5 Reasons Why Animal Crossing Is The Better Use of Your Time Than Stardew Valley (& 5 Why It’s Not)
Gaming doesn't always have to be super intensive, and great relaxing titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Stardew Valley really prove this point. Both of these games are incredibly popular, just as much as they're addictive, and in both games the player gets to see their land evolve into something unique.
Players who are really weighing their options between these games might not know which one devote themselves to. While it's totally possibly to juggle both games at the same time, there are a few pros and cons to consider on both sides.
10 Animal Crossing: Terraforming
No matter what map players choose at the beginning of the game, eventually they'll be able to unlock a terraforming app on their phone. This allows them to shape the island they live on just the way they want, by creating cliffs, rivers, paths and even waterfalls.
This definitely isn't the case in Stardew Valley. The map the player chooses is the map they'll be stuck with, and they'll have to make it work with the land they have.
9 Stardew Valley: Better Quests
Every day in Stardew Valley, one special quest appears on the notice board of Pelican Town. On top of that, the game also offers long-term goals which can take a while to accomplish, so there's pretty much always something to do and strive for.
The issue with Animal Crossing, however, is that daily quests, which would be the Nook Miles+ tasks, are very simple and repetitive and don't necessarily bring anything significant to the game. After reaching 5 stars, it's a bit of a wait for new content.
8 Animal Crossing: Paced With Real World
Players who remember Tamagotchis and miss that sort of dynamic play style will definitely appreciate the real-time evolution of the Animal Crossing island. The island changes a little bit every day in real time, which makes it easy to include the game into one's own routine. It's kind of like tending a plant.
Stardew Valley, however, is a real time drain. Since days last for about 15 minutes if the player never pauses, it can get addictive quickly to play "just one more day" before getting back to productive things.
7 Stardew Valley: Actual Farms
The cool thing about Stardew Valley and perhaps its main strength comes from all the possible things the player can do on their farms. Whatever they want to grow, they absolutely can. They can also set up various animal farms, tree farms and then turn their products into artisanal goods.
In Animal Crossing, there aren't exactly farms. Flowers and bushes can be planted, but most of the money is made from catching things or making DIY objects.
6 Animal Crossing: More Villagers
Here's the crazy thing about Animal Crossing: it has over 300 unique villager characters. This is an huge amount of creatures, all individually designed with their personalities and interests. It just goes to show much there is to explore.
Stardew Valley only has the same villagers over and over again. There's no way to meet different villagers or send people away if the player doesn't like them. After hours of playtime, it can get pretty boring.
5 Stardew Valley: Deeper Relationships
Although Stardew Valley definitely has fewer villagers, the connection that can be created with them is so much deeper and interesting. Villagers can become best friends and even spouses in the long-term, and can be moved in. Eventually, the player will start a family with them, too.
This type of depth just doesn't exist in Animal Crossing. For one thing, romantic love is pretty much nonexistent, which makes sense since the villagers are animals. Also, even friendships tend to feel a bit superficial without any depth to the characters.
4 Animal Crossing: Daily Novelties
Since Animal Crossing is based on real time, the island has something unique and cool going on every single day. Certain NPCs will visit the town once a week or once a month to sell some special wares, which gives players an incentive to get online every day for a few minutes.
In Stardew Valley, there are definitely routines and schedules in place as well, but they're not as complex and drastic as in Animal Crossing. There might be new harvestable plants in the wild or new objects in the mines, but it doesn't feel quite as rewarding.
3 Stardew Valley: Faster Gameplay
If casual gaming doesn't sound like a plan, Stardew Valley is definitely the better game to go for. This is because it can be played nonstop while still progressing the so-called storyline. Days can be skipped easily by simply going back to bed and sleeping the time away.
In Animal Crossing, however, there's a reason why many people cheat through time travel. The game's slower pace can make some people impatient for new things or for exciting events to take place.
2 Animal Crossing: More Updates
Purely in terms of new content, Animal Crossing is the winner. Many of its events are seasonal and through frequent patching and free new content, the game keeps evolving quickly and making things so much more interesting for players to get back into.
Stardew Valley is an indie game, however. With the development team of one person, there's bound to be some slowness in how things are made. It's definitely not for those who hunger for new experiences.
1 Stardew Valley: Combat And RPG Features
The main feature that sets Stardew Valley completely apart from Animal Crossing is of course its RPG elements and combat system. The mines are an excellent place for some fun grinding and a nice throwback to old adventure RPG games with a retro look.
Animal Crossing obviously doesn't have combat. The most amount of excitement a player can experience will probably come from catching a tarantula or a scorpion.
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