyone raves about Stardew Valley - It's good, and it should be your first port of call.

Not really 'crop' related, but I also greatly enjoyed my time with both Slime Rancher (I haven't played much of the sequel), and Graveyard Keeper. Going further (farming, uh, nuclear energy), there's always factory builders like Satisfactory.

SixtyTwoMike · May 4, 2024

Siri said:
There's a reason why everyone raves about Stardew Valley - It's good, and it should be your first port of call.

Not really 'crop' related, but I also greatly enjoyed my time with both Slime Rancher (I haven't played much of the sequel), and Graveyard Keeper. Going further (farming, uh, nuclear energy), there's always factory builders like Satisfactory.

Yeah I guess I'm thinking wider than just crops. I don't think I realised slime rancher was along these lines despite the name 🤣

JuniperAndSage · May 4, 2024

Stardew is all-around the best game in the genre. Unless you have a really specific vibe or setting or whatever that you want, I'd start there.

Sir Lucan · May 4, 2024

My favorite is Coral Island. It's basically Stardew Valley but with better graphics, a South-East Asian vibe and with environmental themes (cleaning the ocean, planting trees and restoring the environment in general). The character designs are great too.

Bessy67 · May 4, 2024

Stardew Valley was already mentioned so I'll chime in with Rune Factory 4. It is a more combat focused version of the traditional Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons style of game. There are dungeons with monsters you can fight and tame

Ouroboros · May 4, 2024

Isn't Harvestella generally favorable game? I haven't played it but see it recommended here from time to time.

Rosa Salvaje · May 4, 2024

For pure farming go with Farming Simulator 2022.
Rusty's Retirement and Farm Together are good too if you don't want any story involved.

Achtung · May 4, 2024

Farm Together is just an overall chill game.. and as it suggests you can visit other peoples massive farms and help them do whatever they need which also levels up your farm. I think a second game will be out soon.

SixtyTwoMike · May 4, 2024

Ouroboros said:
Isn't Harvestella generally favorable game? I haven't played it but see it recommended here from time to time.

I've been super tempted by this one!

Joltik · May 4, 2024

Seconding the Rune Factory 4 and Harvestella recommendations. They have more Action RPG elements than your usual farming sim.

nicoga3000 · May 4, 2024

Ouroboros said:
Isn't Harvestella generally favorable game? I haven't played it but see it recommended here from time to time.

Great game that I wish had more farming elements. But the action RPG elements are really fun. Love all the unique classes.

Mirage · May 4, 2024

JuniperAndSage said:
Stardew is all-around the best game in the genre. Unless you have a really specific vibe or setting or whatever that you want, I'd start there.

Yeah others I would recommend as like something else to do if you already had your fill of Stardew Valley. It's just that good.

Celestial Descend · May 4, 2024

Rune Factory 3 is as good, if not better than 4, highly recommanded.

Lampa · May 4, 2024

JuniperAndSage said:
Stardew is all-around the best game in the genre. Unless you have a really specific vibe or setting or whatever that you want, I'd start there.

Not to steal the thread from OP, but I'm also looking for some farming games and as good as Stardew is, personally I'm looking for something not pixel-art.

Fitz · May 4, 2024

Anyone have thoughts on Roots of Pacha? I've played a ton of Stardew including with SVE, wouldn't mind trying something similar but different.

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245560/Roots_of_Pacha/

Lampa said:
Not to steal the thread from OP, but I'm also looking for some farming games and as good as Stardew is, personally I'm looking for something not pixel-art.

You might like My Time at Portia. The focus is more on crafting than farming, and it can be a little janky at time, but overall quite good. There's also a sequel in early access, My Time at Sandrock.

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/666140/My_Time_at_Portia/

nicoga3000 · May 4, 2024

Sun Haven is a cool one I didn't see mentioned. More like Stardew meets DnD. I liked that you could set the speed at which time passes, so you never felt rushed. Lots of stuff to do and collect.

Littlewood is cute. Definitely a different take...More life sim than farming sim.

Not a farming game, but I love Dysmantle. That's more a survival sim, though.

Mugman · May 4, 2024

I'm gonna shoutout Before the Green Moon. It's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, and the farming is simplified compared to a lot of other farming games as the focus is more on the narrative and relationships, but I've been blown away by what I've played of it. Came out on Switch recently and it's pretty cheap

View: https://youtu.be/M1quHAvUSiM?si=vWMgn7hdjAn6E5jH

jungius · May 4, 2024

rune factory 4 is a digital crack, try it OP

gabyb · May 4, 2024

Seconding My Time at Sandrock, amazing game. Played like 60 hours in the 2 weeks after starting it. Haven't played My Time at Portia yet but I liked that Sandrock had better graphics and played really well on the Steam Deck.

Harvestella started boring me to tears around the 30 hour mark and I never finished it, but it could be that I am a completionist and the side quests are very repetitive. It's combat focused if you like that OP.

The Third Heat · May 4, 2024

Thirding My Time At Sandrock. I had a blast with it. And it's a more polished experience than Portia, outside of graphics. They fixed a lot of annoying QoL issues and it overall feels like Portia was the beta test for Sandrock.

Yam's · May 4, 2024

Fitz said:
Anyone have thoughts on Roots of Pacha? I've played a ton of Stardew including with SVE, wouldn't mind trying something similar but different.

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1245560/Roots_of_Pacha/

It's basically Stardew but set in the prehistoric period. I personally loved it. The cast is charming and fun, you're always making progress and unlocking new stuff. It obviously doesn't have as much content as Stardew yet, but if you enjoyed the former there's no reason you won't also enjoy Patcha.

nicoga3000 said:
Sun Haven is a cool one I didn't see mentioned. More like Stardew meets DnD. I liked that you could set the speed at which time passes, so you never felt rushed. Lots of stuff to do and collect.

I've been waiting for full controller support for so long for that one. Any day now.

Squirrel Killer · May 4, 2024

FYI, there's also a Down on the Farm Humble Bundle going on right now with a bunch of games that fall under this definition.

nicoga3000 said:
Not a farming game, but I love Dysmantle. That's more a survival sim, though.

Loved this game so much, double dipped on the Android version. On PC, I'm right before triggering the end credits, but I bring myself to end the game (even if I know you can keep playing afterwards.) If they'd let you farm in more places and had replenishable resources, it'd be a perfect "sole survivor" cozy game.

Very much looking forward to their upcoming Dysplaced fantasy themed version.

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2430390/DYSPLACED/

slothrop · May 4, 2024

No reason to play anything else if you haven't played through Stardew Valley yet. Especially after the recent patch. There is a massive modding scene too

Cow Mengde · May 4, 2024

Paleo Pines.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-8GvwkGZ6A

Intraxidance · May 4, 2024

Anyone know of a good farming game that also has some friction to deal with? I love the genre, but a lot of the modern farming games are brutally easy (likely due to the explosion of the "cozy game" genre, that has a lot of overlap with farming games).

Allietraa · May 4, 2024

The only reason not to play Stardew Valley is because you're worried about it "ruining" every other farming game. It's that good and there are a TON of average to good games in the genre but basically nothing else that touches the total package of Stardew, so if that's your first taste of the genre it can kind of leave you chasing a level of quality that is very tough to find elsewhere

nicoga3000 · May 4, 2024

Yam's said:
I've been waiting for full controller support for so long for that one. Any day now.

I admit that it would play better with a controller. Crazy it's not implemented still...

Squirrel Killer said:
Loved this game so much, double dipped on the Android version. On PC, I'm right before triggering the end credits, but I bring myself to end the game (even if I know you can keep playing afterwards.) If they'd let you farm in more places and had replenishable resources, it'd be a perfect "sole survivor" cozy game.

Very much looking forward to their upcoming Dysplaced fantasy themed version.

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2430390/DYSPLACED/

I had no idea about Dysplaced. This looks fantastic.

And yeah, Dysmantle is really fantastic and has a TON of content. I've been playing through it on my iPad with a controller, but I may pick it up on Steam at some point. I feel like it would be a bit easier on there. But overall, this game keeps on giving.

Sir Lucan · May 4, 2024

Intraxidance said:
Anyone know of a good farming game that also has some friction to deal with? I love the genre, but a lot of the modern farming games are brutally easy (likely due to the explosion of the "cozy game" genre, that has a lot of overlap with farming games).

Probably not what you're looking for, but Don't Starve Together scratches that farming itch when playing with a friend for me. It's absolutely not a farming sim, but the farming you can do in that game is quite fun and surprisingly deep (especially when you combine it with cooking). And because Don't Starve is a survival game there's plenty of friction.

Kain-Nosgoth · May 4, 2024

i recommend harvestella, just for the story!

Farming element isn't that developped, and the combat gameplay is pretty meh, but i was really surprised by the direction the story took! I'm not a fan of the recent output in term of story from square-enix, but this one deserves praise! It's not groundbreaking but it's really well done!

Also fantastic soundtrack by Go Shiina

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1816300/HARVESTELLA/

Jonovision · May 4, 2024

I enjoyed Harvestella a fair bit, but the farming is definitely secondary to the exploration and combat. The combat isn't very deep but the story and side quests are 10/10 writing. The main plot is good, but I thought the side quests were exceptionally well done and made my silent protagonist feel like a member of the community and someone who was actively helping these NPCs, music is top notch too.

Buckle · May 4, 2024

You honestly can't go wrong with Rune Factory (once you're done with Stardew of course).

Start with 3 or 4. Fantastic mix of combat and farm/town life sim.

Fnor · May 4, 2024

Stardew Valley is fine but, as good as the loop is, it's incredibly static. That's not really calling it out in particular, it's a problem that most of these games suffer from. There's also a significant focus on really atrocious combat mechanics.

Rune Factory 4 is a legit great action RPG with excellent farming mechanics and it might be the best in the genre. It also has a story that shakes things up instead of just slotting chores in.

The best for that kind of dynamism is A Wonderful Life. The game is separated into 3 acts, people and the town, as well as your relationships with its residents, change over time. It's not world-shattering stuff, but seeing a place be an actual place and raising a kid rather than it just being an achievement popup is a unique and much more interesting social element in a genre that generally just goes in on extremely rudimentary dating sim stuff.

Save 50% on STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life on Steam

Put down roots on your new farm in the peaceful town of Forgotten Valley. Bring life to the land by cultivating crops and raising animals, find love among the town's friendly folk, and make lasting memories with a family of your very own.

store.steampowered.com

JoeNut · May 4, 2024

I mean pretty on the nose but i spent many many hours on farming simulator on gamepass, it's great

DesVoeux · May 4, 2024

Stardew Valley is the gold standard for a reason. By far the best game in the genre.

Wylde Flowers and Disney Dreamlight Valley are good.

Coral Island may be good someday, but they're selling an obviously unfinished game for full price.

Aaron D. · May 4, 2024

Intraxidance said:
Anyone know of a good farming game that also has some friction to deal with? I love the genre, but a lot of the modern farming games are brutally easy (likely due to the explosion of the "cozy game" genre, that has a lot of overlap with farming games).

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1248130/Farming_Simulator_22/

Farming Simulator is the gold standard for genre depth and diversity.

It's bursting with content and has an obsessive level of detail. Everything from name brand equipment & implements to seasonal farming where you monitor soil pH levels.

Add the insanely active modding community on top and you're looking at a Forever Game in the Sim genre.

It's an incredible achievement.

br0ken_shad0w · May 4, 2024

Intraxidance said:
Anyone know of a good farming game that also has some friction to deal with? I love the genre, but a lot of the modern farming games are brutally easy (likely due to the explosion of the "cozy game" genre, that has a lot of overlap with farming games).

Currently not on sale but Medieval Dynasty.

Beast780 · May 4, 2024

Don't know that they are on sale but the Story of Seasons games are really good IMHO.

xpownz · May 4, 2024

Whenever I want farming games, I try some automation games (satisfactory, techtonica etc). They have some Very good vibes and It kinda feels like Im farming, but without the boring social stuff, which always turn me off

YohraUtopia · May 4, 2024

If you've not played Stardew you really should start there.

That said, on that list:

Ouroboros said:
Isn't Harvestella generally favorable game? I haven't played it but see it recommended here from time to time.

Kain-Nosgoth said:
Farming element isn't that developped, and the combat gameplay is pretty meh, but i was really surprised by the direction the story took! I'm not a fan of the recent output in term of story from square-enix, but this one deserves praise! It's not groundbreaking but it's really well done!

Harvestella is a good choice and its exactly as described above. The story is surprisingly good; I'm not sure I'd use the phrase underdeveloped vs just "simple"--- the farming is really simple but in a fun light way (it doesn't have the depth of Stardew at all but it also doesn't push, if you're that kind of player, the real intense, almost work-like minmaxing that I always find myself doing in Stardew. The very cute mechanic where you grow and then cook dishes to sell as like prototypes to reseraunts in the various town is a very clever synthesis between farming rpg with the story-driven action rpg the game actually is.

The other one on that list that jumps out is Sakuna
It has some problems (the combat sections are just almost completely disconnected from the farming ones and to me not that fun) and can be confusing but man, the actual rice farming in that game is so wildly intense (I mean you get into different degrees of like soil composition or husking and what not); I don't know of anything quite like it.

SixtyTwoMike · May 4, 2024

Ok I've bought Harvestella, and am looking at the Rune Factory games now.

Fitz said:
You might like My Time at Portia. The focus is more on crafting than farming, and it can be a little janky at time, but overall quite good. There's also a sequel in early access, My Time at Sandrock.

View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/666140/My_Time_at_Portia/

Oh I have this in my library already - must have been on Humble Choice.

nicoga3000 · May 4, 2024

SixtyTwoMike said:
Ok I've bought Harvestella, and am looking at the Rune Factory games now.

Oh I have this in my library already - must have been on Humble Choice.

Rune Factory 5 is the latest, but it runs like shit. It was embarrassingly bad on Switch, and at least serviceable on PC...But still felt janky as hell last time I booted it up (at least a year ago?). Maybe it's better.

I think the general consensus is that 3 and 4 are superior in every way.

mordecaii83 · May 4, 2024

I saw recommendations for Rune Factory above, how is 5? I know 3 and 4 get recommended a lot so I'm curious if 5 is any good as well.

Edit:

nicoga3000 said:
Rune Factory 5 is the latest, but it runs like shit. It was embarrassingly bad on Switch, and at least serviceable on PC...But still felt janky as hell last time I booted it up (at least a year ago?). Maybe it's better.

I think the general consensus is that 3 and 4 are superior in every way.

Haha I see this was answered while I was still posting.

Edit 2:
Forgot to give my own thoughts, Stardew Valley is 100% a must and has so much to do beyond just farming (but the farming is excellent as well). I own but haven't played the "My Time at" games and Harvestella and they seem to be well regarded.

Gpsych · May 4, 2024

Wylde Flowers has insanely good voice acting and interesting characters but the farming elements aren't as good as say Stardew or Coral Island.

Hello Snake · May 4, 2024

I platinumed Portia on PS, it is a bit janky and grindy but I liked it a lot.

A game I really loved that had some farming, but isn't focused on that, was Summer in Mara.

Fleet of Foot · May 4, 2024

I've been meaning to buy Harvestella for like a year now but I can never decide between Switch and PC so I just keep not buying it. Plus it's $29.99 on PC all the time so I don't feel much urgency.

I am looking at Sandrock now, thanks to this thread.

TraderPoe · May 4, 2024

Harvest moons are always a fun time

viral · May 4, 2024

I just got Sun Haven, been meaning to get it for a while, but this thread reminded me. Only played around an hour so far, but it's pretty fun. Basically a high fantasy Stardew Valley, with very, very similar systems, although it seems a little more complex with its RPG elements. Also no stamina system, which is very nice.

I doubt it's gonna end up being as good as SV, but it seems like a solid choice.

.exe · May 4, 2024

Dragon Quest Builders 2 has farming, but it isn't exactly the central component. There's also some action, light base defense and building. What if Minecraft was more directed and story-driven, kind of. It's really charming.

nicoga3000 · May 4, 2024

mordecaii83 said:
I saw recommendations for Rune Factory above, how is 5? I know 3 and 4 get recommended a lot so I'm curious if 5 is any good as well.

Edit:

Haha I see this was answered while I was still posting.

Edit 2:
Forgot to give my own thoughts, Stardew Valley is 100% a must and has so much to do beyond just farming (but the farming is excellent as well). I own but haven't played the "My Time at" games and Harvestella and they seem to be well regarded.

It might be better now. When I played it on Switch, it literally felt like the game would crash every single time you went in and out of a building, the forest, etc. It never did, which was nice.

On PC, it was just surprising how it ran so poorly despite being on a high end machine. It may be better now. And if so, it's a perfectly OK game. But it feels like they took a bunch of steps back with the transition to full 3D.

viral said:
I just got Sun Haven, been meaning to get it for a while, but this thread reminded me. Only played around an hour so far, but it's pretty fun. Basically a high fantasy Stardew Valley, with very, very similar systems, although it seems a little more complex with its RPG elements. Also no stamina system, which is very nice.

I doubt it's gonna end up being as good as SV, but it seems like a solid choice.

It's not as good as Stardew if you want a more farming focused, slice of life experience. But if you want "more", I think it's maybe better.

So… farming games recommendations? (Steam sale)

Corrupted by Vengeance

One Winged Slayer

▲ Legend ▲

Prophet of Truth

▲ Legend ▲