Editor’s Notice: This assessment takes a recent have a look at Stardew Valley after its 1.6 replace on PC, changing our earlier assessment from 2018. You possibly can learn extra about our assessment insurance policies and philosophy right here.
Each time I return to Stardew Valley after a brand new patch drops, I ask myself: why is the pull nonetheless so sturdy? Newer farming video games have improved on lots of the mechanics its developer, ConcernedApe, launched manner again in 2016, including attention-grabbing twists to the old-school blueprint it repopularized – so in 2024, why is Stardew Valley nonetheless my favourite? However that’s simply it: Stardew Valley is the mannequin for farming video games now. It might not be fairly as refined or as streamlined as a few of the sims it impressed, however none have managed to seize the uncooked lightning in a bottle that makes it so enduring, both. That’s partly as a result of Stardew Valley could be a “cozy” pixel artwork haven, however it’s additionally robust. Managing your time and juggling dozens of competing priorities is an infinite problem, and it’s on this fantastically balanced dance that I discover an intense satisfaction that merely can’t be beat. Pair that with an almost decade-long parade of latest quirky particulars to find each time I begin up a recent farm, and Stardew Valley turns into really timeless.
There isn’t a small measure of irony to the truth that the beginning of Stardew Valley plucks you from a soul-crushing desk job and plops you right into a quaint little farming city… the place you could then grow to be a tireless, people-pleasing perfectionist. Oh, you thought you had been simply going to be pleasantly plucking weeds and planting parsnips in your late grandpa’s deserted farm? No, you aren’t only a farmer after your transfer to Pelican City. Like every typical entry-level intern, you’re anticipated to put on many hats. Restoring the Group Middle to its former glory could also be fulfilling labor, however you’ll additionally have to stage up your abilities throughout the board, from foraging to fishing to mining, and even monster combating. Don’t overlook to smoodge your manner into the hearts of the lovable townspeople by showering them with items on daily basis. How else are you supposed to seek out your life associate?
I’m a returning fan, so I do know what I need to accomplish on every new run, however for these new to this sensation you would possibly discover that, at first, Stardew Valley offers you a lot freedom and so many choices that it might really feel form of aimless. In addition to the odd request out of your neighbors arriving within the mail, you’re given no bigger goal – simply this broad rags-to-riches objective of fixing up your grandpa’s farm and the city by delivering bundles of products. It’s solely as you begin to progress by means of the seasons that you simply understand what’s at stake. Positive, you possibly can play at your individual leisure and nonetheless discover loads of pleasure in a extra relaxed, unoptimized tempo. However you’ll quickly come to grasp that forgetting to reward Jodi that cauliflower she wished in spring might imply ready a complete 12 months earlier than you get again to the season the place you possibly can develop that crop once more, and thus be taught to find time for the issues that matter most.
This makes Stardew Valley a deceptively tense balancing act of managing your time and multitasking effectively. There are many issues to unlock that can make that simpler, be they cooking recipes for meals that enhance your stamina so you possibly can accomplish extra every day or upgraded instruments that can assist you until the earth and water your crops faster. However the price of unlocking these issues often comes within the type of grinding for expertise factors within the talent you are attempting to enhance or accumulating a sure variety of required gadgets. Do you need to unlock the greenhouse earlier than the top of Yr 1? Nicely, then you definitely’d higher be sure to develop sufficient gold-quality melons that summer time to full the Pantry Bundle within the Group Middle, in any other case you’ll have to attend till Yr 2.
This is the reason taking part in Stardew Valley alongside a great recreation information will be day and night time. Like many “old-school” video games, Stardew Valley doesn’t all the time inform you the whole lot you should know. Not each quest has hints to observe, and relating to discovering some seasonal gadgets reminiscent of particular fish, you’re getting in utterly blind. There’s undoubtedly pleasure to be present in figuring one thing out for your self, however I solely discovered myself really thriving as soon as I noticed that there was an infinite dirge of technique guides and neighborhood sources to be discovered on-line.
Whereas this would possibly sound like a very inflexible slog, it actually doesn’t really feel like one. Seasons are so fleeting and the time you need to accomplish your targets is so restricted that you simply’re all the time incentivized to discover areas you won’t have in any other case to be able to accomplish them faster. For instance, if you wish to unlock the minecarts (a useful mode of quick journey), you’ll have to push your self to discover the mines. Every flooring is randomly generated, and breaking open rocks to seek out supplies whereas reducing down slimes and different monsters rapidly evolves right into a harrowing dungeon crawl. As you delve deeper, you’ll encounter harmful and unusual new enemies with completely different assaults and more durable hits, and it’s enjoyable to arrange the precise weapons and stat-boosting meals to outlive. Lose all of your well being (or run out of power and fail to make it dwelling in time) and also you’ll move out, costing you money and even your valuable treasure relying on which character randomly finds you and brings you again to the floor, making every journey down into the mines really feel recent and probably nerve-racking.
If fight isn’t your pace, there are such a lot of different issues to try this you possibly can simply postpone exploring the mines for a bit in favor of farming, foraging, and even socializing – and don’t even get me began on fishing. (Okay, when you insist!) Stardew Valley’s notorious fishing minigame is each the bane of my existence and my biggest obsession. It’s such a easy exercise: solid in your line, snag a fish, after which maintain a inexperienced bar overlapped with a bouncing fish icon till you’ve efficiently reeled it in. And but, nothing is extra devastating than fastidiously tapping my left mouse button for an entire minute to maintain a Pufferfish on the road, solely to interrupt focus for a second and watch my progress crash into the pink. However, nothing is sort of as elating as lastly catching an elusive Catfish on a wet day. Each fish has completely different behaviors and motion patterns that dictate how they wiggle round on the hook, including an attention-grabbing layer of technique to recognizing them; some are simpler to foretell and others can have you on the verge of annoyed tears. It’s fairly actually my favourite exercise.
The enjoyment of Stardew Valley isn’t simply in benefiting from its jam-packed days, it’s in all of the little quirks and secrets and techniques you uncover alongside the best way. From heartwarming cutscenes with villagers to weird one-off quests that would have you ever delivering maple syrup to a unusually cognizant bear, really, a lot character has been injected into this idyllic city. That is the one recreation the place I can construct a pond on my farm solely to then get absurd calls for from the speaking fish inside it. What’s a fish going to do with three Omni Geodes anyway? Time to go mining within the Cranium Cavern, I suppose.
You’re not often doing the identical factor for very lengthy as a result of it takes lower than quarter-hour to play by means of an in-game day, a tempo which solely additional entices me to stay round for “only one extra” each session. As a result of time is so tight, it usually feels such as you by no means fairly have sufficient to do the whole lot you would possibly need to – which will sound irritating initially, however it’s truly so absorbing. It forces you to strategize and plan out your duties prematurely, fueling that obsessive urge to maintain taking part in much more to be able to maintain from leaving some objective solely half completed. On this manner, every morning seems like embarking on a brand new dungeon run. How far will you get right this moment? Will luck be in your facet or will it work towards you?
Stardew Valley feels infinite, which is each thrilling and overwhelming. Sure, technically, there are two methods by which you possibly can see your self “beating” it. The primary is to absolutely restore the Group Middle by gifting the lovely little Junimo spirits particular bundles of native goodies, which you both should develop or search out your self, and the second is to obtain whole “Perfection,” Stardew Valley’s model of 100% completion. Both one can have you planting greens, rising fruit bushes, and elevating animals in your farm, all of which observe swimsuit with Stardew Valley as an entire by being pretty simple on the floor, however deviously deep if you wish to maximize each the amount and high quality of your produce. It is going to doubtless take you multiple in-game 12 months simply to finish the Group Middle in your first playthrough; with 28 days in every of the 4 seasons, meaning this problem alone can simply take dozens of hours, and I beloved each minute of it.
Listening to about that scale of time dedication might make it appear to be an intimidating job, however that is the true attraction of Stardew Valley: It’s a collector’s paradise. Simply once you suppose you’re finished, you’ll bump into one other checklist of duties to delightfully verify off. Full the Group Middle bundles and now the native fisherman, Willy, is asking you to assist restore his previous boat. Subsequent factor , you’re touring to a very new island that’s principally inhabited by voracious parrots. After all, the one method to discover this fully separate space and unlock all of the cool issues launched there may be by feeding the parrots the Golden Walnuts discovered hidden all through the island. It offers you one other attractive objective to distract you from no matter you could have been doing earlier than, even when only for just a few days.
This deluge of choices is in no small half because of the entire glorious free updates Stardew Valley has sporadically obtained since its preliminary launch in 2016, tantalizingly pushing that end line additional and additional out of attain for its devoted gamers. ConcernedApe has added co-op multiplayer, cool new beginning farm layouts, tons of further crops and seasonal occasions, expanded post-game actions, and innumerable bug fixes – to not point out loads of foolish issues just like the latest craze sweeping the valley: consuming mayonnaise. I’ve misplaced depend of what number of farms I’ve began over time, together with one on the distinctive new Meadowlands Farm format that was launched within the most up-to-date 1.6 replace (solely on PC as of this writing) and I nonetheless haven’t discovered these darn raccoons it added! It might fairly actually take you over 100 hours to find the whole lot Stardew Valley has to supply… and by the point you do, there could have been one other patch.
And did I point out the lore scattered all through all of it? As a result of, sure, Stardew Valley is steeped within the stuff. At first, the folks of Pelican City would possibly come off as stand-offish and typically even chilly. However the extra you chat with every villager and provides items to extend your “friendship” stage with them, the extra you’ll unveil simply how messy these persons are. The type however unusually useless mayor has a secret lover; we’re all fairly certain that Abigail, our resident video-game loving goth woman, has a mysterious origin story to find. Heck, you don’t even get to fulfill one of many villagers till you’ve reached Yr 2 as a result of he’s been away combating in a struggle towards some fantastical evil empire. I like attending to really feel just like the city snoop, prying into the non-public particulars of all people’s lives with none of the repercussions. If something, the messiness of those characters makes them really feel extra grounded and endearing.
As you get to know this neighborhood higher, you’ll make headway in one of many largest elements of Stardew Valley: Romance. There are 12 eligible villagers residing in Pelican City, all of whom you will get to know by chatting them up as soon as a day and gifting their favourite issues. That is one space the place Stardew can, admittedly, fall a bit flat relative to the excessive factors of different video games with a deal with courting. Whereas it’s nice that you may date any of those villagers no matter gender, it doesn’t fairly make up for the dearth of each attention-grabbing personalities and variety amongst your selections for romantic companions.
If there’s romance out there in a recreation, I need to really feel torn by the choice of who to pursue. However right here, my indecision over who to marry initially has much less to do with being too smitten and extra to do with the truth that the entire choices are equally… unappealing. That being mentioned, I don’t suppose the entire villagers of Stardew Valley are essentially alleged to be instantly “likable” in a conventional sense. Simply because it usually is in actual life, it’s solely after taking the time to get to know them by means of particular conversations and unlockable occasions that a few of them begin to look extra engaging and sophisticated as folks. However whereas their bigger tales are usually properly written, they don’t essentially make for probably the most thrilling romantic companions to woo proper out of the gate.
