Get ready to farm like you’ve never farmed before as we check out this list of the best games like Harvest Moon to play today!
Farming sims are some of the most relaxing games out there. They are calming, creative, and reward you for a job well done.
Unless you’re already a farmer, then I probably can’t imagine anything worse
Still, if you’ve always wanted to see what it’s like tend to livestock, drive tractors, trade supplies, and in some cases fighting monsters (nothing I’ve seen a real-life farm, I must admit), then you’ve come to the right place.
Get your fill of exploration, building, crafting, mining, farming, and more below, and prepare so find the greatest tribute to Harvest Moon going in the Number 1 spot!
Table of Contents
15. Forager (2019)
Forager kickstarts our list of the best games like Harvest Moon to play today!
If you want an open world 2D game where farming is key and exploration is the name of the game (well, Forager is the name of the game, but you get the idea), then step right up.
Crafting, using your noggin, buying new areas to farm and traverse through searching for items; it’s like if you has a Zelda and Sim City farming spin off title!
This isn’t just a straight up farming sim though; oh no. Players have problems to solve as they move through the game, searching for blueprints and jumping into dungeons to discover new and exciting secrets.
Am I selling it to you yet?
You can work as hard as you want in this game, doing the bare minimum or going the extra mile and both making and achieving your own personal goals.
Adventure farming is tough, but you’re more than up to the task!
14. Graveyard Keeper (2018)
Graveyard Keeper might seem like a bit of a dark topic, but don’t worry – this game is actually so relaxing to play that you’ll find that hours have passed by while you’re playing!
If you’re looking for a game that accurately depicts what it was like to be a graveyard keeper back in Medieval Times, then this isn’t it. It is, however, incredibly addictive and fun, with a cracking storyline business story that Tom Nook would be proud of!
Now, you guys all know how much how l love ethical choices in my games, and Graveyard Keeper makes players think about lots of the things that we have to think about on a regular basis.
I’m talking spending money when you could save and eat fresh at home, thinking about your daily actions and considering whether to sell the innards of the townsfolk to the local meat seller and passing it off as mincemeat.
Ok, that last one isn’t something I’ve had to think about, I’ll be honest.
13. Wayward (2013)
Wayward takes the 13th spot on this list of the best games like Harvest Moon to play today.
If you’re into your Roguelike games, titles like Pokemon Emerald Rogue from our best Pokemon GBA ROM hacks that have randomly produced levels and a difficulty level that would make you want to pull out your teeth, then Wayward will hit home with some serious force.
This is a survival crafting game that, if played to 101% completion, will give you hundreds and hundreds of hours of gameplay. You get out what you put into Wayward, and trust me when I say that there’s a lot to get out of it.
Harvest crops and train animals, all with a permanent death mode that makes things super tough for you all the way through. That last bit is optional though, so don’t be getting too stressed out if you don’t want the world to go to heck every when you die.
There’s a day and night system, and the weather has a direct effect on your crop harvesting and animals too.
There’s lots to think about here, with 30 skills to master and a whopping 750+ items to make along the way!
12. FarmVille 2: Country Escape (2014)
Probably one of the most downloaded apps of all time is up next! The Farmville mobile series has kept thumbs busy for decades now, and FarmVille 2: Country Escape is one of our personal favourite farming sims.
If you live in the city but want to experience a little of life in the country, then get this on your phone immediately. You’ll be farming, harvesting crops, getting produce from your livestock, fixing things, cooking – the list is endless.
And as someone who grew up in the countryside, it’s not far off being true!
If you’re one of the players that likes to spend most of their time in the Room of Requirement on Hogwarts: Legacy, then this game will be right up your street.
Get coins through selling your wares, craft ovens and stoves to make food and other items. Pick up rare items and make items that will help you further in your quests too!
This game is one of the best ways to just switch off on a busy commute or to pass a couple of hours while in a work meeting… but don’t tell your boss I said that!
11. Farming Simulator 22 (2021)
Farming Simulator 22 takes the 11th spot in this list of the best games like Harvest Moon to play!
Ok, so this doesn’t have the same ‘cutesy’ story elements that Harvest Moon does, but you can’t argue that it’s jam-packed full of farming goodness.
It’s in the name, after all!
Take out the graphical style of Harvest Moon (borrowed from Animal Crossing), and you’re left with those same core farming ideals that the game is built on. Players must work on cultivating the land, looking after livestock, tending to your farm, and working through a whole year’s cycle of seasons!
And, you get to mess around with some epic farming equipment too! I mean, who doesn’t want to have a bash on a Massey Ferguson or some John Deer tractors.
My friend Danny has spent hours on this game working co-operatively with his friends, putting in far more hours than I have this far. Him and his mates clock in after a shift at work and pull in another shift until the early hours of the morning tending to their empires.
Some would say that they have too much time on their hands, but I salute their efforts to agriculture.
10. Plantera (2016)
While Farming Simulator 22 is undoubtedly more ‘farming based’ than Plantera, this family-friendly gardening game definitely has much more of a Harvest Moon feel about it.
Click on crops to your heart’s content, harvesting them and reaping the rewards of your efforts.
And the great thing is that the gameplay doesn’t stop when you turn the game off. Oh no, your little workers are hard at it even when you close your computer. Talk about a strong workforce!
Progression is simple – keep harvesting crops and stop animals from eating them. You’ll need to keep a vigilant watch over your garden when you are playing to stop them from nibbling leaves and tearing up roots, so keep your eye on the ball!
Players can upgrade crops as they move through the game, getting more money for the the items they sell. It’s fun, easy to grasp, and has a Scribblenauts meets Yoshi’s Story look to it.
What’s not to love!
9. Fantasy Farming: Orange Season (2017)
Fantasy Farming: Orange Season takes the 9th spot in our list of the best games like Harvest Moon to play today!
Like the game in our top spot, exploration is one of the most important parts of Orange Season. Delve into caves, traverse forests, climb mountains, and even team up with villagers to uncover hidden secrets.
You’ll need to coax animals into your farm through means of taming them too, as well as working on raising your crops to the point of being able to harvest them for festivals.
Speak to everyone too – I can’t stress that enough. It’s the only way to complete side-quests too, so be nice, alright?
Customise your farm and even the game too, jumping into the open code to really create a unique experience!
8. Harvestella (2022)
Square Enix title Harvestella is an absolute masterpiece. It’s a game that revolves around self-sufficiency, with Final Fantasy-style characters planting, harvesting, dealing with threats and dodging ‘the season of death’.
Use all your skills to get to four magical crystals that control the seasons, working through snow and sun!
So, a little more story based than Farming Simulator 22 then eh!
Everything you grow can either be sold or used to be crafted. In many ways, it’s like the mechanics we know and love from Breath of the Wild, which came out 5 years before this game.
Funny that, right?
Sometimes you’ll work with other characters, and other times you’ll be at cross-purposes with them and have to come to some sort of conclusion.
Oh, and it wouldn’t be a Square Enix title without having some battles too. Go from Farmer to Shadow Walker in the blink of an eye, wielding twin blades and dealing maximum damage.
That’ll teach anyone to mess with your farm!
7. Disney Dreamlight Valley (2022)
Disney Dreamlight Valley takes the 7th spot in our list of games like Harvest Moon!
While this game isn’t 100% about farming or gardening, many of the elements of the main game involve players heading out into the world to bring life back to each of the magical realms that you come across.
There’s a cultivation element to the gameplay, with players harvesting their own food while they move through the levels and using items to craft into useful tools.
So, Disney meets Minecraft and Zelda, then?
Like many of the games in this list, however, there’s a puzzle element for players to tap into. It’s jam packed full of all your favourite Disney characters too from Ariel to Woody, Anna to Sully, and many more!
Clear the land of Giant Thorns so it can thrive again. Scrooge McDuck might not look like the best guy to help out at first, but we’ve seen what he can do while playing DuckTales, for crying out loud, so I’m sure he’ll be able to do his part from the comfort of his store!
This will undoubtedly appeal more to the Mickey fans amongst you, but whether you like Disney or not (it’s not just for kids!), it’s a fantastic adventure/life-sim crossover that gives gamers hours upon hours of fun.
Think about how much time you pass while playing Animal Crossing and double it…
6. Farm Together (2018)
Farm Together bills itself as ‘the ultimate farming experience’, so there’s no wonder it made our list of the best games like Harvest Moon to play today!
We love the fact that Farm Together kind of has a a Sim City feel about it in the sense that you start off with nothing and build, grow, and craft until you have the biggest farm the world has ever seen!
There’s a lot to think about too while playing. You can’t just ride a tractor endlessly around the land, there’s terrain and gas consumption to think about. And things happen while you’re away too, so there’s always a job to sort out when you get back to the fields!
Do you want to go it alone or team up with friends to take on the tasks of the farm? I’d make sure that your friends know what they’re doing when it comes to customising your farm buildings if you do, otherwise your carefully created world will lie in ruin in a matter of seconds!
Any game where you can customise a tractor has to get a high score, right? Add into the fact that you can take a pet around with you (also customisable), and the game just gets better and better!
Like many of the games in this list, the more you effort you put in, the more rewarding the experience will be. This is definitely a game you’ll have no problem getting lost in!
5. Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town (2019)
Story of Seasons Friends of Mineral Town takes the 5th spot in our list of the best games like Harvest Moon! In fact, it’s so similar that it’s safe to say it’s taken a lot of its inspiration from the Harvest Moon canon.
Your Grandfather has left you a farm, and you’ve got to look after it as you learn how to keep a farm running through all seasons.
If I got left a farm, I’d be permanently walking around with my face stuck in YouTube just panicking about my cows dying of frostbite.
The more crops you go and animals you rear, the better your food, sales, and general life on the farm will be, so take your time when it comes to growing and cultivating the land around your farm.
Like Harvest Moon, the game is just as much about getting to know the locals as it is working on the farm. Trade with townsfolk and maybe even find a partner to take to the alter if things go well.
Hey, it’s another pair of hands for the farm, right?
I also don’t know many farms that have access to a ‘local hot spring’. Maybe a pond or a muddy pool, but perhaps that’s just Yorkshire, UK that is missing this extra farming treat.
4. My Time At Portia (2018)
Instead of looking after a farm, My Time At Portia sees players working to get an old workshop left to you by your dad back up and running.
You’ll still be working to grow crops and see to farm animals, but the main difference is that the game is set in a post apocalyptic world where players must search high and low for materials to use to rebuild and keep things ticking over.
Oh, and you’re aiming to have the bet workshop in Portia… not that there’s any pressure or anything!
Many of the same themes and gameplay elements from the previous games make a return here. You’ll also go to school, exercise, and then spend your free time getting that workshop up and running!
And as always, the community plays a big part of your time in game.
Taking a leaf out of the game in the top spot, you’ll have to delve into dungeons and fight some nasty little critters from time to time while mining and searching for materials to create your ultimate workshop.
Seriously, this is a lot for a kid to be getting themselves into, right?
3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is up next, a game that many of us should well be acquainted with now. I think it was probably the most common game during the Covid-19 lockdowns and allowed us to feel like we were living outside of our houses and in a vast world with endless opportunities.
My housemate avoids going on now because she knows how much weeding there’s going to be to do on her island!
Tom Nook gets a bit of a bas rap as a capitalist money-grabbing swine, but the guy’s just got a job to do, alright?
When I say that you can literally create your dream paradise world in this game, I’m really not joking. It’s hard work tending and building and keeping all of your fellow villagers happy, but all the time spent building and finding resources is incredibly worth it.
As you might guess from a game where cultivating the land, growing foo, and crafting items are key, the seasons play a huge part.
You’ll also have to play at specific times of day to get certain items too, so bear that in mind if you’re only a ‘one-hour after dinner’ kind of gamer.
Thanks to the portable nature of the Nintendo Switch and the fact that the world is now back to normal, players can sit underneath their favourite tree through Summer and sit and build their dream island to their hearts content.
2. Staxel (2018)
Staxel takes the 2nd spot in our list of the best games like Harvest Moon to play. This game feels a lot like Minecraft meets Harvest Moon.
Hunt (for insects), grow, fish, and build an amazing world right from your sofa. I’ve put this game second after Animal Crossing as the premise is very much the same as Harvest Moon; building a farm, growing crops, interacting with villagers… you know the drill by now.
Staxel is clearly graphically influenced by Minecraft in more ways than one. It looks like it could be a carbon copy at first glance, and the opportunities for building and modding are just as vast.
You can even choose to leave the village you start in and start building somewhere else or take the village in a futuristic direction. You really are the master when it comes to Staxel.
Plus, it it me or does that still above give you Link and Cucco vibes… check out those ears too!
1. Stardew Valley (2016)
The results are in, and Stardew Valley takes the first spot in this list of the best games like Harvest Moon!
Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon aren’t related, but they could be like those ‘family friends’ that people call aunties and uncles.
It’s made appearances on pretty much every console in recent years and even saw its way onto smartphones, so it’s pretty well known and loved by farming sim fans the world over.
The premise is simple – get your farm back up and running. Hmmm, that’s been a recurring theme so far hasn’t it!
Like I’ve been alluding all the way through this game, however, Stardew Vally is one of the best games for getting out of ‘farming mode’ and into dungeons to slay monsters.
Think Geralt of Rivia doing some farming in-between slaying, and you’ll get the general gist.
With tonnes of side quests, buildings to create, NPCs to list with, and a whole lot of farming to sink your teeth into, Stardew Valley is the perfect game to while away those lazy Sunday afternoons with!
