Farming games seem to be all the rage in recent years. Perhaps they are thriving off the success of Stardew Valley that hit the indie developer jackpot. All present were retro graphics, rewarding, and easy-to-accessing. Staxel, while sounding like a tabletop game to play when drunk, seeks to take farming games to the next level.First glances of Staxel present something oddly familiar yet intriguingly different. Are developers Plukit going to manage to capitalize on the farming simulator rage? Or is this going to be another carbon copy of Stardew Valley with a slightly different color palette, narrative, and mechanics? Let's dive in to find out!
Welcome to Minecraft Valley!
Trying to find games like Staxel? Try these 100 great games that are similar to Staxel, but stand out in their own awesome ways. This is a comprehensive list of best games like Staxel that have been tried, tested and recommended. Staxel is Minecraft meets Stardew Valley meets Animal Crossing. Just like those games, it offers multiplayer, making it one of the few titles in the genre with that option. Just from looking at the style and how building and exploration work, it's clear that Minecraft is the game's biggest influence. The main gameplay surrounds, of course.
The first thing that jumps out of you is the graphics and colors. Almost immediately, this game comes across as an amalgamation of Minecraft and Stardew Valley. The visuals are blocky, the color palette and animations scream Stardew, and the whole concept of the game centers around a sandbox farming simulator.It's easy to scream clone at the beginning of the game, but Staxel has concerted an effort to stand on its own terms. Environments do feel different than others with the elimination of combat. It channels a more zen-like and focused farming game. Building mechanics are similar to that of Minecraft, but that is about as far as it goes.The crafting mechanics are very detailed, which may provide a point of intrigue for many. The effort needs to be made in accomplishing building goals through trade and barter - not just exploring the wilds. There's no strict narrative, nor are there any forced objectives - but that does not mean Staxel is a bore in this instance.
The game is refreshingly charming, even though it doesn't hugely deviate from core farming simulator mechanics. There's a lot to gain from NPC interactions - the challenges of construction, making money, and showing off to your friends. Much like its genre family - Staxel is a peaceful addition where its build makes for calm and content gameplay.
Stacking a Sanctuary
Staxel does what it's meant to do pretty well. It is a palatable farming simulator that provides enough challenge to keep things interesting - yet doesn't strain the player into making life or death decisions. It offers a therapeutic touch with diverse farming styles and demanding objectives if you want them. This is arguably one of the better farming simulators on the market.
Anyone really seeking competitive aspects from their game like Minecraft probably won't enjoy Staxel too much, however. The lack of combat, exploration, and rewards does detract from a more game-like experience. The gameplay is a bit overzealous on the focus of earning money - a lot of players have to do that outside the game already. It's easy to see that people will play Staxel for a while, never to return. Arguably those few hours are pretty enjoyable, though.
Pros:
- A well-crafted amalgamation of Minecraft and Stardew Valley with its own unique features
- Crafting and building mechanics are excellent
- Varied approaches can be taken in gameplay
Cons:
- Making money is initially frustrating
- No combat
- Doesn't have much incentive to come back to the game after a little while
A comprehensive guide to befriending the villagers in Staxel and unlocking their Friendship quests (with minimal spoilers).
Other Staxel Guides:
- Achievement Guide.
- Cheats and Console Commands.
- How to Increase the Island Size.
- Bobblehead Easter Egg Guide.
- Some Quick Tips and Tricks.
What's in a Friendship?
In place of a traditional 'main path” story, Staxel offers up most of its lore and quests in the form of mini-storylines as your Friendship with various villagers develops. Although it can sometimes feel like there’s not enough hours in the day after tending the crops, feeding your animals, and foraging for that elusive Rhinoceros Beetle, setting aside a little time to chat and deliver gifts for villagers each day can add a colorful new dimension your Staxel experience!
Importantly, both the town and its villagers’ personalities will also grow as your Friendships progress. Over time you'll gain new residents, new shops, broader dialogue and interactions with villagers, and unlock additional gameplay to keep you entertained in the downtime between farming seasons.
This guide is intended to act as a roadmap to give you an idea of where and how to find all the key unlocks and story quests, without spoiling any of the major details for your playthrough. If you prefer to jump into new games completely blind, you should consider returning to this guide once you've had some time to explore things for yourself.
Befriending Each Villager
Some of the content in this section, such as quest titles or favorite gifts, may be considered light spoilers. To avoid giving away anything major, we’ve broken it into two visual guides:
- Main Residents covers all the villagers you have a chance of starting with in your initial town. The mayor, Maximilian, will contact you about inviting the others after you’ve settled into your farm.
- Surprise Arrivals [Spoilers] have special conditions for when they’ll appear, although you can eventually have all of them on your island. It’s recommended to wait until each one shows up before you read about them in the second visual guide.
While some residents (like Maximilian) will always be available in your town, the starting selection of other residents and the layout of all the buildings will change with every new playthrough.
Main Residents
Click to enlarge...
Surprise Arrivals [Spoilers]
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Generic Friendship Boosts
In addition to the Friendship progress from chatting and sharing gifts with villagers, there are a few other ways you can influence their opinion of you. This section will provide a quick summary of where to find (or avoid) each one during your playthroughs.
Daily Rumor Quests
When running your errands in town, you'll sometimes stumble across a lost item or hear a special request from a villager. While these quests tend to be very simple, they provide a substantial (and often totally free) boost to Friendship if you complete them before nightfall of that same day.
If you’re looking for more information on them, you can always visit Rowan in the Tavern and ask about 'Any rumors?” in conversation. If any of these quests are active for the day, he’ll point you toward exactly the right villager(s) to find for them.
Rumor quests come in three flavors:
- ‘Return to Owner’ ones require you to find a missing item on the ground, such as a lost Sock or Bunnyphone. Returning it will give a small boost to Friendship with that villager.
- ‘Parcel Delivery’ tasks ask you to shuttle a small delivery from one villager to another and give a moderate Friendship boost with both. Simple, right?
- ‘Interested Item’ requests ask you to procure a specific item, which is usually chosen from their favorite gifts list. You will get a much larger than usual Friendship boost from it, which doesn’t count toward the daily cap. But remember: Talk to them to deliver the item, rather than gifting it!
- Any villager can have a rumor quest, but you won’t miss out on any storyline content if you decide to give them a pass in your playthrough. There's also no penalty if you miss the deadline after starting one, other than not receiving the Friendship boost.
(Don’t Do) Stuff They Hate
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As you’re rushing about each day, it’s possible to have the occasional 'accident' that can harm your reputation with a villager. The damage from these is always reversible, but you might have to bear through a few nasty remarks in the process.
Angering villagers can happen in a few ways:
- Stealing their Petals will quickly irritate any shop owner, even if they can’t pin it on you specifically. Be careful when clicking around the cash registers in their stores so you don’t accidentally sneak a few coins out of it, or they may be hard to chat with for a few days afterward.
- Purloining their Possessions is often taken in stride by villagers, but if you take too much of their stuff it can cross the line into angering them. Until you return or pay for some of the missing items, they’ll refuse to go to work and may leave the town entirely.
- Giving Terrible Gifts doesn’t win hearts, but most villagers will still appreciate the gesture. However, a few villagers have specific items they really dislike and will try to refuse them if offered as a gift. If you insist on handing one over, you’ll lose some Friendship progress.
Recommended Quest Order
As mentioned in the introduction, Staxel doesn't follow a single 'main story' for most of its content. Instead of trying to prescribe one for you, the following recommendations are mainly aimed at helping you unlock all the major game content early in your playthrough (preferably before Winter 1st).
These will need to be completed each time you start a new playthrough.
Year 1 Quests:
- Obtain a Farm Registration Letter from Farm Fan
- Talk with Max for 'Fixing up the Barn”
- Meet Riah for 'Let Them Eat Fish”
- Reach Liked with Leif for 'Postage & Handling”
- Meet Vorlen for 'Dawn at the Museum”
- Meet Cirahna for 'Maybe Sorbet?”
- Reach Liked with Cirahna for 'Bring in a Fungi”
- Build houses for the non-starter residents, as Max sends you Postboxes in the mail
Once you've made it through this list, you’re free to explore the remaining Friendship quests in any order you like without missing out on gated content! For first-time players, there's usually more than enough of those available to last you well into Year 3+.
Recommended for You:
- All Staxel Guides!
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