Stardew Valley Meets Zelda: BOTW In New Farming RPG Hybrid

4 hours ago 8

Published Aug 3, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.

Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was so inspirational that, nearly a decade later, games are still attempting to ape its award-winning, money-making formula. It makes sense why both developers and gamers alike would want to see more titles akin to it, especially as Nintendo's offering, while undeniably excellent, certainly left room for improvement that even its somewhat divisive sequel couldn't quite fill.

Fortunately, the many games like BOTW that have been released since it originally launched have done a fairly impressive job of showcasing not just what made it so excellent in the first place, but how it can still be innovated and improved upon all these years later. Case in point is a brand-new Stardew Valley-esque farming sim that incorporates many of Breath of the Wild's greatest elements to deliver a cozy RPG experience that, hopefully, will truly please fans.

Harvest Moon Is Embracing Zelda

It isn't uncommon to see genres that once had absolutely nothing to do with either the open-world genre or Breath of the Wild's specific interpretation of it suddenly adopt it. Such is the case with Harvest Moon, a series that before 2021 offered a more structured and segmented world, and has now dabbled numerous times in sprawling open worlds packed with secrets galore. The latest entry in the series, Echoes of Teradea, goes one step further by practically turning Harvest Moon into BOTW.

Aside from combat (which Echoes of Teradea lacks entirely), the newest Harvest Moon title adopts practically every element that one would expect from a BOTW-like. From the aforementioned sprawling world packed with various diverse biomes, to hidden caves filled with ore to gather, and Power Statues that offer puzzles to complete, there's more than enough Breath of the Wild-esque shenanigans to entertain folks as they await the next major Zelda game.

Sure, it isn't a 1:1 replica, but that's a good thing. Echoes of Teradea actually introduces a number of unique mechanics, such as animals that travel alongside the player, each with its own distinct ability, and the option to set up campsites to help replenish stamina and cook meals, alongside the expected Harvest Moon fare, such as romanceable characters, farming, and tending to animals. The combination of the two series looks set to make for a rather engaging cozy RPG, the likes of which we haven't seen a great deal of.

Stardew Valley + Zelda Is A Win In Our Eyes

A character smiling with his fist raised in Harvest Moon Echoes of Teradea.

As we're unlikely to get any more Breath of the Wild expansions, or even a sequel to TOTK, the likes of Echoes of Teradea are incredibly important. These experiences offer that BOTW magic while building upon the core experience in a way fans who've already sunk hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into Breath of the Wild can enjoy. Sure, it's possible that Echoes of Teradea could end up being a flop (it wouldn't be a first for the modern Harvest Moon games), but it should at least deliver the standard tropes of both series in an entertaining package.

Harvest Moon: Echoes of Teradea is set to release on September 24, 2026, for the Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The combination of Stardew Valley and Zelda is one that should be explored more. There have been cozy RPGs in the past, and many of them are excellent, but there should absolutely be more. The blending of life sim and farming with open-world, player-guided exploration, narrative, and meaningful progression sounds incredible on paper and can work in practice, especially when given the budget and attention it needs to flourish. Echoes of Teradea may be the BOTW meets Stardew Valley of our dreams, or it may not, but it's a good start and hopefully a signal of good things to come.