Farming Simulators
Recently, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time playing farming simulator games. Before playing Stardew Valley, I had never actually played a farming simulator before, so I thought in this post I could introduce the two main farming simulators I am currently playing, which are Stardew Valley and Coral Island.
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is an open RPG (role-playing game) developed by Eric Barone, aka ConcernedApe, and was released in 2016. In this game, the player inherits a farm from their grandfather; the player can either live off the land while helping to restore the town to greatness. It also receives continuous updates to the game; just recently, the game was updated to version 1.6; this update implemented many fixes, visual improvements, and new features and content. This game is extremely popular; according to the website, as of February 2024, over 30 million copies were sold across all platforms.
One thing I like about Stardew Valley is that you, the player, are not rushed and can explore the world on your own time. Farming is very simple, and it is easy to make money to expand your house and farm. You also get an animal companion who watches over your farm; depending on the animal you choose at startup, it can be a dog, cat, etc. You, the player, can build relationships with the NPC’s (non-playable character) in the town and eventually romance and marry them. Overall, I think I like the variety the game provides from the crops, fish, and relationships you can build.
Coral Island
Coral Island is, as defined by the developers at Stairway Games, a “reimagined farm sim game inspired by the classics.” In the game, the player moves to Coral Island and can cultivate their farm by farming, fishing, foraging, and exploring caves both on land and under the sea. Development started in 2019, and the developers published a Kickstarter campaign from February to March 2021; the campaign was fully funded in 36 hours, reaching the goal of $70,000! By the end of the campaign, the Kickstarter had $1,639,368 funded by 36,374 backers who supported the game. While the game is currently in early access, the developers have released a roadmap for future updates.
One of my favorite things about Coral Island is the ability to venture into the sea. While there, your main goal is to clean up the ocean; working on that goal can introduce you to the merfolk who live there. I feel like the game is so expansive that I’ve barely scratched the surface of the content available. Both games share common factors, like farming, fishing, and the ability to build relationships with the NPC’s (non-playable character) in the town. I think the ability to explore the ocean sets this game apart from Stardew Valley; I also believe it is possible for you, the player, to become a merfolk!
Final Thoughts
I hope through this post you were able to learn more about farming simulations and possibly be convinced to explore these games on your own. Please let me know if you have also played these games and your thoughts on them. If you have not played these games, did this post convince you to give them a try?
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