STARDEW VALLEY
Stardew Valley is one of those games that suddenly saturates your social networks. People talk about it and you get all excited, but don’t yet know why. My first real contact was reading a Gamasutra article titled, “The four-year self-imposed crunch that went into making Stardew Valley.” I read it with a kind of horrified curiosity as to what possible good could come from a young man working for so many hours. Well, Stardew Valley is the answer. It’s really good.
From the opening sequences you learn that you are loved, by a grandfather who is giving you his farm, and by the game which provides perfect cutscenes in elaborate, Gamemaker detail. No, wait. Not Gamemaker or RPG Maker, even. This game was made in C#. And, as well as the code, Eric Barone also created all of the music, sound, story and art. I tried to contact him to ask for a review copy, but he didn’t reply. He’s a (now very busy) one-man team. I bought the game.
Honestly? That it sold 425,000 copies in the first two weeks is probably all you need to know. Skip reading this review and just buy it, if you like. I could probably also encapsulate the experience in that one word; love, but I would certainly like to elaborate. I am in love with a game that loves me. There are no cut corners, no cheesy exploits and all the real, meaningful engagement in the world. This is the game you cannot wait to come home to after a stressful day.
As an homage to Harvest Moon, farming is, ostensibly, the focus. You can buy seeds or forage for wild plants to craft them. Hoe a plot then plant, water and, eventually, sell the fruits, and vegetables, of your labour. As with everything in the game, things take time. The first seeds you are gifted mature in a few days. Most others take a week, or more. Some plants are spent, once harvested, others yield an ongoing, seasonal crop. Watch out for Summer.
After expending your energy farming, there are many more ways to while away the days. Collecting coral at the beach is quite lucrative, or find and donate artefacts to the museum. One of my favourite moments was chasing my chooks through the grass after the several weeks it took to buy, build and start using the coop. Then, after it got dark, I actually got lost on my own farm. It’s scrubby land that takes forever to clear and develop. Patience is essential.
There are very few fail states, besides slow progression. You aren’t required to pay rent or to fix your axe, hoe, pickaxe or sword. Upgrade them, yes, for money and time, but not to maintain the basic models. Having said this, fall in combat and suffer financially by dropping gold and items. The mine, where you gather metal resources and complete tasks for The Adventurer’s Guild is procedurally generated, but saved every five levels. Rescued miners have to rediscover levels, too.
Combat is a matter of understanding enemy movement, boosting stats with gear and clicking madly. This isn’t to say you can’t play well, or badly, just that it’s relatively simple. Monsters drop the weird loot you need for the best fishing bait, and such. You’ll learn how to craft incrementally, by completing journal objectives and, painstakingly, making friends. You can even marry but, oh, the hoops to jump through first. Perhaps better to just let the dog sleep at the foot of your bed.
Stardew Valley is where good RimWorld colonists go when they die (of frostbite, being eaten or madness.) It’s a gentle, loving place where people are happy to see you and perfect pink leaves fall from trees for whole days at a time. Saving progress after sleeping is a masterstroke for creating that “one more day” feeling, mostly because you always wake up refreshed and ready for something new. The first time I awoke to rain on the tin roof I knew I wanted to stay here for a long while.
Stardew Valley is where good RimWorld colonists go when they die