The Casual Splendor of Stardew Valley

Every time I see another pixelated game I cringe.  Hasn't the whole pixelated thing been done to death?  Those thoughts were running through my head as I saw the game Stardew Valley climbing up the Steam top sellers chart.  Despite my initial reticence, I decided to click on it's store page.  A game about farming?  There's no shooting?  It's a game about socializing and building friendships?  It didn't really seem possible that this game could be on the top ten list.  All the reviews were very positive....but maybe this is one of those jokey games that people intentionally gave good reviews.  The more I read, the more I realized that people were genuinely enjoying it.  I was still hesitant as sandboxy style, crafting games haven't really been my thing.  For weeks I debated picking it up, then I convinced myself that I would wait until it went on sale.  But I was in a "game hole" and desperately needed something else to play.  $15 isn't really that much.....hopefully this wouldn't turn out like my previous poor choices in the form of Spelunky and Terraria.  (Which are both probably games that many people enjoy, they just weren't for me).

It turns out that all the positive feedback is completely true.  Stardew Valley is exactly the cute, charming game that all the reviews claim it is.  The premise of the game is simple; you have inherited your grandfather's decaying farm and want to re-build it into a profitable business.  Beside the elbow grease intensive tasks on the farm you can spend your non-farming time chatting up the locals.  Part of the charm is simply talking to the many residents who live in the area around your farm.

My farm during the spring.

The gameplay revolves around your energy meter.  Your character wakes up every morning with a full energy meter.  As you perform tasks around the farm, things like chopping down trees, clearing away rocks, or preparing soil for crops your energy meter gradually depletes.  If you push your character too hard and they become exhausted and can pass out.  Passing out doesn't have any permanent effects, but will require the doctor to come and drag your sorry body back to your home.  Oh, and even though he's a nice guy, he doesn't lug strangers back to their homes for free.  So keep an eye on that energy meter!  Fortunately, you can eat different kinds of food to replenish your energy.

The type of crops you can plant on your farm depends on the season.  Each season has unique crops that will only grow during that specific season.  Planning out what to plant at the beginning of a season is a great strategy.  Certain plants take a long time to grow, but can be harvested multiple times--even though these plants won't yield any cash at the beginning of the season they will pay off later on.  I find that I try to maintain a balance between crops with a long growing time and those with a shorter one.  The downside of the short term crops is that after they are harvested you have to buy more seeds and re-plant them.

Not all your time is consumed by farm tasks and often you can dedicate part of the day to many other things.  Adventuring in the mines will net you ores that can be used to build new items or upgrade your existing ones.  If you would rather make your cash from the bounty of the land you can forage for wild plants or spend your idle time fishing.  Of course there's always the overarching need to socialize with the residents of the valley and earn their trust and friendship.  Friendship is earned through gift giving.  Each resident of the valley can receive up to two gifts a week and every person has their own personal preferences for the type of gifts they like to receive.  It can be tricky to figure out what each person loves or hates but once you do figure it out, friendship isn't far off.  Or you could just look at one of the guides that explains what each character enjoys.  I have tried really, really hard to resist the urge to look up one of those guides.  So far I have almost succeeded (I looked up Harvey's gift guide because it felt like he hated everything I gave him).

As time passes in Stardew Valley the seasons change.  Each season brings unique activities and new fish, crops, and forage.  During winter there aren't crops to grow so you can spend more time fishing, socializing, and exploring the mines.  With your increased income you can add buildings to your farm--a coop allows you to raise chickens which will provide you with eggs, a barn lets you raise cows which will provide milk.  Special machines unlock that allow you to turn your animal products and crops into artisan goods like mayonaise, cheese, or pickles/jellies.  These artisan products sell for much more than the raw goods and also make great gifts.

I have been impressed with how well Stardew Valley has managed to capture and keep my attention.  The concepts in the game are very simple--wake up, water your crops, feed your animals, find something else to do...rinse, repeat.  It's simplicity masks a complex game that requires players to manage their time wisely, decide which crops to grow, learning about and befriending the many people who live in the valley, catching fish, exploring the mines, falling in love, exploring the many new areas that gradually unlock, trying to re-build the destroyed community center...there are so many things to do that it's easy to feel completely enamored with every pixel.