Stardew Valley

After years of seeing Stardew Valley but never playing it, I finally had the opportunity to give it a go.  Without burying the lead too far, the game is fantastic.  I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I have been, but that is how these games go.  There are a few points of this game that really made it stand out for me, even among some of the competitors in a relatively similar space.  So, let us mosey on into this and discuss Stardew Valley.

A game needs to grab my attention with a compelling story, and Stardew has delivered on this.  It begins by letting you know that you are about to be a farmer in a distant place that has its secrets.  From the start, all I was thinking was, “My farm is a disaster zone that needs to be fixed asap!”  At this point, the story is yours to control.  You want to focus on just farming crops, you are more than welcome to do so.  Of course, you may be limiting your experience with the rest of this world.  There is a whole town of people to interact with, learn about, make friends, or even get married if that strikes your fancy.  This allows us to see all the townspeople interacting with each other, adding in their daily struggles, achievements, and spirit.  As the player, most of these events are in your control, and this valley will change based on your actions.  You truly feel like a part of this world, and you just want to keep going more each day.

Now that we have explored the basic story of the game, let us go into things you are actually able to do in this world.  From the first day, you are told that the farm is a little run down and needs to be fixed up.  Obviously, this is where you start in the game, but the world itself is your oyster.  I found myself running around in all the locations, picking up every piece of forage I could find, collecting stones and wood to upgrade my cabin, even exploring a mine and fighting monsters, adding a touch of action to a relatively calm and relaxing game.  Even if you are feeling overwhelmed with how many options you have, the game can help you focus by throwing a quest at you to help the townspeople.  These quests will help you learn what you can do each day, especially as you only have a certain amount of time each day.  When all else fails, just do whatever you really want to do!  This also becomes much more interesting when you introduce multiplayer.

When there is so much to be done in one day, having a helping hand is a major benefit that Stardew Valley incorporates.  Friends can work together, with a shared or separate gold accounts, and work on the farm together!  This helps the vision of the farm grow at such a large pace that you can actually find time to do things together in the game and explore more!  This game has plenty of events and challenges that when having a friend nearby can be the the line between victory and defeat!  Always a good time playing with friends and watching our community grow together.

This game has clearly grabbed my attention, and I still play the game, maybe a bit too much as of now.  The gameplay just feels soothing, something you can kick back and enjoy while making everything exactly as you want it to be.  Heck, maybe you just want to head to the ocean and listen to the waves as you fish.  Truly is a delightful game, and based on how much I have continued to play it, I can only give it a score of 5/5 Luckies!