Co-op game similar to Stardew Valley
February 22, 2019 6:30 PM   Subscribe

Hi all, I know there are some gamers in here so I was hoping y'all could help this non-gamer out with picking a new game. I actually went most of my life not enjoying playing computer games at all but fell in love with Stardew Valley. I loved that at any time, I could choose to do something zen (fishing), productive (farming), or exciting (mining). I also loved that it was co-op but we weren't forced to be together or cooperate all the time. Are there any similar games out there?
posted by massofintuition to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (15 answers total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
Don’t Starve Together. If you’re really good you get to farm and build houses etc. But at first you will mostly die to cute horrible monsters or succumb to your own insanity in a sort of light-hearted Lovecraftian permadeath romp.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:36 PM on February 22, 2019 [6 favorites]


It's more intense than Stardew Valley but I really enjoy playing Don't Starve co-op. There's a lot more things trying to kill you, but it's often possible (and a good strategy) to have one player manning the "home base" and doing things like cooking and managing crops (I usually do this) while the other(s) go off to explore and stuff. Also you can turn off some of the more annoying enemies in the server settings, which allows for a more chill experience IME.
posted by quaking fajita at 6:37 PM on February 22, 2019 [3 favorites]


Minecraft. You can play split screen on some consoles or LAN on PC. Or try a server or even Minecraft Realms (I think you have to pay for this). Farming, fishing, mining & building. You can even turn off the monsters (at least you could a year or so ago last time I played) if you just want to explore & build.
posted by wwax at 6:47 PM on February 22, 2019


The Harvest Moon games are very, very similar, but you'd probably want to play them on a DS or 3DS. I see there's one entry in the series that's available on Steam, but I can't vouch for it specifically.

I also thought the DS version of Animal Crossing had a similar vibe, leaning more towards the 'zen' end of the spectrum. But the mobile version is a mess, and is best avoided IMO.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 7:04 PM on February 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


I enjoyed Portal Knights, which is kind of like a more actiony and aesthetically slicker Minecraft. You can invite friends to play with you locally and online.
posted by Mizu at 9:20 PM on February 22, 2019 [1 favorite]


Minecraft set to Peaceful mode is pretty nice for this. No monsters, but you still have to go out and find resources and things in order to build.
posted by wanderingmind at 11:24 PM on February 22, 2019


I played a LOT of co-op Terraria when I had a long-distance relationship. You can adventure together or alone, one of you building epic mine tunnels and looting treasure chests, while the other stays home adding new rooms to the house. There's fishing, crafting, gardening, decorating, butterfly collecting,... or monster-squishing, exploring, and boss fights. You can ride a unicorn! It's a great game for just hanging out in.

There are monsters that attack you, but if you're violence-averse like me, you can turn off the "gore" setting and also play in "softcore" mode, which means that when you die, you just drop some of your money (which you can pick up later) and respawn back at home. Oh, and be careful swinging your sword around recklessly, as the adorable bunnies, squirrels, and penguins are unfortunately squishable too.
posted by bethnull at 1:11 AM on February 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


Lego City Undercover. I played the Switch version with my daughter and it was really fun. She'd play by herself when I'd pop out to tend to other adult duties.
posted by look busy at 4:56 AM on February 23, 2019


I loved the older Harvest Moon games on DS/3DS. Rune Factory won me over even more by including adorable monsters (that you can assign to do farm work for you!) and non-gory monster battles. (The monsters don’t die, but are sent back to their own plane.) In fact, when my son first introduced me to Stardew Valley, I told him it was like a low-res Harvest Moon.

However, on computer, my new love is No Man’s Sky. There’s a creative mode in which you don’t have to fight baddies to gather your resources. But there’s building, farming, exploring, flying through space. Mining asteroids. Discovering really wild new animals!

While the building options aren’t as open-ended as Minecraft, people have managed to make some cool designs with them. And there are some established online communities with solid standards if you want multiplayer. I usually play solo, because I like to zen out about it. I play on regular mode, on Steam, because I don’t mind the extra challenge of the robotic enemies.

Note that you can accidentally kill cute animals in normal mode, and may find it necessary to defend yourself against predators. Creative mode is definitely more zen.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 7:18 AM on February 23, 2019


Factorio! You can turn the enemies (biters) off if you want a more chill game. It's a very specific type of game that seems to appeal to engineers; either you'll be into that or not.
posted by Nelson at 7:28 AM on February 23, 2019


Though it's not co-op, the game Slime Rancher meets most of your other requirements, and it will be free in the Epic Games Store from March 7-21.
posted by hiteleven at 9:50 AM on February 23, 2019


Not co-op, but Subnautica is everything else you like. It's beautiful and tranquil, and the story advances at your own pace. There is mild resource gathering and crafting, and the mean fish can be avoided (and even befriended in some cases). Like Stardew Valley, you can choose to be zen, productive or adventurous depending on your mood.
posted by riotnrrd at 5:01 PM on February 23, 2019


Good news: Stardew Valley is pretty much a blatant knockoff of Harvest Moon (and I don't mean that as a criticism), and there are a lot of Harvest Moon games, all of them good in various ways. Rune Factory is another Harvest Moon spinoff, with 8 games in its own sub-series.

People who like Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley also tend to enjoy Animal Crossing, My Time at Portia, Recettear, Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, Fantasy Life, Moonlighter, and Yonder: the Cloudcatcher Chronicles.

Unfortunately, a lot of these don't have co-op as an option. But check them out anyway. There's a whole world of chill cozy gaming waiting for you.
posted by waffleriot at 6:31 PM on February 23, 2019 [1 favorite]


Farming simulator - has online co-op, it's pretty much exactly what it says it is and is quite fun.

Astroneer is a mining/base building/exploration co-op game in space. it's colorful, cute and very chill

Raft - is co-op survival. You are on a raft in the middle of the sea and have to fish for stuff to build your raft and things that help you to survive. There are islands you can find that you harvest.

I haven't played it but Farming Together looks like it could be fun.
posted by ljesse at 1:34 AM on February 24, 2019


nthing Minecraft. Especially if you loved Legos as a kid.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 10:06 AM on February 25, 2019


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