As gamers around the world pass the time in quarantine with the newly releasedAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, the debate rages on over how the tried and true Nintendo exclusive measures up to the competition. WhileAnimal Crossing: New Horizonshas taken the world by storm, its dominance is challenged by another successful life simulator that has also recently debuted on the Switch.
This competition comes in the form of breakout indie darlingStardew Valley, a game that has garnered growing acclaim and success since its release in 2016. The similarities are apparent: bothAnimal CrossingandStardew Valleycenter around joining a small community, befriending a colorful cast of characters, and collecting fruits, fish, and fossils to earn money to improve their town. While both games have achieved their deserved success, there’s nothing wrong with seeing how that competition plays out.
RELATED:10 Ways To Earn Bells Fast In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Gameplay
As mentioned above, bothAnimal CrossingandStardew Valleyhave similar core gameplay mechanics: use tools, collect resources to craft, and garner new improvements. What givesStardewthe edge overNew Horizonsis how varied the player’s options are in pursuing these goals. WhileAnimal Crossingis limited to harvesting fish, bugs, fossils and fruits,Stardew Valleyhas all of these options and more,including an in-depth combat system, farming mechanics, the ability to get married, and the ability to raise and breed animals. In terms of the gameplay varieties it offers, it really depends on how in-depth or how simplistic someone prefers.
Difficulty
Falling asleep in the mines, accidentally giving a crush a gift they hate and losing valuable relationship progress with them, and getting walloped by a swarm of slimes are misfortunes that have befallen everyStardew Valleyplayer at least once. InAnimal Crossing, life is much more easygoing.Tom Nook is much kinder,getting attacked by bees only results in a few cosmetic welts on the player character’s face, and the biggest dangers awaiting wayward explorers are those pesky Pitfall seeds.
Graphics & Replay Value
Stardew Valley’scharming pixel-art aestheticis impossible to compare toAnimal Crossing’scute and cuddly presentation. No matter which look one prefers, no one can deny that both games look equally great.
Animal Crossinghas always been the kind of game dedicated fans can play for years. Thanks to the game’s real-time internal clock, players have incentive to come back each day to see what’s new on their island, with special gifts, collectibles, and events depending on the time of day, day of the week, and even day of the year.Stardew Valleyhas a different approach, with in-game time moving only as the player plays. Both approaches have their pros and cons, but althoughAnimal Crossingis designed to reward returning players,Stardew Valley’sconstant free updateskeep fans consistently coming back. Either way, both games offer tremendous replay value.
Story
While neitherAnimal CrossingnorStardew Valleyis well known for being particularly fleshed-out in the story department,Stardew’snarrative is more detailed thanNew Horizons. WhileNew Horizon’sstory is essentially just an open-ended premise to get the player character on the main Island,Stardew Valleyhas an assortment of vignettes and subplots as the residents of Pelican Town grow and change throughout the main character’s first three years inStardew Valley (not to mention the various romance arcs).
Characters
New Horizonsbarely gets an edge overStardew Valleyin a battle of characters thanks to its memorable cast of villagers. While the townsfolk ofStardew Valleymay be more complex and mature, the characters ofAnimal Crossingsimply have a way of staying in the player’s minds long after they’re done playing.Isabelle, Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, Kapp’n, anyone whose playedAnimal Crossingonce will instantly recognize any of those names.
Multiplayer
It’s no secret that many gamers haveAnimal Crossing’smultiplayer to thank for keeping them saneduring self-quarantine, butStardew ValleyhasNew Horizonshas a bigger variety of options. WhileAnimal Crossinglimits friends to merely being able to visit each other’s islands,Stardew Valleygives players the option of starting entire games together, sharing profits, improving their farm side-by-side, and even proposing to one another. While both multiplayer modes are a pleasant way to pass the time with pals,Stardew Valleyis the choice for players who are in it for the long haul, at least for now.
Stardew Valleyis available now for PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and mobile devices.Animal Crossing: New Horizonsis also out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
