Animal Crossing-like dev pushes back on "Stardew Valley clone" chatter around farming RPG Fields of Mistria: "You probably wouldn't have Pokemon without Dragon Quest 5"

News
By published

It's a valid point

Fields of Mistria trailer screenshot showing an anime-style girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, a grassy field and windmill behind her
(Image credit: NPC Studio)

Fields of Mistria is a farming sim, but it's not a Stardew Valley duplicate by any means - and both developers and fans alike are explaining why.

Ever since its debut during last year's Wholesome Direct, I've been looking forward to Fields of Mistria - and now I have it. It's a wonderfully whimsical take on the farming sim genre, comparable to the likes of classic Harvest Moon titles - and of course, Stardew Valley. It isn't a "clone" of ConcernedApe's beloved gem though, and it seems I'm not alone in believing so. Ellie from The Cozy Gaming Club has an entire video on the matter, for instance.

In the video, the host compares and discusses everything from the two games' characters to their visuals. Ellie makes various valid points and reveals in the comments that she felt the urge to make a video on the matter following accusations calling Fields of Mistria "a clone or a ripoff" of Stardew Valley: "I wanted to try and dispel that by showing how different they are." After advertising her video on social media, others took note - including a developer.

The indie dev behind Critter Cove, an upcoming Animal Crossing-like sim, shares its own thoughts in response to Ellie's "great" video: "Games are art made by humans who are inspired by the art of other humans. This is good!" The studio continues, drawing some eye-opening comparisons: "You probably wouldn't have Pokemon without Dragon Quest 5, and you wouldn't have DQ5 without Shin Megami Tensei. Isn't that COOL THOUGH?" 

As a fan of both Fields of Mistria and Stardew Valley myself, I agree. After all, one could quite accurately describe Stardew Valley as a "Harvest Moon clone" of sorts - but it's simply a game inspired by another wonderful game from the past. The same can't be said for all new titles, though - Deviator, for example, channels Hollow Knight so hard it should almost come with a Fair Use law blurb.

Searching for more? Check out the best farming games around right now.

See more PC Gaming News
CATEGORIES
Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

Read more
Best games like Stardew Valley: a screenshot of a Stardew Valley farm during spring.
10 games like Stardew Valley that'll keep you working on the farm until the cows come home
Games like Stardew Valley
Games like Harvest Moon we think you should play
Anime Life Sim
After unsuccessfully attempting to launch a Monster Hunter clone, this controversial dev is now supposedly releasing an Animal Crossing-like game on PS5
Stardew Valley
The best farming games to help you reap what you sow
Sugardew Island
The Stardew Valley stan in me is more excited than ever to play this cozy farming sim for real next month, after its Steam Next Fest demo blew me away
a dude holding a gun cowers against a wall as the shadowsof raptors can be seen coming for him
'No-one wants to play a Match-3 game': Prolific indie dev made his Match-3 Metroidvania to "definitively prove" his publishers wrong
Latest in Simulation
inZOI Character Studio trailer screenshot showing a young woman with ginger-y hair and a light baseball cap smiling to the side
The Sims competitor inZOI dethrones Hollow Knight: Silksong to become most wishlisted game on Steam
American Truck Simulator
3,348 days later, American Truck Simulator is finally delivering the DLC I've been waiting for longer than Hollow Knight fans have been anticipating Silksong
A woman chasing a shining butterfly with a leaping cat on her shoulder in InZOI
inZOI review: "Currently feels like a soulless imitation of the worst parts of The Sims"
inZOI Character Studio trailer screenshot showing a young woman with ginger-y hair and a light baseball cap smiling to the side
If you can't get enough of killing Sims in The Sims 4, iNZOI offers "16 different types of deaths" to inflict upon your poor unsuspecting Zois
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
"It's OK for me to move on": Years after scoring Minecraft, composer C418's latest project is about running a cozy tea shop with a "stupidly complex music system"
Roblox
Roblox CEO tells concerned parents not to "let your kids be on Roblox" even if it "sounds a little counter-intuitive"
Latest in News
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 "is done," but it's been delayed again to October for "bug fixing, stability, and performance"
Ben Affleck in Air
Ben Affleck isn't in The Odyssey, but he plans to visit the set anyway to watch Christopher Nolan work: "He's one of the greatest filmmaking architects to ever live"
Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's Justice League
Ben Affleck reflects on the "excruciating experience" playing Batman in the Zack Snyder movies: "A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations"
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the series' best launch since Valhalla, but that was "a perfect storm we may never see again," says Ubisoft
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' first major update rights its greatest wrong by adding a proper Palico cooking animation, and it's letting you change Alma's glasses
Hideo Kojima
Death Stranding 2 Japanese voice recording has officially "wrapped," director Hideo Kojima says: "Thank you so much"
More about simulation
inZOI Character Studio trailer screenshot showing a young woman with ginger-y hair and a light baseball cap smiling to the side

The Sims competitor inZOI dethrones Hollow Knight: Silksong to become most wishlisted game on Steam
American Truck Simulator

3,348 days later, American Truck Simulator is finally delivering the DLC I've been waiting for longer than Hollow Knight fans have been anticipating Silksong
Ben Affleck in Air

Ben Affleck isn't in The Odyssey, but he plans to visit the set anyway to watch Christopher Nolan work: "He's one of the greatest filmmaking architects to ever live"
See more latest
Most Popular
Ben Affleck in Air
Ben Affleck isn't in The Odyssey, but he plans to visit the set anyway to watch Christopher Nolan work: "He's one of the greatest filmmaking architects to ever live"
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 "is done," but it's been delayed again to October for "bug fixing, stability, and performance"
The Horrified: World of Monsters box close up
Save 56% on the run-up to Halfoween with this board game that lets you fight Cthulhu face-to-face
Dan Stevens in supernatural horror The Ritual
The Godfather and Godzilla x Kong stars' new exorcism horror The Ritual gets a creepy first trailer
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
Abby star Kaitlyn Dever played the Last of Us games with her dad and has been a fan "for a very long time"
Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's Justice League
Ben Affleck reflects on the "excruciating experience" playing Batman in the Zack Snyder movies: "A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations"
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' first major update rights its greatest wrong by adding a proper Palico cooking animation, and it's letting you change Alma's glasses
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the series' best launch since Valhalla, but that was "a perfect storm we may never see again," says Ubisoft
Stardew Valley: The Board Game being played
Roll up farming sim lovers, Stardew Valley: The Board Game is 25% off as we trundle into the spring sales
Sean Astin holds up a Samwise Gamgee minifigure while seated at a table in front of Lego The Shire, with other Lord of the Rings kits around him in a cottage room
Samwise Gamgee reveals Lego The Shire in a video nostalgic enough to make you tear up