Picture: Steam Store
INTRODUCTION
In Stardew Valley you inherit your late grandfathers old farm which lies far away from the big city in lush Stardew Valley. A quick view over the farmland suggests that it wasn’t tended to over the past years. Before you can start into the farming business there is a lot of work to do…
GAMEPLAY
One of Stardew Valley’s strengths is that it divides gameplay in more sections than just plain farming.
As you progress through the game you will raise your skills and can get traits that benefit you in one way or another.
Of course you will be able to build relationships (both romantic and platonic) with the citizens and there is a crafting system as well!
The general area of Stardew Valley is divided in multiple areas. You’ve got the Town, the bus stop, your farm, the western forest, the hills above your farm, the train station with SPA, the quarry, and the beach.
There is several more secret areas you can discover as well!
There is a good number of hair styles skin tones and clothes to choose from, also the color of your eyes and hairs is free of choice!
You also get to choose between a dog or a cat to keep as a pet! (dog person approves!)
But wait, there is more! You can also pick and choose between 5 farm layouts!
The Game progresses through 4 Seasons of which each lasts 28 days with several birthdays and festivals to attend to (get a calendar!). Fish, townspeople and seasonal fruits will change their behavior and schedule depending on the season and weather.
Stardew Valley supports playing with standard XInput Controllers as well!
FARMING
You will be able to plant a multitude of seasonal seeds, growing fruits, vegetables and - if you are proficient in foraging - wild plants that normally can only be harvested from their natural habitats.
As your farming skill rises, you get to choose between 2 traits one at level 5 and one at level 10.
Farming also unlocks the first basic crafting recipes for useful tools like a harvester for tree sap, fertilizer or even sprinklers!
Crops can have different qualities ranging from normal over silver to gold, each one selling for more.
If you turn your best crops into artisan goods, they are worth even more! On rare occasions some crops can randomly mutate into giant crops and will shower you with small versions of themselves upon harvesting!
There are also machines for almost everything: cheese/oil makers, beehives and many more can be used to refine your basic produce.
Farming also makes using the watering can and the hoe more energy efficient.
FORAGING
Foraging is your skill for picking stuff up from the nature. Depending on your skill, you will be able to pick up more and higher quality goods from the forests and hills around your farm. Everything in Stardew Valley is seasonal. If you dig up certain spots in the ground you may even find some artifacts!
Foraging also will unlock several nature based crafting recipes, like wild seeds and makes using the Axe more energy efficient.
FISHING
Your fishing skill determines your overall ability to catch a fish and its general quality.
Fishing is done through a little mini-game where you have to keep a bar behind the fish you want to catch. Every fish has its own behavior during that minigame, some fish may almost stand still making it easy to catch them, but the most rare and valuable ones will jump around like crazy!
There is a chance for treasure chests to appear during the minigame and if you put up the effort (and potential loss of your fish and the treasure!) you can get yourself a nice price (sometimes) !
Fishing will unlock several fishing based crafting recipes like crab pots or bait and will make using the fishing pole more energy efficient.
MINING / FIGHTING
Mining determines your success of finding ores and geodes from rocks.
Ores can be turned into metal ingots which are used in upgrading tools and crafting machines.
There is a mine in the hills you can delve into and there is rumors about another secret mine.
Be careful though because the old mines are overrun by monsters.
Mining unlocks crafting recipes for bombs or transmuting metal and makes using the pickaxe not as tiring anymore.
While fighting monsters in the mines you will raise your fighting skill. Based on it is your critical chance and how much damage you do. Several weapons and equipment pieces can be found in the mines or bought from the adventurer’s guild.
Fighting will also unlock crafting recipes like health potions and rings you can equip.
RELATIONSHIPS
The relationship system in Stardew Valley is approximately the same as in Harvest Moon games
Your relationship with the townspeople is measured by the friendship points (FP) you have, which are earned through small talk, quests, presents, attending festivals and doing good in competitions.
Getting to know the townspeople will reward you with them sending you presents and recipes via mail and gaining access to their private rooms.
Raising your friendship levels will also unlock friendship events which unveil more about the backstory of the person you try to befriend.
Every other day there will be also postings on the bulletin board in the town, where you can do timed delivery quests that help a lot with gaining FP, perfect for making the girls or guys fall for you!
Stardew Valley sports 6 bachelors and 6 bachelorettes, all with their own characters and quirks.
Also nice: the game does not care whether you want to have a same sex marriage or not. Everyone can marry any of the single townspeople and even have children with them, in case of a same sex marriage through adoption.
BUILDINGS
The local carpenter can also build farm buildings for you; all of them are useful and some are upgradeable. You can build several coops and barns, a shed, a mill, and a well.
The shed acts like another building with free space where you can put machines or storage chests into. The mill turns beets into sugar and grains into flour, a well can save you the trip to the river to refill your watering can and looks stylish as well!
MULTIPLAYER
Another strength of Stardew Valley is its Multiplayer:
you can host any saved game to play together with up to 4 people in total. You just need to build small huts for your friends where they can live and sleep (100g each). After building the huts you can invite them to the game via steam friend invites fairly easy.
Of course you can always start a completely new CO-OP game from the Main Menu, which gives you the 3 Huts right at the start.
You can also marry anyone of your friends in multiplayer, so if you are not happy with the available bachelors or bachelorettes just marry the person you already know best! But be careful, your friends can also snatch your love interest out under your nose!
CONCLUSION
Stardew Valley unites all the loved and known aspects of past farming games under one banner and – to be honest – finally brings a nice farming game to PC. (and other non-handheld platforms)
Stardew Valley combines well-made and fleshed out systems from the past, like the friendship and farming aspects and simultaneously brings a lot of fresh air to the genre with its open marriage and multiplayer system.
The 8-bit Graphics brings you right back into your childhood and makes the whole experience so much more wholesome. I’ve sunk so many hours into my farm and its easy to see why.
Stardew Valley offers everything I could want from a farming game (having played almost all of the Harvest Moon games that is a real achievement!) and keeps me in its grip with his beautiful and mysterious landscape!
Stardew Valley deserves a spot amongst the Gold Standard Titles of Simulation Games without any doubt! This game is worth grabbing anytime, but if you played farming games earlier in your life and liked them, get it ASAP!
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