Summary
- In contrast to Stardew Valley, Echoes of the Plum Grove features player character aging and the ability to pass away.
- Pre-orders for Echoes of the Plum Grove on Nintendo Switch are available with a 10% discount, offering a cozy farm simulator experience.
A Stardew Valley-like game called Echoes of the Plum Grove is arriving on the Nintendo Switch. After a PC release in 2024, Echoes of the Plum Grove has drawn high praise from players, and includes a number of twists that are absent from Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley is a casual indie game that lets players take everything at their own pace. While the story starts with the player’s grandpa passing away and leaving the farm to the player’s character, the player themselves never ages and can spend years, decades, or even longer on their farm if they so choose. While many of the farming and socialization qualities of the two indie games are similar, Echoes of the Plum Grove handles life and death differently.

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Echoes of the Plum Grove, an indie game by Unwound Games, is releasing on Nintendo Switch on February 13. The indie game uses a cute visual style, which may remind some players of Paper Mario. In this indie game, players settle down in a new town after being shipwrecked. From there, players can farm, make friends, raise animals, get married, and have children. Traits can be passed down from the parents to their children. Player characters age in Echoes of the Plum Grove, and can also pass away, due to things like old age or disease. At that point, the player can take over playing as one of their children, or another member of their prior character’s household. Those who would prefer to hold onto their original character, though, can turn off aging in Echoes of the Plum Grove.
Echoes of the Plum Grove Offers Opportunities Stardew Valley Doesn’t
Although players enjoy torturing the Mayor of Stardew Valley with his purple shorts, there aren’t many opportunities in the game to actually have a significant negative impact on NPCs. The same isn’t true of Echoes of the Plum Grove. Players can actually poison townsfolk if they so choose, though there can be consequences for one’s actions. Further, villager NPCs can eventually pass away from old age like the player character. The winter will also pose a significant threat, with players needing to stockpile food and supplies to ensure they make it through the cold season.
Pre-orders for Echoes of the Plum Grove on Nintendo Switch are open as of this writing, with a current introductory sale price of 10% off, for $17.99 USD. The standard listed price is $19.99. Those who would prefer not to wait for the cozy game can pick up the game for PC now via Steam.