The game that Stardew Valley blatantly copied - Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town.

It was made for the GBA, so has straightforward and precise controls, with none of the irritating camera or targeting complications that come with making the game 3D.

There are other later games in the Harvest Moon franchise with better graphics, but like Stardew Valley with a gamepad, they tend to have irritatingly imprecise controls. Friends of Mineral Town, with its isometric 2D, doesn’t have that problem.

Discounty has been fun, a supermarket simulator. It’s more story driven than Stardew and less open ended but similar vibes.

Graveyard keeper is a little dark but good with controller

Eastward has been on my wishlist for ever. Not really a building sim, and not sure about controller support. But the pixel art might draw you in like Stardew did

In my experience, most games that offer support for both are better with KB/M.

The KB/M vs Controller betterness ratio of a particular game tends to also scale up with the amount of controls required to play the game.

If you want a game that feels almost as good on the controller, find a simpler game with fewer controls.

As far as game recommendations: the wife and I have more hours into Stardew Valley than I’ll publicly admit, and other games we enjoy that work well with controllers are Luma Island, Dinkum, and Plate Up.

A side note: If you’re chasing the magic that is Stardew Valley, you aren’t going to find it elsewhere. Be open to a different kind of magic in these other games and you won’t be disappointed that it doesn’t hit like Stardew.

I’ve been playing My Time at Sandrock exclusively on my Steam Deck, so controller controls. It’s more focused on crafting instead of farming (you don’t unlock farming until you’re 2-3 in game weeks in), but it’s still very Stardew. I haven’t played the previous game in the series, My Time at Portia, but I understand it takes place in a more fertile area than Sandrock’s desert.

There a free to play online game called Palia that’s pretty chill.

Not as farm intensive as stardew, but you do have a few plots to grow crops and you can refine them into jams and pickled goods, etc.

Can also cook your food into meals, give gifts to villagers to build up relationships, and each villager has a story and background to learn.

There is also mining, tree felling, plant foraging, animal hunting, fishing, etc.

It’s a first person 3D world, and I haven’t tried it with controller but I imagine it would be fine.

It’s very chill, there is pretty much no negatives for any action or inaction that you take.

Oh also you can build your house on your plot of land and decorate it with a shit ton of decorative furniture and nic knacks.

Main storyline quests are not too bad either, there is a story to the world that develops as well.

I only played the demo of it but Luma Island seemed quite nice.

Palia. It’s free on Xbox and PlayStation. Has in game purchases but I’ve never bought one. My fiancee started playing it recently and ask me to play. You can grow a farm, it’s 3D, get a glider, run around and do missions. (MMO) Play with others and get bonuses in XP. I’m only about 3 hrs gameplay so far. It’s cross platform because she plays Xbox, so if that helps… idk

Edit: also fishing, chopping wood, story lines idk. It’s worth checking out if you have time/access.

Edit 2: my fiance wanted me to say they have a Halloween event going on right now, and they have gatherings/events to encourage people to meet each other and team up and help each other grow

Coral island! Simpler than stardew but very pretty very wholesome and perfect for controllers

What about touch? Phone or tablet.

If you have an Apple device and Apple Arcade, Stardew Valley is free.