It is no secret thatStardew Valleyis one of the biggestsuccess stories in the indie games industry. Since its release in 2016,Stardew Valleyhas been credited for reviving the farming simulator genre thanks to its capturing of the best elements of pioneer games in the genre, such asHarvest Moon, while introducing new features and gameplay mechanics.
GivenStardew Valley’smassive success, several games similar to it have been released ever since. However, one particular game that is still under development calledSuper Zoo Storyis now being accused of looking really similar toStardew Valleyto the point that most players won’t probably be able to tell which is which. But just how similar isSuper Zoo StorytoStardew Valley?
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Comparing Super Zoo Story To Stardew Valley
Concept-wise,it appears thatSuper Zoo StoryandStardew Valleyare 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 ofSuper Zoo Storyis vividly similar to that ofStardew 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 forSuper Zoo Storyso far, it is obvious that the game’s textures, assets, characters, and environment models are all too similar to that ofStardew Valley’s. Shortly after the issue sparked outrage on the Internet,Stardew Valleycreator 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.”
SeveralStardew Valleyfans 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 ifSuper Zoo Storyactually 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 toStardew Valley, given thathis own creation is heavily inspired byHarvest Moon. However, he is not happy with what appears to be blatant copying or ripping off of his assets, saying thatSuper Zoo Storyhas “taken it a little too far and that their attitude about it has rubbed me the wrong way, too.” It is worth mentioning thatSuper Zoo Storyisn’t even hiding its similarity withStardew 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 ofSuper Zoo Storysent out an apology letter posted on Twitter. The letter addressed the issue directly, saying that they were “heavily inspired by amazing games likeHarvest MoonandStardew Valleythat 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 ofSuper Zoo Storypromised that they would make changes to address this, though how extensive the changes will be, remains to be seen. In the end, whileStardew Valleyitself is a product of Eric Barone being inspired byHarvest Moon, players can put both games side by side and be able to tell which is which. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said forSuper Zoo Story,but it will be interesting to see how its developers will redesign the game to separate it fromStardew Valley. As of this writing, ConcernedApe is yet to react to the apology sent out by the developers ofSuper Zoo Story.
Stardew Valleyis out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
