When comparing The Binding of Isaac vs Stardew Valley, the Slant community recommends Stardew Valley for most people. In the question“What are the best indie games on Steam?” Stardew Valley is ranked 1st while The Binding of Isaac is ranked 19th. The most important reason people chose Stardew Valley is:
Stardew Valley is a very simple game where you're free to do anything and everything at your own pace. This includes building your farm, planting and harvesting crops, and exploring the world among many other things. It will feel enjoyable no matter how fast or slow you do it. This coupled with the colorful/pleasing art style and the great soundtrack makes it an extremely pleasing experience.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Tons of replayablity
Random levels, random items, random enemies, every game is new, exciting and challenging.
Pro One of a kind game
One of the best arcade roguelikes (or roguelikes, if you're a purist) out there. Difficult to beat completely and oh so very satisfying. Gazillions of unlocks, secrets, bosses, power-ups and item combinations. Limited co-op (BoIR only). The game can be genuinely terrifying and dark, especially if you take a moment to ponder what's really going on with its backstory and characters.
Pro Addictive gameplay
With an arcade style feel and a fairly quick play through, the game makes it easy to sit down and play for hours. Addicting could best describe the gameplay, something that the player can get lost in without getting overly complicated.
Pro Very easy to learn and play, while it doesn't get boring
While it is very easy to learn and play, it is still a difficult game to beat and therefore has a lot of replayability.
Pro Great Soundtrack
The soundtrack from the original and the new version fits the game really well and is extremely characteristic
Pro Very fulfilling to play
Stardew Valley is a very simple game where you're free to do anything and everything at your own pace. This includes building your farm, planting and harvesting crops, and exploring the world among many other things. It will feel enjoyable no matter how fast or slow you do it. This coupled with the colorful/pleasing art style and the great soundtrack makes it an extremely pleasing experience.
Pro Great soundtrack
When you work on your farm, go fishing, explore or just walk around the town you'll be accompanied by a really nice soundtrack. It's sometimes upbeat, sometimes soothing, and sometimes even melancholic, with every track matching each location and season perfectly.
There's also a wide variety of instruments used, including a piano, accordion, banjo, synths, and many others. This allows you to listen to the soundtrack for hours without getting tired of it. Sometimes it's very hard to believe Stardew Valley and its soundtrack was produced by just one person.
Pro A great mix of genres
While Stardew Valley is primarily a farming simulator, it also has social interaction elements and combat elements.
The social interaction elements allow you to interact with people around the town. You can befriend them, get quests from them, hang out with them, and even find a significant other to go out with and eventually marry. It can be very addictive to max out your relationship with everyone.
The combat elements are introduced when you unlock the dungeon, allowing you to battle creatures such as slimes, golems, and even mummies. While the combat is pretty simple, having you just swing your weapon, it's very satisfying to whack away at enemies.
If farming ever starts feeling stale you can try either of these to mix it up, allowing you to keep the game fresh for a longer time.
Pro Great freedom in designing your farm
When creating your own farm you aren't just limited to plowing fields for planting crops. You can also dig wells, put down fences, and even build various structures such as barns or stables. This allows you to build a farm that firmly matches your goals and sense of aesthetics.
Cons
Con It's creepy
The game to be put nicely is not really scary but just plain creepy. Definitely not a game recommended for children.
Con Can get really repetitive
Living on a farm is a lot of work, so you'll have to repeat the same tasks quite often. This includes tilling land, planting seeds, chopping trees, and many other farm related activities. While it's normally pretty fun and relaxing, it can get incredibly tedious during long play sessions, especially if you're just trying to progress.