Why do people compare this game to Stardew Valley?

[goldenprimus]

The two games, this and Stardew Valley, are completely different games. So why do people keep comparing the two?

[Narkulus]

Is there a Steam game that is more comparable?

[Clubanimon]

Eh, I see where they coming from. Without having played the demo I think most people would see the art style, and the town layout and think it was mostly farming content.

The daily game loops are very different in my opinion, but superficially they are both a part of that daily life/farming life sim genre.

People also just like to crow about Stardew rip odds for some reason. Personally I'm in team 'two cakes' and am always happy to have more new games in the genre.

[HotDog]

Well...
Stardew Valley is a farming/life sim with a pixel art style. Stardew Valley has a good cast of townsfolk to befriend, all of them having different personalities, Romance is a feature. Stardew Valley has the goal of restoring your farm to what it once was.
Littlewood is a life/sandbox game with a pixel art style. Littlewood has a good cast of townsfolk to befriend, all of them having their own personalities. Romance is coming soon. Littlewood has the goal of rebuilding a town to what it once was.

I'd call Littlewood an 8bit version of Stardew Valley. They are very similar in many aspects, from building, collecting, the fatigue mechanic, etc; I'd be surprised if Sean DIDN'T take inspiration from a similar indie title. You make it seem like it's a bad thing.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that unlike other Stardew Valley ripoffs/clones, this one doesn't steal assets and has a visual style distinct enough to make it stand out. Calling Littlewood a ripoff kinda hurts, as it clearly has heart put into it like the other ripoffs/clones.

[CeliriaRose]

While I do think they are fairly different overall saying completely different is a bit of a stretch. They are both in the chill life sim type genre. They both involve playing a character in a small town doing various tasks like planting crops, fishing, mining, and socializing with the townfolk including marriage systems. Yes Littlewood differentiates itself with it's more town building focus and I would again say it's fairly different overall but it's not hard to see where the comparisons come from.

[Frogpants]

Because they have some similarities? Is this a problem?

[ℒℴѵℯ❤]

because steam says so xD

[elonashooter]

Personally I would say they're very much in the same genre.

Stardew was just the most wildly successful game in the genre that met mass appeal, whereas games like Rune Factory and Harvest Moon are quite beloved but have always been somewhat niche.

I don't know what exactly I would call the genre other than I suppose "low-stress life sim" but I would throw in games like Fantasy Life and Animal Crossing in alongside Harvest Moon and Stardew. It's been around for a long time (The first Harvest Moon was for the SNES in 1997).

Now the subgenres of the games vary a fair amount but the ATMOSPHERE is generally somewhat similar and what I consider the defining trait.

Stardew gets thrown around because it's the first game in the genre that literally everyone played and has heard of, so for many people it's the only thing they have to compare other games in the genre to.

Games "like" Stardew have been around for over 20 years now, people just don't know that.

[luliela]

People compare all games that have farming and village relationships to Stardew Valley now. "Harvest Moon is just a rip-off of Stardew Valley!" sort of stuff. At this point, people have picked it up to troll people who love this genre, because they know how annoyed we get when everything is compared to Stardew Valley now.

[SolviteSekai]

Youd have to be an absolute unashamed fanboy to ask this question.

[TwelveYbTnuoC]

imagine being ashamed of enjoying things, or being ashamed of having a passion for a creative industry that exists in tandem with technological advances

sounds kind of like an unnecessary bummer, personally. but maybe im just too old to get the appeal in being ashamed of your own interests