This reviewer’s playthrough was completed on a Windows PC running Windows 10 with an AMD Radeon HD 8510G graphics card and 8 gigabytes of ram
Stardew Valley had me hooked almost immediately.
From the get-go, the game oozes charm, from its lovely, pixelated art style to its leisurely gameplay that calls back to the Harvest Moon games of old. The basic premise will be immediately familiar to anyone who has ever played a Harvest Moon game before – your character inherits a piece of farmland in a small town and settles into their new life of planting crops and befriending the townsfolk.
However, despite the similarities, the game is no simple Harvest Moon clone. Developer ConcernedApe has taken the basic farming sim formula and created a game that feels both nostalgic and innovative. Stardew Valley manages to improve on the typical formula while also holding on to what makes it great.
The daily grind
The game throws you into the farming life with little in the way of tutorials, but the mechanics are simple and easy to grasp. Players start out with a handful of seeds, a few basic tools, and a huge plot of land with which to eke out a living.
The basic gameplay loop is simple, but incredibly satisfying, and there are a wide variety of things to do around town. There’s only so much time in the day however and you only have so much energy to spare, so you have to plan each day carefully if you don’t want to end up collapsing due to exhaustion.
You can focus on farming, do quests for the local townspeople, pursue a romantic relationship with any one of ten bachelors or bachelorettes, or even fight monsters in the mines in search of resources and loot. This basic gameplay loop provides the backbone of how players spend their time in Stardew Valley, and, though the game’s repetitive nature may turn some people off, I couldn’t pull myself away.
Nuts and bolts
Stardew Valley offers a number of unique systems that make it stand out from the crowd. Along with the basic farming and relationship-building aspects fans of the genre would expect, there are also light RPG elements that add a more tangible sense of progression to the game. There are a number of skills to develop, including farming, foraging, fishing, mining, and combat. These skills level up as you use them, granting you access to bonuses like improved tool proficiencies, new crafting recipes, and even passive bonuses like more health and better crop prices. Another unique feature is the game’s robust crafting system. Players can craft anything from sprinklers and scarecrows to food and furniture for their house. The items you craft can be placed nearly anywhere on your farm, and there is a lot of room for customization to make your farm and your house look exactly the way you want it to.
Finally, the game features action-based combat elements to add even more variety to players’ virtual days. Players can fight monsters with weapons like swords and slingshots, and the local mines are full of dangerous monsters to slay and glorious loot to collect. The combat is simplistic, relying on a simple attack/defend stances, but it still provides a nice change of pace when farming becomes too dull.
The little things
Stardew Valley has an incredible amount of polish, and the little touches go a long way in making the game stand out. Each of the game’s villagers have their own daily schedules that go a long way in making the game world feel alive. The game’s animations are incredibly pleasant to look at, from the satisfying swing of the scythe to the gentle swaying of crops in the breeze. The charming pixel art style looks great and makes the game easy to run on nearly any PC. The sound design is also fantastic, from the cawing of sea gulls at the Pelican Town beach, to the deafening crack of thunderbolts on stormy days.
The game is very polished on the technical front, as well. I found very few bugs during my time with the game, and it only crashed on me a couple of times. The developer has been very good about releasing bug fixes quickly and responding to player feedback, which is great.
TL;DR
Stardew Valley is a deep and innovative take on the classic farming sim that should not be missed by anyone who may be a fan of the genre. The game may not be for everyone, but people who enjoy games like Harvest Moon and Rune Factory will find a lot to love here.
+ Satisfying gameplay with plenty of variety
+ Incredibly well-polished
- Some players could find the gameplay repetitive
Read More
Halo 2 In Halo Infinite | Checkpoint
By Byte Staff / 5 hours agoIan and Ian talk about the new Halo 2 inspired content coming to Halo Infinite
Nintendo's New Non-Video Game Products | Checkpoint
By Byte Staff / 5 hours agoIan and Ian discuss the new Nintendo products, both of which aren't video games
Amazon’s 'Fallout' is a breath of fresh, irradiated air
By Ian Case / 2 days agoThe Fallout show stays true to the world of the games, while also carving its own path in an intriguing story. While the show has some rough spots, it positions itself well to grow out of its mistakes into another season.
