Come June 29, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can play Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town through their subscription, a game that should especially appeal to fans of Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, game in the cozy life sim/farming game genre. However, Stardew Valley has been available for seven years now, and so some hardcore fans may have had their fill and are looking for a new, but similar experience.
Xbox Game Pass has its fair share of cozy games that would appeal to Stardew Valley fans. It even has Stardew Valley itself. New games are added to the Xbox Game Pass library on a regular basis, and the June 29 update should be an exciting one for Stardew Valley enthusiasts.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town's Xbox Game Pass debut on June 29 is one that Stardew Valley fans should keep an eye on. For those unfamiliar with Story of Seasons, it's the successor franchise to Harvest Moon. Harvest Moon, as many Stardew Valley fans know, directly inspired the smash hit indie farming game from ConcernedApe. While Stardew Valley has many forward-thinking new features and significant quality of life improvements that have helped it surpass its inspirations in many ways, it's a safe bet that Stardew Valley fans will still find a lot to like about Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town.
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a 3D remake of Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, a game that originally released on the Game Boy Advance. Friends of Mineral Town earned mostly positive reviews at the time of its release, and so did the Story of Seasons remake. The premise is something that should be familiar to Stardew Valley fans - players are left to take care of their grandfather's farm, and so they spend their days interacting with local villagers, growing crops, and taking care of farm animals.
This version of Friends of Mineral Town includes some significant changes when compared to the Game Boy Advance version. Besides the obvious graphical upgrade, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town features two difficulty modes to choose from, new characters to marry, same-sex marriage, quality-of-life features, new items, and more. It's the definitive way to experience the game, and soon Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to do so through their subscription.