It is no secret that Stardew Valley is one of the biggest success stories in the indie games industry. Since its release in 2016, Stardew Valley has been credited for reviving the farming simulator genre thanks to its capturing of the best elements of pioneer games in the genre, such as Harvest Moon, while introducing new features and gameplay mechanics.
Given Stardew Valley’s massive success, several games similar to it have been released ever since. However, one particular game that is still under development called Super Zoo Story is now being accused of looking really similar to Stardew Valley to the point that most players won’t probably be able to tell which is which. But just how similar is Super Zoo Story to Stardew Valley?
Comparing Super Zoo Story To Stardew Valley
Concept-wise, it appears that Super Zoo Story and Stardew Valley are different games. The former is set to focus on running a zoo in an open-world setting, while the latter is a farming simulator game that also features mining, some combat, and a romance mechanic. However, despite these two games focusing on different things, many noticed how the overall aesthetic of Super Zoo Story is vividly similar to that of Stardew Valley.
Looking at the pictures comparing the two games above and below, most players won’t probably be able to both games apart. Based on the images released for Super Zoo Story so far, it is obvious that the game’s textures, assets, characters, and environment models are all too similar to that of Stardew Valley’s. Shortly after the issue sparked outrage on the Internet, Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone shared his thoughts on Twitter, saying, “it’s very confusing to people because it does look so similar that it could be mistaken for my work.”
Several Stardew Valley fans quickly took the side of the game’s creator, given the uncanny similarities between both games from the general color palette, the mini menu that shows the time, date, and money, and even the font of all the text that can be found in the game. Barone added that if Super Zoo Story actually ripped off his assets, he is not okay with that at all, saying that the devs should come up with their own style.
What Both Sides Have To Say on the Issue
In the same tweet, Barone clarified that he never had any issues with games being similar to Stardew Valley, given that his own creation is heavily inspired by Harvest Moon. However, he is not happy with what appears to be blatant copying or ripping off of his assets, saying that Super Zoo Story has “taken it a little too far and that their attitude about it has rubbed me the wrong way, too.” It is worth mentioning that Super Zoo Story isn’t even hiding its similarity with Stardew Valley. The official description of the game’s Twitter account even includes the hashtag #Stardewvalley inspired.
Shortly after the issue broke out online, the developers of Super Zoo Story sent out an apology letter posted on Twitter. The letter addressed the issue directly, saying that they were “heavily inspired by amazing games like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley that it was never our intention to copy art from other games.” The developers also admitted that the art of both games is similar, saying, “sometimes, as passionate developers, we get tunnel vision, and it becomes harder to judge ourselves objectively.”
To rectify the issue, the developers of Super Zoo Story promised that they would make changes to address this, though how extensive the changes will be, remains to be seen. In the end, while Stardew Valley itself is a product of Eric Barone being inspired by Harvest Moon, players can put both games side by side and be able to tell which is which. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Super Zoo Story, but it will be interesting to see how its developers will redesign the game to separate it from Stardew Valley. As of this writing, ConcernedApe is yet to react to the apology sent out by the developers of Super Zoo Story.
Stardew Valley is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
