Stardew Valley Meets Studio Ghibli In New RPG You Can Play Free Now

There are so many amazing games like Stardew Valley now that it is becoming a tad difficult to keep track. Indeed, attempting to play all the Stardew Valley-likes being released today would be nearly impossible. The vast majority of these games offer near-identical gameplay with little innovation. Of course, that’s fine for those who merely want to replay Stardew Valley in a whole new context, but for those who want something a little different or perhaps even unique, it simply isn’t enough. Indeed, Stardew Valley-likes have to do a lot more nowadays in order to retain fans’ interest.

Fortunately, among all of the many games like Stardew Valley releasing today, there are a handful that manage to offer something at least a little different. Case in point is a brand-new Studio Ghibli-esque RPG with an abundance of Stardew Valley-esque features that is sure to appeal to cozy farming sim fans. The best part is that this new farming sim RPG is available to everyone for free right now, meaning you won’t have to wait in order to try it out and see whether it meets your standards.

While the impressive new Stardew Valley updates do help keep the game feeling fresh all these years later, sometimes they’re not quite enough for the diehard fans who’ve done and seen everything the game has to offer at least thrice over. Fortunately, that’s when games like Windwoven come in, brand-new farming sim experiences that do their best to replicate what made Stardew such an important and influential experience in the first place while innovating by offering new features or an exciting aesthetic.

With Windwoven, it is a little of both, as its Studio Ghibli-esque aesthetic and fantastical world both usher in a gorgeous new pixel art style while also catering to intriguing new mechanics that promise to enhance the typical farming sim experience. Windwoven isn’t the first Stardew Valley game like a Studio Ghibli movie, but it is a relatively rare breed and one that should be supported in its growth. It features everything you’d expect from a Stardew-like, including villagers with their own stories to befriend, mining, fishing, foraging, farming, and building.

However, what sets it apart is its unique roguelike elements, which see players unlock abilities that can assist in activities such as mining. For example, players may unlock the Megaquake ability, which sees their pickaxe break every rock in the vicinity and damage all nearby enemies in one fell swoop. These abilities ostensibly work as faster methods of material gathering and streamline the process just a tad while adding a sense of progression to the RPG experience. It’s a small addition, but a necessary one nonetheless.

Windwoven also adds pet companions which assist throughout your exploration, a neat little touch that gives your pet a little more to do than merely mill about the farm. For those interested, Windwoven is available via Steam. The full game isn’t available just yet, as it is set to release sometime in 2027. However, you can sign up to join its free playtest to get a taste of what it has to offer and see if this new Stardew Valley meets Studio Ghibli RPG is worth your time when it does eventually launch.

Systems

Released

February 26, 2016

ESRB

Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco

Developer(s)

ConcernedApe

Publisher(s)

ConcernedApe

Engine

Proprietary

Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer

Cross-Platform Play

Stardew Valley does not currently support crossplay between different consoles and PC

Cross Save

cross-progression is only available between the PC and mobile versions of the game

Number of Players

1-4 players (console) / 1-8 players (PC)