*Stardew Valley Review* What a beautiful Canadian morning for my first day on my new farm eh? What's that over there?
Oh good gracious! Ok well at least I've got my field over there... Holy Beavers! Looks
like I've got some work to do eh? Better get too it!
Ok we're talking about Stardew Valley. This is the first game of 2016 that actually managed
to keep my attention for longer than a few hours. I originally bought it when it first
came out and played it for a few minutes but ended up putting it away just because I got
a little bored. I am so glad that I returned to this game and gave it the time that it
needs to really settle in so I could experience what an amazing game this is.
Now I have to make the obvious comparison between Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon which
is the obvious inspiration behind this game. I am so amazed with what Stardew Valley has
been able to do with the already solid foundation that Harvest Moon has established. Stardew
Valley recently reached one million units sold which is pretty incredible for a game
that was made by one guy! What makes this game so great? Well, let's get into it!
Stardew Valley includes every aspect that you could expect to have out of a game like
this. Fishing, farming, mining, animals, social, some story elements, and many many more little
hidden secrets that you will find throughout this game.
What raises Stardew Valley up to the next level though is that aside from already having
what you expect to have in the game, they have that, and they have added a next level
to each of the aspects. One way that this is illustrated is through
the leveling up and progression system that they have added into each of the unique skills
that you have in Stardew Valley. For example in your farming once you sell a certain amount
of crops you will level up and as you level up you will get more and more efficient at
farming. Once you reach levels five and level ten,
you will be able to pick a specific specialization based on your tendencies and what you want
to pursue as a farmer. This adds a whole new level of depth to the game that this genre
has never seen before. Sharing the Stardew Valley with you is a wide
range of characters ranging from boring basic characters all the way up to some really weird
and interesting mysterious characters that you will look forward to getting to know.
As well as the five bachelors and bachelorettes that you can marry and have children with
and start a family in Stardew Valley. The social and minor story aspects that have
been added to Stardew Valley really compliment the basic farming and building stuff that
you can do throughout the game. So while you are building your farm and getting yourself
established you can also have some distractions that you can use to fill your day. For example
wooing a potential husband or wife or engaging in some of the other minor little story sections
that you can unlock by exploring and talking to certain people throughout the game.
This combination of building your farm up on one hand and then on the other, engaging
in all the social and story aspects makes for an incredibly addicting game to play.
You will find that there is always something that you really want to reach next. Whether
it is you saving up to get a farm and buy some animals and see what that is all about,
or if you are engaging in some of the secret story elements for example the community center
story line in Stardew Valley. Trying to save up for things to unlock different areas on
that story line. You will be addicted to this game and wanting to get the next chunk as
soon as possible. I do have some minor complaints about this
game, and these hold me back a little bit from being the most excited about this game
that I could be but they are a little bit minor. For example the geography of Stardew
Valley, there are some little weird sections. I do not like the forest area at all, it can
be a little bit confusing. There is rivers separating and the way the camera works is
you can only see a certain amount at a time so when you are foraging for goods through
there it will be hard to keep track of where you have been and you will end up wasting
time just going around in circles. As well, different things relative to each other, there
were some strange decisions there. There is a shortcut from your farm up to the carpenters
area, but if you were to go to the carpenters area from town it would take longer. There
is a couple little weird geographical issues like that that I guess are maybe a drawback
of having this kind of map but I was a little annoyed at some points.
As well Stardew Valley definitely treats you like an adult and does not hold your hand
at all. There are some dynamic events that will come up throughout the game that if you
are not really sure to look for them or know what is going on you will have no idea what
to do with them. For example there was an event that happen to me that opened up a certain
area that I just had no idea what it meant so I was never able to take advantage of that
until I researched it online and found out. With so much stuff that you can do in a game
like this it is hard to really find out in the game what the best course of action to
take is. Now the communities online are really good at giving the best advice for what kind
of avenues to pursue in the game. How to do story things, what the best crops, and animals,
and artisan goods that you should make to maximize your profits but I found having to
look online for these took away from my gameplay experience. I felt like I was cheating and
not really discovering the game on my own. So I went through a blind playthrough, I did
not look anything up, which is what I recommend that players out there do. Do not worry about
having the most optimized farm with the best stuff just play the game as you would, discovering
things on your own. I promise it will be much more rewarding.
What Stardew Valley has done with the Harvest Moon style, farming simulator, story based
RPG, whatever you want to call it genre has taken it over and grabbed the attention of
all the fans of the genre. I am really looking forward to what this developer can do in the
future. Already he is super engaged on the reddit communities, asking for feedback from
his players and explaining different patch updates and what is happening. I am really
impressed with this game in every sense, its development and how it plays. And for that
reason, my final verdict for Stardew Valley is a nine out of ten! A must have. Go and
get this game right now! Especially if you have ever played a Harvest Moon game, it is
well worth it. I am also going to give Stardew Valley my first ever Yes Guy Guarantee! This
game is guaranteed to give you hours of fun. Definitely go out and pick this one up. I
highly, highly recommend it. Well that is all I have to say about Stardew
Valley Review, if you guys have not had a chance, definitely take a look at my series
Video Games Eh? It is a podcast that I do with one of my good friends Josh Taylor. Definitely
go check us out there where we talk about games like Stardew Valley and all sorts of
other fun stuff. So definitely worth a look there. I want to thank you guys for watching
this Stardew Valley Review and we hope to see you next time on Yes Guy Gaming!