heavy player of both minecraft and valheim, they definitely live in the same genre of games :)

progression loop is very similar absent boss fights, of which minecraft only has one.

overworld -> nether -> end = meadows -> black forest -> etc

wood -> stone -> iron -> diamond = wood -> bronze -> etc

Building focus

Survival elements (though Minecraft's food system has a bigger stick than Valheim's)

Farming

They aren't the same game, but the comparisons between them are not incorrect.