Best Farming Games Like Harvest Moon (Updated September 2020)
Here are all the Harvest Moon type games that you can play in 2020. You can take a quick look at the list below and jump to the corresponding game by clicking on the link. Most of the games are available on Steam, but we have managed to include some Android and Nintendo games as well.
List of Harvest Moon Alternatives
1. Stardew Valley
If there’s any game that comes close to Harvest Moon in terms of gameplay and graphics then it’s definitely Stardew Valley. This popular indie hit actually takes the Harvest Moon formula to a whole new level and expands on it. The most amazing part is that it’s developed by one indie developer.
The game offers an even larger world than Harvest Moon where you get to enjoy your farm life, grow crops, raise poultry, and all those farm gimmicks that you love performing. Stardew Valley is definitely considered the new Harvest Moon, or at the very least the closest thing to Harvest Moon you can get right now. So, definitely give this one a try. It is one of the best farming simulation games that you can play. Download ($14.99)
2. Voodoo Garden
This is not your average gardening or farming game where you grow fruits and veggies, instead in Voodoo Garden, you get to grow all the herbs, fruits, veggies, and shrubs that can be further used in your production of occult accessories. You also get to catch wild swamp animals that come in handy when making products for your voodoo magic.
You also have the option to raise cute pets that will keep you company which can then be sacrificed to gain magical advantage, sounds fun right? This is where your average farming game meets magical enchanting. Try it out to learn some amazing voodoo magic. Download ($2.99)
3. Forager
Forager is one of the few recent games that is based on Harvest Moon’s theme: exploration and farming. There is an RPG element and the ability to build your own world is pretty great and makes you fail in love with this genre again after your first brush with Harvest Moon. Similar to Harvest Moon, you have to build and grow a base out of nothing. You will have to gather resources, carefully manage time on farming and other activities, craft useful items than can help you while animal hunting, and more. The more you expand your land, the more you learn new skills and abilities. On your way, you can also fulfill sidequests by solving puzzles, finding secrets and discovering hidden dungeons. Simply put, Forager is among the best games like Harvest Moon on Steam and it’s developed like 8-bit games of the past which makes it even more exciting. Download ($19.99)
4. Fantasy Farming: Orange Season
Fantasy Farming is another game that has recently been launched and in fact, it’s still in development. It’s a game similar to Harvest Moon which focuses on exploration and crafting. What I like about this game is that it brings social elements which were so popular of Harvest Moon.
You can go to Town Festivals, ask a villager to hang out with you and participate in different activities. The sounds just like Harvest Moon, isn’t it? Apart from that, you have the usual chore: plant crops and grow your farm, raise animals, interact with villagers, and improve friendship, complete quests and much more. All in all, I would say, Fantasy Farming: Orange Season is a solid Harvest Moon alternative and you should definitely give it a try. Download ($10.49)
5. Kynseed
If you are looking for a game like Harvest Moon on Steam then Kynseed deserves both your time and attention. The game theme is very much like Harvest Moon with elements of RPG, exploration and crafting.
However, it goes one step further and brings adventure too. You can go to dangerous places and fight against dark tale creatures which makes the gameplay even more exciting. Coming to the main gameplay, here you have to build your family legacy by farming your land, running a business, developing a relationship with fellow villagers and more. There are also some parts where you can gather materials to produce beer and not just weapons. To sum up, Kynseed seems like a promising Harvest Moon alternative and you must give it a shot. Download ($9.99)
You can also do the harvesting and plucking yourself or you could just let your helpers do these manual things while you invest in better crops and build a better farm. Even when you quit the game, the helpers will continue to work and you will get gold when you return to the game. Try this game if you really love cute graphics. Download ($2.99)
7. Wayward
Wayward is a lot of games mixed together. It’s like a perfect blend of Minecraft, Ultima Online, Don’t Starve, and a little bit of Harvest Moon. It’s a turn-based rogue-like survival game where you get to craft items and gather resources while focusing on the survival of your character.
There are no set rules, you don’t get to choose any class, you don’t get to clear levels. Everything depends on how you play the game. Your stat gain is directly tied to the item you come in contact with. There are over 300 different items for you to craft and interact with which adds a lot of gameplay time. If you like survival mixed with crafting then Wayward is the way to go (pun intended). Download ($7.19)
8. Terraria
Not entirely a farming simulator, but Terraria lets you build, explore, fight and dig your way through the amazing environment with beautiful retro graphics. This action-packed adventure actually lets you enjoy the resource gathering and crafting features of Minecraft mixed with some role-playing action.
Terraria is all about exploring dangerous caverns laden with treasure and resources that come in handy when crafting new items for your inventory. The main focus of the game is on crafting and building while the action-adventure part comes in secondary. Terraria is a really immersive game that will suck you in with its exciting exploration-based gameplay. Download ($9.99)
9. My Time at Portia
Much like Harvest Moon, My Time at Portia offers players a delightful and immersive world called Portia in which they are tasked with restoring their Pa’s neglected workshop. In order to do so, players will have to fulfill commissions, grow crops, and raise animals.
The game might seem like a bit of a grind at first, but I can assure you that once you get into it, you won’t feel like letting go. The land of Portia also has a rich community and you can befriend all of its residents, which really adds to the social factor in the game and also helps you complete tasks quicker to restore your workshop. Depending on your play style, you’ll also get the option to level up your character and skill them in crafting, combat or social skills. Download ($29.99)
10. Moonlighter
Moonlighter is another great Harvest Moon alternative that cleverly inculcates features from the roguelite genre of games into a farming simulator. In the game you play as Will, and adventurous shopkeeper who has to tend to his shopkeeping duties during the day and give in to his fantasies of becoming a hero by night.
As a result, you have to juggle both the objective quite efficiently and play the game in a way that all your actions are mutually beneficial for both of your objectives. So, in effect, you’ll be able to sell goods that you collect in the dungeon at the shop and then use the gold you earn to get better weapons that will help you clear dungeons more efficiently. Download ($19.99)
11. Animal Crossing: New Horizon
“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is the sort of game that you will never get tired of playing. The game is all about collecting bugs, decorating your paradise, and exploring the amazing island. One of the most fascinating things about this game is the freedom to live your life on your own terms.
The game offers very cute graphics and lets you manage your entire town as you see fit. Invite your friends over to your town in the multiplayer mode and have fun showing off your cool town. You have the power to set rules and regulations in your town. You can add new landmarks, bridges, public centers, and other buildings that improve your island. Animal Crossing New Horizons is a fun and entertaining game. And I am not along to believe that. The game has become so popular that Nintendo had a blockbuster quarter just on the back on this game alone. It’s worth playing, so check it out. Download ($59.99)
12. Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles
Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles is a game that’s the perfect combination of Breath of the Wild and Harvest Moon, meaning that the game offers players the perfect blend of a relaxing open-world adventure and a farming simulator.
The game features a vibrant open world with a ton of things you can discover, it also has an RPG-like character customization option, supports crafting and building, and, quite obviously, farming. You’re given the option to either follow the questline and go wherever it takes you or you can spend your time doing whatever you want in the open world without the game pressuring you into completing missions. The best part about the open world in Yonder: The Cloudcatcher Chronicles, however, is that it’s dynamic and keeps changing in accordance with the seasons. This definitely makes the game a whole lot more immersive and fun to play. Download ($24.99)
13. Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns
Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns is essentially a successor to the Harvest Moon series and is like a refined version of the older games. Therefore, the game is definitely worth checking out if you’re on the lookout for a great Harvest Moon alternative. In the game, you start off as a young and inexperienced farmer who has to successfully cultivate their plot of land.
The game plays at a faster pace, compared to a number of other farming simulators out there, which makes it a good alternative for anyone who likes farming games but doesn’t like waiting too long for their crops to grow. Download ($29.99)
14. Staxel
If you enjoy games like Minecraft and Harvest Moon, then I can assure you that you’ll have fun playing Staxel – a blocky RPG with a world like Minecraft and farming/social aspects like the Harvest Moon series.
The gameplay is much faster when compared to other games in the genre, so if you’re someone who doesn’t like waiting for things to happen in-game, you’ll definitely like Staxel. Being an RPG, the game also offers much more content than some of the other games on this list, which is another reason you might like it much more than the others. Download ($19.99)
15. Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
While the Harvest Moon series, along with a number of other farming simulators, is a fun and uplifting game, Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor is the exact opposite. The game can be classified as an anti-adventure title and requires players to pick up trash in an alien bazaar.
You play as a Janitor who has a municipally subsidized job of incinerating trash, but a dream of leaving the plant of Xabran’s Rock behind. Instead of farming, you have other daily tasks to attend to and if you do them right, they might also help you make your dream come true. Download ($9.99)
16. Hay Day
Hay Day is a mobile farming game that shares a lot of similarities to the popular FarmVille game. The game starts with your (player’s) old uncle being unable to take care of his farm and gives it to you so you can take better care of it and help make it the best farm in the world.
After a short and sweet tutorial, you get to farming. Harvesting wheat, build your dock for fishing, trade goods with your neighbors, and sell your good at your very own roadside shop. You can even build your very own town and invite others to visit you. Hay Day is all about managing your inventory. It’s a farming game at heart, but the main focus is selling your stuff via trucks, boats, and shops which adds a whole new dimension of gameplay. If you are looking for a quick farming fix then Hay Day is the perfect game for you. Download (Free)
17. World’s Dawn
If you have always wanted to live in a seaside village where you grow your own food and live a peaceful life surrounded by natural beauty then World’s Dawn is the game you want because it offers all that in a single game. You can choose to do your own work as you please.
You can either become a full-time farmer and tend to your crops and food, or you can just raise animals. Apart from that, you could also go hunting for some romantic relationships. There are a lot of townsfolk around you that make the social interactions even more exciting. World’s Dawn is the perfect alternative to Harvest Moon that adds some extra features to make it even more immersive. Download ($9.99)
18. Don’t Starve Together
Don’t Starve Together, the sequel to the popular survival game Don’t Starve, is another great Harvest Moon alternative that features aspects from both farming simulators and survival games. The game doesn’t have the same fun vibes as the Harvest Moon games and inclines more towards being dull and drab.
Much like its predecessor, the game is an adventure survival title in which you have to do whatever it takes to survive as long as possible. You can explore the environment, gather resources, craft items and develop structures to survive in the wretched lands of Don’t Starve Together. Download ($14.99)
Q. Is Animal Crossing Similar to Harvest Moon?
In some ways, Animal Crossing is similar to Harvest Moon. For example, you can build your own village and manage the place from beautification to infrastructure. If you love building things from the scratch the Animal Crossing will have you tied to the screen.
Q. What Type of Game is Harvest Moon?
Harvest Moon is a farm simulation role-playing game. You are assigned a role and then you can create and build things for your survival. There is also a social element to this game.
Q. Is There a New Harvest Moon Coming Out?
As we all know, the Harvest Moon series was renamed to Story of Seasons in 2014 and now new games are published under the new title. In June 2020, the game publisher launched Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.
Q. Does Harvest Moon Game End?
Yes, Harvest Moon comes to an end. It takes players about an year to finish the game.
Q. Why Did Harvest Moon Change its Name?
The game publishers, Marvelous and Natsume had dispute over the distribution of the game in the western market which led to both parting ways, and thus changing the name from Harvest Moon to Story of Seasons in certain western markets.
Harvest Moon Type Games Sorted For You
Well, those were some of the best games to get your farming fix. If you have been looking for new games or even old ones that are similar to Harvest Moon then these games should definitely fit the bill. If you think we have missed any of your favorite farming games then feel free to mention them in the comments section below.
