Way back in 2020, when the Pandemic struck and everyone I knew was playing Animal Crossing, I didn’t have the money for a Nintendo Switch. A friend was playing a different cozy sim, however, on their laptop — a cute little farming game called Stardew Valley. I opened Steam, bought the game, and soon I was exploring a whole new world, a pixelated little utopia where townspeople could be won over with gifts and farming always turned a profit. I fell in love with Robin, the unattainable carpenter, and I was hooked.
Three years later, I’ve played through Stardew nearly as many times as I’ve Googled “when is the Haunted Chocolatier coming out?” Stardew’s developer, Concerned Ape, is just one person, and the wait for their next release has felt as long as an unskippable cut scene. But worry not! Turns out, there’s a whole universe of cozy farm sims, management and open-world games out there. Which one should you play next? (And don’t forget to take the Which Stardew Valley Character Should You Marry quiz if you haven’t already!)
