Featured Image Credit: Seed Lab/Valve
Topics: PC, Stardew Valley, Steam, Indie Games
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we need a Studio Ghibli farming sim game. We likely won’t get one but at least this comes close.
Stardew Valley fans who are bored of their farms and want something a little different might get a kick out of Starsand Island, another cosy farming sim that you can play for free on Steam.
Starsand Island's description reads: “Leave the hustle of the city behind and embrace life on Starsand Island. Fish, farm, raise animals, and befriend or fall in love with locals to learn their secrets. Customize your world with our DIY system, and invite friends to help build your dream paradise!”
You’d be forgiven for thinking that this sounds like more of the same. If you’ve been enjoying Stardew Valley why should you drop it in favour of this game?
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The main reason would be the visuals. Stardew Valley isn’t an ugly game by any means, it’s gorgeous, but I know many don’t vibe with pixel-art.
Starsand Island is 3D but still has lovely, stylised visuals that earn it that comparison to Studio Ghibli’s work. Of course, it’s not exactly the same as the animated movies but it’s close enough.
If any of this has interested you, you can try the game for free on Steam right now via the demo. The progress you make in the demo won’t carry over to the full release though, with the demo lasting for around 2.5 hours or five in-game days.
While the demo is available now, the full game isn’t. It’s expected to launch on 1 February 2026 and will be playable on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch/Nintendo Switch 2.
It’s charming, that’s for sure. Every time I look at it though it just makes me really, really want a Studio Ghibli game.
Plenty of titles have somewhat successfully mimicked the art style but I’m talking about a true Studio Ghibli game that’s linked to one of the films. That said, it can’t just be any film as I feel like that’d be disrespecting the works of art they are.
That’s why I don’t think anyone would mind a farming sim. They're chill, non-intrusive and you could very easily make one about My Neighbour Totoro.
It’ll likely never happen though, which is why it’s good that there are games like Starsand Island on the way to scratch that itch.