Stardew Valley

This will be a small review of a game that I have been playing a lot lately: Stardew Valley. I am not a big gamer; I have never had the equipment to play these games before. Plus, I have never been into FPS games. Minecraft is more my style. The most I’d had was a Windows XP (really good OS btw) machine that was able to play the Sims, but I fell out of it as I grew up. Now that I have a computer of my own (an HP Z8 G4 running Windows 11, rescued from a company that was moving), I do what I want with it. I can play these games now, but I can’t get too crazy with rendering, as the GPU is built for CAD rather than gaming.

Onto Stardew Valley itself… The game is developed by Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. It is a 2016 indie game where you inherit a farm from your grandfather. The game is self-pascd, you can play with friends or play on your own. I have been playing singleplayer and have been enjoying it very much. It does take place in the modern day where there are computers and TV, so you are not too far off from the modern world. Speaking of which, there is a company called JojaMart, and it is evil. It wants to destroy the world that is known in the game. They say that everyone there is happy, but by the look on this worker’s face, that is not the case:

You can defeat JojaMart by rebuilding the community center, and this is the route that I prefer, as it takes down a corporation that has no business being in the valley.

I was talking to a friend one day and I said:

they remind me of the simple quiet folk that love to do nothing (I would love that life)

It is very much true, and I would love that life. You spend your days living in peace and quiet, and not surrounded by the chaos of the city.

I enjoy playing the game. It brings a sense of calm to me after a long and crazy day at work or a crazy day in general. I love coming home and signing into the game and just playing. There are moments that I have to look at the wiki because I don’t know where someone or something is. It is nice that there is an entire community behind the game that has played the entire thing and can be there to help you if you get stuck.

I have found myself logging on at 11 PM and playing until 1 AM because it is so easy to get lost into the game. I highly recommend this game and think it is worth the $14.99. I got it on the Steam Winter ale for a bit cheaper. It is available on all major platforms (sorry NES players, but it’s not available to you).

Multiplayer is available and allows up to 8 players, and I have heard it is a lot of fun. I am a member of a Discord server that plays Stardew most weeks, and it is fun to sit there and listen to them chat away about the game. They started playing before I got the game, but I am happy to have an activity that we all share in common aside from Minecraft.

I asked a very close friend for her thoughts on the game so far. She said:

I find the game to be quite charming. It’s [sic] whimsical nature appeals to me a great deal. The mechanics are wonderfully crafted, and I find myself fully absorbed for hours whenever I play. The reason for this is that the game speaks to one of our deepest callings as human beings: to cultivate and have dominion over the earth. Before the fall of man and sin ever entered the world, God called hard work good. Hard work and building beautiful things has always been a part of creation. Genesis 2:15 says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Farming, gardening, taking care of nature, and improving the lives of those around you are distinctly biblical calls, which is why so many humans are naturally drawn to doing those things. We were created to do them, and this game provides a simulation for us to fulfill those desires artificially, which is why many people find it so addicting. (This is partly the reason I limit myself to one session a week, or I will get sucked into the artificial world and forget that God’s commands apply to the real world). The deep backstory and path of every character is very well-designed, with redemptive and satisfying storylines. The Junimos and the chickens particularly appeal to me and I find their character sprites quite endearing. I love how extensive the exploration is and the difficulty level seems to scale quite well. Overall, it’s been a great experience and I would reccomend it to anyone.

Another friend said:

I have sunk far too many hours into this game in the past, so I’m generally trying to budget my hours on it these days. Clearly, I’m not the only one who feels this way. Something about the game is widely appealing, as it is one of the best-selling video games in history. When I play, I find that not only is the game a reflection of the things that we are made to do, but it also makes me yearn for a place where I can be disconnected from the never-ending stream of information that we are so accustomed to in the modern Internet age. It’s a bit ironic to feel that way while you choose to play a video game, but Stardew does evoke it. Makes me want to live on a ranch someday.

The deep backstory and path of every character is very well-designed, with redemptive and satisfying storylines. The Junimos and the chickens particularly appeal to me and I find their character sprites quite endearing. I love how extensive the exploration is, and the difficulty level seems to scale quite well. Overall, it’s been a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone.

If you are looking for a game that is very fun and relaxing to play, this is the one.