Garden Story is a charming adventure that follows Concord the grape as he befriends the citizens of The Grove and protects it from the Rot that has been spreading across the land. The Rot has brutal effects on the world, including the inability for new vegetables to grow. It's kind of like Children of Men, but with food.

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The game provides a vibrant world full of colorful characters and locations. Concord can spend his days either assisting the locals using the community bulletin board or fighting the Rot with a top-down combat system that feels inspired by The Legend of Zelda. If you enjoyed either the combat or relaxing aspects of Garden Story, then these other titles could be fruitful endeavors to check out next.

8 My Time At Portia

The protagonist swings his axe towards a tree in a grassy field

Both Garden Story and My Time At Portia seem like cozy games on the surface, but both contain surprisingly dark undertones. The former deals with an upcoming apocalyptic event, while the latter takes place immediately after one. Years after the destruction of society, humans finally begin to resurface from underground to restore civilization.

While both games are visually very different and My Time At Portia requires more crafting, the two share a very similar gameplay loop. You can spend your days working hard and helping out others to grow stronger bonds, or you can enter Hazardous Ruins to defeat enemies and score some amazing treasures. My Time At Portia is a much longer experience than Garden Story, so it should keep you busy for quite some time.

7 Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King

Blossom shoots an arrow inside a dark dungeon

Some of your time in Garden Story will be spent navigating dungeons and facing deadly enemies and bosses. These bite-sized adventures don't take long to complete and may not fulfill your sense of exploration or hunger for battle. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is an action-adventure game filled with satisfying combat and a slew of bosses and dungeons to conquer.

Blossom Tales may not be as relaxing or cozy as Garden Story, but its superb overworld is full of vibrant colors and characters that help make its world feel alive. You will have more weapons and spells at your disposal than Concord ever does, and the combat feels much smoother and more satisfying in Blossom Tales.

6 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Tom Nook, Apple, Dotty, Eloise, Alfonso, Cesar, Jay and Melba use poppers on the bridge

When Concord isn't risking his life to save the world, he can be found running around The Grove either helping someone or looking for new materials. If you decide to ignore the dungeons, you can spend tons of time just hanging out by the beach with your friends as you improve your community's reputation and morale.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons might be one of the most relaxing and chill games on the market. You don't have to worry about saving your island from a devastating plague or face Tom Nook in a boss fight. Instead, all you need to do is be yourself and have a good time. You can help your neighbors make deliveries or design a home for them without the constant threat of Rot hanging over your head.

5 Rune Factory 5

The protagonist rides a Buffamoo through a grassy field

Rune Factory 5 is the first entry in the popular series in over a decade and while it received mixed reviews it still offers a plethora of content to relax with. Like Garden Story, Rune Factory 5 allows you to spend your time either farming and socializing with the locals, or you can enter deadly dungeons to tame monsters and seek treasure.

It's easy to accidentally spend hours working on your farm and relationships in Rune Factory 5. Its immersive world is full of activities like fishing and cooking that are simple yet rewarding. Unlike Garden Story, you can even get married and spend season after season tending to your land and family.

4 Little Witch In The Woods

Ellie stands outside her house in the woods

Little Witch in the Woods is still in early access, but it shows a ton of potential to be the next surprise indie hit. Ellie is an apprentice witch tasked with helping out anyone in the nearby village using her knowledge of magic. Its charming aesthetic is reminiscent of Garden Story, but Little Witch in the Woods' excellent world-building and gameplay allows it to stand out from other adventure games.

The characters you meet along your journey feel fully realized and are much deeper than they appear. The woods are a blast to explore and contain a slew of mysteries that require you to use potions and spells to solve. The day-to-day life of a witch is full of magic, and Little Witch in the Woods captures it perfectly for a wonderful journey.

3 Spiritfarer

Stella holds supplies from the merchant with Daffodil by her feet

Spiritfarer follows Stella and her cat Daffodil as they embrace their roles as the ferry masters to the afterlife. Like Concord, the duo will need to travel across a gorgeously animated world, though in this game you aid spirits on their journey to the end. It's a much more emotional journey than Garden Story, but Spiritfarer does a great job balancing its stellar gameplay loop with its narrative.

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As you sail across the ocean, you will need to manage the resources on your boat by crafting supplies and cooking food for your companions. You will get to know the spirits incredibly well before you drop them off at their final destination, and they each have their own personalities that you will either love or hate. If you enjoyed bonding with the other fruit and vegetables in Garden Story, Spiritfarer contains relationships and friendships that should resonate with anyone.

2 Stardew Valley

The protagonist fishes in the pond by his house

Stardew Valley is one of the most popular games of the decade, and it's influenced a slew of indie games since, including Garden Story. Inspired by the Harvest Moon series, Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game that allows you to build the farm of your dreams along with many more fun activities like taking on quests and exploring dangerous caves.

One of the main factors for Stardew Valley's longevity in the zeitgeist is that it never really ends, unlike most games. You can continue to build your farm and relationships for as long as you like, and the game never runs out of milestones to reach. It's resonated with plenty of people for its routine-like gameplay loop and is full of endearing characters, fun surprises, and a soundtrack that will stay with you even after you close the farm.

1 Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

A wanted poster for Turnip Boy floats over a jungle

There aren't that many games that allow you to play as a fruit or vegetable with a face, but Garden Story and Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion both do it well with their adorable mascots. The biggest difference between Concord and Turnip Boy is their motivations in life. Concord just wants to protect the Kindergarden from Rot, while Turnip Boy just wants to avoid paying his taxes.

Turnip Boy's adventure takes him through enemy-filled dungeons as he attempts to pay off his debts to society by doing dirty work for Mayor Onion. The world is full of anthropomorphic food and creatures and feels like it could only be a few miles away from The Grove in Garden Story. The combat is also very similar between the two games as Turnip Boy uses his trusty shovel to take down local vegetarians. The two are alike in many ways, but provide very distinct and enjoyable stories and surprises.

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