Stardew Valley Review - Screenshot 1 of 4

Stardew Valley is a universally acclaimed farming simulator that was initially released on PC in February 2016, before eventually arriving on other consoles later that year. The concluding few months have seen petty other than pure hype and excitement from Switch players, withal, as they finally go to come across this Harvest Moon-inspired fan-favourite for themselves (or double-dip to savor the experience all over once again for a second time). Despite having a good amount of fourth dimension with the game, information technology is clear that we are still notwithstanding to scratch the surface of what Stardew Valley has to offering its players, and nosotros've already had a bit of a rollercoaster ride with the title.

The game might well be a farming simulator on the surface (you inherit a farm, start restoring it, establish crops, collect materials to build with etc.), but there is actually so much more than to it than initially meets the eye. In a recent discourse video we referred to the game as a "life sim", and that is a perfect description; your activities go far beyond only farming cheers to a great sense of community that finds itself sitting at the heart of the adventure. In fact, there doesn't appear to be any end to the amount of things available to see and do.

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For starters, by wandering over to the main boondocks you lot'll start to interact with a host of non-playable characters in what turns out to exist a rather tight-knit customs. Each character y'all meet has their own personality, their own relationships with other characters, their ain interests, and so on. Yous can offer to help out various town members in what are substantially side quests, you can build up your own human relationship with private people by giving them presents and visiting them often and, eventually, yous might fifty-fifty grow so close to someone that you lot'll end up getting married should you lot fancy it. You don't move to Stardew Valley to work - y'all move there to live.

As we previously mentioned it is clear that, in the grand scheme of things, nosotros haven't seen anywhere near all of the things on offer here. One example of this is the fact that it took us 15 in-game days just to realise that there was a huge mine to explore just north of the town – fully exploring and excavating inside it will likely have a scarily large amount of time to manage. Strolling around the valley volition requite y'all a quick insight into the currently unknown besides; oftentimes nosotros'd see areas that nosotros tin can't access however or doors that remain locked, and an in-game calendar shows events that will exist occurring in the town in the coming days.

It doesn't end here, either – on top of the farming, side quests, and everything else mentioned so far you can try to earn as much money every bit you can, build various fauna coops to expect after livestock, have a pet, go fishing and try to collect every fish bachelor, complete an entire museum collection, build up your gainsay level in the RPG-like Adventurer's Club, and more than – information technology just goes on and on.

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There is a betoken to all of this, though. After ii in-game years you will be assessed on your achievements, receiving a score based on numerous factors. Pleasingly, your game doesn't end there, notwithstanding; you are free to standing living this life abroad from the real world equally much every bit you like, ever expanding on what eventually starts to experience like a second domicile. The portable nature of the Switch makes this version hands one of, if not the, strongest of them all – the structure of the game sees you play through 'days' at a time with a clear interruption in between each 1, making it perfect for just having that quick escape. Luckily, the oddly addictive nature of watching your farm grow and abound volition make you want to do merely that.

There is one technical flaw at launch that needs to be mentioned, even so. At the end of each in-game solar day it saves, and at present it takes a surprising corporeality of time - possibly up to 20 seconds. Information technology's a tad frustrating when it first happens, but the days are long plenty that we've generally looked past information technology; the rest of the game - pleasingly - is snappy enough.

Across that relatively minor complaint, playing Stardew Valley has been an enlightening experience. For complete transparency it is important to country that, for this writer, games of this genre and manner aren't frequently peculiarly appealing. Indeed, after the kickoff couple of hours a mixture of boredom from the repetitive nature of farming, and confusion from not really understanding why cipher seemed to be happening, prevented initial enjoyment.

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Somewhere down the line, though, everything just 'clicked'. This isn't a game designed to throw everything information technology has at you from the off, and it isn't 1 to hold your hand either; everything in Stardew Valley wants to be discovered, but simply if yous put in the time and effort to find it. To experience this game fully yous must be prepared to spend a huge number of hours living in its world – the more than you put in, the more yous'll become out, and information technology tin can be so rewarding if y'all do.

Conclusion

Stardew Valley offers its players a chance to live a second life – 1 where yous tin can forget the troubles of the real earth and get excited over finding a particularly rare carrot. It is a truly magical experience; games can often be enjoyable but they don't all manage to be every bit captivating equally this. This is the sort of game that ideally requires a pregnant amount of time to be invested; the enjoyment doesn't necessarily come from the day-to-day actions y'all perform, but rather from the full general growth of pride, satisfaction, and sense of security as the days go past. Fans of games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing will be correct at home here and, for those who aren't, there is a decent run a risk this game might only surprise y'all. For the request cost the gamble couldn't be more worth it.