Stardew Valley Meets Pokémon In New Open-World Game With 10/10 Reviews

Published Oct 18, 2026, 6:00 AM 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.

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While the laundry list of games like Stardew Valley continues to blossom to ludicrous heights, the handful of titles even remotely resembling Pokémon, while certainly burgeoning, remains rather low. Sure, there have been a handful of prominent indies and prolific copycats, but not nearly enough, and inarguably fewer than Stardew Valley's pretenders. Which is why, when one does amble along, it's important to take note and see whether it's capable of capturing the same whimsical spirit of adventure that Game Freak has successfully coasted on over the past few decades.

Fortunately, joining the small pantheon of the greatest games like Pokémon is a brand-new open-world title, one that not only effortlessly incorporates the very best elements of Pokémon's core design, but also injects a healthy dose of Stardew Valley's cozy loop, Zelda's dungeon-crawling roots, and even a tad bit of Minecraft. This open-world indie is ridiculously ambitious, inspired, and audacious, and yet it manages to achieve all its goals, and then some, with aplomb, a near-impossible feat few Pokémon-likes (and Stardew-likes, for that matter) can say they've accomplished.

This Open-World Indie Mixes Zelda, Pokémon & Stardew

Wildaria is the ridiculously ambitious open-world RPG indie from developer SpaceFudge, a project so filled with concepts and lofty goals that one would assume that it simply could not sustain them all. Yet, the game's Early Access launch (which happened back on October 8) has proven to be an enormous success, with the game's currently available content showcasing that SpaceFudge's ambitions were not merely theoretical, but that the developer has the skills and talent to deliver them.

This is a massive, procedurally generated RPG with creature taming, boss battles, quests, spells, trading, pet abilities, unique weapons, mysteries, and a dynamic combat system. It truly is offering absolutely everything one could want from an open-world Pokémon-like, earning its right to be compared to the legendary likes of Minecraft, Zelda, and, of course, Pokémon. This isn't merely half-baked ideas that sound good on paper, but brilliantly executed mechanics that work flawlessly, even in the game's fledgling state.

If you want a game like Zelda or Pokémon or any open-world RPG, then Wildaria is for you. Its procedurally generated world is oozing with atmosphere and detail thanks to its Stardew Valley-esque visuals; its character customization is expansive; its combat is fluid and fun; its creature taming sports an enormous roster, a more involved mechanic for capturing creatures, unique skills for each one, and the ability to ride them. Every aspect of Wildaria's design has been carefully refined over years of development to offer a project that I wouldn't be surprised to be compared to Breath of the Wild.

Wildaria Is A Truly Ambitious Project

Wildaria is available in Early Access via Steam and costs $14.99. Developer SpaceFudge states that the game is set to be in Early Access for two years, during which a substantial amount of content will be added, including multiplayer, a cooking system, more biomes and bosses, 100+ more pets, and several other undisclosed features. Considering 97% of the game's reviews on Steam are positive, and SpaceFudge has already confirmed 2000 sales within just a few days, it's likely these updates will happen. However, what is already available is impressive in its own right, with the Early Access release including:

• Four unique biomes
• 40+ creatures to tame
• 3 main bosses
• Skill tree
• Pets skill trees
• Quests
• Dungeons

There's more than enough content in the game to sustain a lengthy playthrough, and the steady stream of updates will help supplement that to ensure you're rarely bored. SpaceFudge has confirmed that the price will be increased "slightly" when the multiplayer update drops, so those who think $14.99 seems like a reasonable price and want to support Wildaria early should do so now. It is great to see such a novel take on the likes of Stardew Valley and Pokémon, and I, for one, sincerely hope Wildaria manages to fulfill its vision.