There's been a notable rise in popularity for farming and other related life sims over the past decade, though the genre has long-established its calming play style. Most recently though, two games that have become iconic examples of this trend are Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Stardew Valley was initially released in 2016 for PC and then later to console. In that time, the game has enjoyed enduring popularity thanks to its unique world, colorful characters, and multiple major updates to the game. Impressively, the game was developed by a single person, ConcernedApe, and was inspired by games like Harvest Moon and the Animal Crossing series. While Stardew is a relatively new IP, the Animal Crossing series has been hugely popular since it began in 2001. The most recent entry in the series, New Horizons, is of particular note though since it came out in the early days of the pandemic, and so the type of social, escapist gameplay it offered was very much in demand.

Since Animal Crossing: New Horizons is only available on the Switch, this will limit some gamers' access to it; Stardew, on the other hand, is available on multiple platforms. Beyond that though, the two games do offer different experiences of playing. The nuances between the two game's play styles will mean that one might suit some gamers more than the other, however, for a lot of players, the simple solution is to just play both games. Both games only require as much participation as the players want, and have different approaches to foster long-term and sustained gameplay. Generally, most fans of each series will admit to 100's of hours of playing these relatively simple and scaled-back games, and so even if both games seem appealing, it might be a good idea to choose one to start off with. With that in mind, here's the complete breakdown of all nuances between the two games.

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Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley Fan Performs Turkish March Using Flute Blocks

Stardew Valley is set in an idyllic small town, Pelican Town. At the beginning of the game, the playable character is working in a dead-end corporate job in the city when they inherit a plot of land from their grandfather. Abandoning the stresses of modern city life, the playable character heads to Pelican Town to turn the overgrown plot of land into a flourishing farm. This involves planting and harvesting crops, building barns and coups, raising farm animals, and more. Players can customize their 16-bit character, and later in the game can create new wearable items in different colors. Originally the game was single-player, but later multiplayer was added and players can now visit each other's farms, or create a farm together.

There are some restrictions to the multiplayer function in Stardew Valley, and the game has a heavier focus on befriending the NPCs around Pelican Town rather than interacting with other players. These characters have a lot to offer, and the player can uncover some of the secrets of Pelican Town. In addition to this, players can romance and marry the inhabitants of Pelican Town, or other players. One of the key elements of play that differentiate Stardew from Animal Crossing: New Horizons is that Stardew includes combat and mining, adding a different dimension to the farming/life sim. Stardew does have a completion meter, which was added in an update and so there is a sort of end goal. However, the game is structured so that players can maintain their farms, fish, and fight monsters indefinitely. The game progresses a day at a time, with the player waking up at 7 AM and passing out if they're not in bed by 2 AM. Sleeping saves progress, so players can control the rate at which time passes in the game somewhat by choosing when to go to sleep (as long as it's before 2 AM).

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons

animal crossing new horizons house

As mentioned, the timing of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' release worked very much in the game's favor, although it wasn't planned. As lockdowns and quarantines were enacted across the world, New Horizons gave players all the tools they needed to meet up in a virtual, and calming, space. Unlike Stardew Valley, New Horizons was designed with social features front and center, and there are a lot more design features in New Horizons. The playable character in New Horizons arrives on an island along with two random NPCs from the game's extensive roster, having purchased a getaway package. From here players must complete some tasks for Tom Nook, and then they'll get free rein of the island to design how they like. There is a huge amount of anthropomorphic characters that players can invite to live on their island, many of whom have appeared in numerous Animal Crossing games. In a practical sense, New Horizons offers a lot more space to design and customize, and there are a lot more items to find. Like in Stardew though, the player will forage for resources and use them to craft a variety of items.

On a whole, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has less structured gameplay than Stardew Valley. The player will work to achieve a three-star rating on their island, in order to attract K.K. Slider to the island. After that though, the game leaves objectives entirely in the player's hands. This freedom has resulted in a huge amount of creativity from fans, creating intricate and impressive islands. There are players who will prefer the structure of Stardew in this respect, but New Horizons compensates for a lack of traditional structure with fun social features, such as visiting friends' islands, sending friends mail, and the ability to share custom designs. This makes the experience of New Horizons largely a collaborative one, and this is central to the game's appeal.

Like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players can collect various items throughout the game, such as fish. However, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a real-time game, which means time progresses in the game as it does in real life. Both games have certain items that are only collectible during specific seasons, but in New Horizons this means actually waiting until a new season. This makes progress a lot slower in New Horizons, but this is intentional in order to emphasize the slow and relaxing elements of the game.

Ultimately, Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons offer similar enough experiences that fans of one will likely enjoy the other. Both games have strong fan communities that can be supportive and creative. The worlds of each game are easy to get lost in, and so anyone willing to devote time a lot of time to explore a game will have plenty to keep them busy. The wholesome nature of each game's simplicity has proven to be a refreshing experience for many players, while others thrive on the creative possibilities. With all the above in mind though, there are enough differences between Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons that many players will have a preference for one or the other.

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