Summary
Moonstone Island, a new creature-collecting life sim that shares a lot in common withStardew Valley, is making its way to the Nintendo Switch on June 19. Gamers who enjoy unique twists on the farming simulator genre might be interested in giving this title a shot, especially on a handheld console like theSwitch, where cozy indie games like these feel right at home.
Over the years, there have been countlessStardew Valley"clones" of varying quality that have flooded the gaming landscape. It’s no wonder that there are so many titles on the market similar to ConcernedApe’s 2016 farming sim, though, as the8-year-old game is still topping sales chartsacross platforms like Steam, Android, and iOS to this day. Although the title is still evidently very beloved, someStardew Valleyfans are interested in branching out a bit and seeing other developers put interesting spins on the tried-and-true formula of ConcernedApe’s mega-hit indie game. A developer named Studio Supersoft has done just that with its latest release,Moonstone Island, and it’s a title that’ll soon shed its PC exclusivity by heading to another major platform.
Moonstone Islandis a 2D creature-collecting farming sim with deck-building elements that’s finally heading to Nintendo Switch consoles on June 19, after being available on Steam and GOG for almost a year. Made by the aforementioned Studio Supersoft and published by themajor indie game publisherRaw Fury,Moonstone Islandcenters around the adventures of a protagonist who’s moved to an island in the sky to complete their alchemy training and master their magic skills. The game takes place in an open world that contains 100 procedurally-generated islands to explore. In the land ofMoonstone Island, players can befriend NPCs, brew potions, grow crops, engage in card-based combat, capture creatures called Spirits, and even build and decorate homes.
Moonstone Island is a Great Alternative to Stardew Valley
As one can tell just by reading the game’s description,Moonstone Islandis quite an ambitious title, given the large amount of varied content it contains. Fortunately, though, it seems like this isn’t one of those indie games that buckles under the weight of its own ambition, as the reviews forMoonstone Islandon Steam have an 89% Very Positive rating. Many PC gamers have praised the title for its stress-free nature, its unique farming mechanics, and its successful melding of gameplay elements from franchises likeStardew ValleyandPokemon. Given how greatMoonstone Island’s reception has been on Steam, it looks like it’ll end up beingone of the best indie games on the Switchwhen it releases on Nintendo’s platform later this month.
That being said, gamers who aren’t interested in titles with monster-catching and card-building elements can try outother farming sims likeStardew Valleyon Nintendo Switch as well, likeStory of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town,Rune Factory 4 Special, andMy Time at Portia. If there’s one thing Nintendo’s popular handheld console isn’t lacking in, it’s great farming sims.
Nintendo Switch OLED Family Gaming Console
The Nintendo Switch OLED comes with several upgrades over the original Nintendo Switch console while maintaining game compatibility with the old console. With a larger 7-inch OLED screen and double the internal storage of the original Nintendo Switch, it doesn’t feel like a new console altogether. That being said, it is an option worth checking out for a better display.
