Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is one of those games that no one really has a bad word to say about it. It has been released on pretty much every device that can play a video game and today I am taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version of Stardew Valley.

Thanks, Grandfather

The story of Stardew Valley is that your grandfather has passed away and he has left you his farm in Stardew Valley. This farm has seen better days that is for sure and it is up to you how you go about doing this. Right from the bat, even when Stardew Valley is teaching you the basics you get the sense that this is a game that you can play pretty much any way you want.

Taking Care Of The Farm

Taking care of your farm is very in depth, but it is never overwhelming. You can farm crops, livestock and so on. It is up to you how you go about this. For example, in the early days, I really focused on crops until I had enough money to then get into the livestock game. There really is no right or wrong way to play Stardew Valley and that is one of the things that makes it so great. The way you go about it will probably be vastly different from the way I go about it. You actually have a lot of space to grow your farm and it really is up to you what it looks like and what it focusses on.

Wait, This Is An RPG?

Stardew Valley has RPG mechanics running all the way through it. This is most notable in the leveling up system. You have 5 different skills that you can work on as you play the game. Farming, mining, fishing, foraging, and combat. As you move through the game you will learn new abilities, recipes, moves and the ability to unlock new places in the surrounding area. There is also a deep, dark cave that you can explore and this is where you will be doing your combat! While some sections of the game will expect you to go and explore this cave, you do not have to focus on the combat aspect of the game if you do not want to.

Get Out There And Find A Partner

The social aspect of Stardew Valley is something that I never thought would hook me in the way that it did. You can go to the town and meet many different people. Stardew Valley has around 30 or so different folks for you to communicate with. I know you may be thinking that this is not many people. However, they have done this on purpose. You see you actually get to know the folks of Stardew Valley and this is the perfect amount of NPC’s.

You will find that you gravitate to certain characters and dislike others. You can also find a partner that you can have a romance with and you will find that you will actually like some people better than others and try to win them. Spending time with the residents of Stardew Valley is far more addictive than you would think.

I think that Stardew Valley is a fantastic game and this version on the Nintendo Switch is just as good as the other console versions. One advantage that the Nintendo Switch version of Stardew Valley has is that you can take it on the go, this is the perfect game that you can play for 30 minutes while on break from work or when you are lying in bed and want something relaxing to do before you fall asleep.

9/10

Pros:

• It has a very charming art style
• There is always something to do
• Farming is a blast
• Dealing with the townsfolk is a lot of fun
• Plenty of things for you to level up and improve

Cons:

• It is very addictive
• It lacks the mod support of the PC version

Stardew Valley Character Bios

Shane

Shane is a troubled guy when you first meet him in Pelican Town. You’ll often find him in his retail job at the Joja Mart stocking shelves or in the Stardrop Saloon when he finishes his shift. He often looks unkempt and ragged, with a stubbly beard and hair that’s full of cows licks. This is down to his relationship with alcohol that makes the mornings a real struggle for Shane. Not to mention that he struggles with depression as well and the two only serve to feed each other. Though, you may find that if you befriend him, he might turn it all around.

In terms of appearance, he has purple hair and dark brown eyes and you’ll often find him wearing his blue Joja Mart jacket and a green undershirt. When he isn’t at the bar or his place of work, he lives in a room he rents from Marnie on the west side of town. It’s basically directly below where your farm is located.

Penny

Then we have the quiet and lovable redhead, Penny. She is one of the most kind-hearted residents in the town. When she is not taking care of the trailer which she lives in and cleaning up after her alcoholic mother, she often tutors the children of the town Vincent and Jas in the local library. She is an avid book reader and enjoys cooking even though she isn’t too great at it. She wants nothing more than to have a quiet life without stress and to have a family and children of her own.

In terms of appearance, Penny has medium length red hair that curls at the end and wears a vibrant yellow shirt and purple skirt to accompany it. You’ll often find her reading in the library, under the tree in the graveyard or in her home which is the trailer located near the Stardrop Saloon in town.

Sebastian

If you’re looking for a character that is the embodiment of an angsty teenager, then look no further than Sebastian. At first, he comes across as moody and unapproachable and will often not leave his room for long periods of time. He loves comics, video games and working with computers. Though, when he does emerge from his bedroom, he will often hang out with friends Sam and Abigail, sneak out to the lakeside for a quick cigarette out of view of his parents or occasionally, you might find him at the beach. In short, he’s a rebellious kid who resents his parents, thinks his sister gets all the attention and wants to leave the town altogether.

In terms of Sebastian’s appearance, he has black hair with a long sweeping fringe and wears a black hoodie and tight black jeans religiously. He lives with Maru, Robin and Demetrius in the carpenter’s house which is to the north of town.

Leah

Now we have Leah. This girl is the small-town equivalent of your typical art student. She loves to craft designs and make sculptures in her spare time. She also loves to forage for food and supplies in the wild and she adores animals and nature. She struggles with her confidence when it comes to letting others in and displaying her artwork to the world so you’ll often find her tucked away in her cabin. However, with a bit of coaxing, someone may be able to show her that she has enough talent to make it as an artist.

In terms of appearance, Leah was beautiful long, flowing red hair which falls on a forest green shirt which she often wears with brown coloured trousers and suspenders. You’ll find her home just south of your farm directly below Marnie’s house.

Abigail

Then lastly we have the Gamer girl of Pelican Town, Abigail. She is good friends with other alternative kids, Sam and Sebastian and lives in the general store with her parents Caroline and Pierre. She comes from quite a conventional family who don’t understand her occult interests, her attraction to video games or her obsession with trying new and different hairstyles and trends, with her blue hair being the bane of her mother’s existence. You’ll often find Abigail hanging around the graveyard or by the lakeside on the hunt for frogs.

In terms of appearance, Abigail has curly purple hair down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes. She wears a long blue jacket with a maroon undershirt and long black tights. Her home is the general shop which you’ll find in the centre of town beside the clinic.

In its opening cinematic, Stardew Valley plainly presents the fantasy it wants to sell you. You’re a cubicle drone working for a monolithic corporation who opens a letter from your deceased grandfather to find out you’ve inherited a farm. You move there to find a field of weeds and overgrown trees outside of a little hut as well as a town occupied by colorful personalities. Though Stardew Valley’s farming simulation initially appears to be a Harvest Moon imitator, it’s much more than that: a sprawling and surprisingly deep RPG filled with secrets waiting to be discovered by the most patient and vigilant players.

Stardew Valley and I did not get off to a great start, but that was largely my fault. I arrived at my farm to find it a cluttered mess and then spent my first two hours cleaning it up. You’re not required to do such a thing, but my compulsive personality dictated that I create a wide-open field to plant my crops. Once I ventured beyond my property lines and into the neighboring town to buy some supplies, the action became more enticing.

Stardew Valley can essentially be broken down into three sections: farming, dungeon crawling, and social simulation. However, it is more than the sum of its parts, because all three sections work in harmony with one another to create an experience that’s almost always engaging. Though I spent a great deal of time with all three facets, getting to know the locals kept stealing most of my attention.

The townsfolk are a varied bunch. Some of them slowly warm to your presence, others are not sure what to make of you, and a few find you outright disgusting. They all keep to their own daily schedules, requiring you to learn their patterns so you know where they are when you need to purchase items or request services.

They’re also kind of helpless, so they stick up flyers on the town board asking for assistance with various chores, which take on the form of side quests for you to do. These quests usually dole out material rewards like construction supplies or money upon completion and help you grow closer with the quest-giver. While this might sound like a pain, these distractions are amusing, like finding the mayor’s lost pants or fetching a pale ale for a beer-guzzling elderly lady, and are generally worth taking the time to do.

When you’re not mingling with — or trying to romance — the locals or buying supplies, you build up your farm by planting crops or raising animals. I enjoyed the farming mechanics as I settled into a routine: I would water my crops and whack the weeds, occasionally visiting my pet chickens to dote on them or dropping off my harvest to sell it.

The farm-centered gameplay creates a relaxing loop, one that gradually rewarded me by letting me build a gentle, free-range empire over time. Admittedly, farming got a little dull at times, but that’s what the mines are for. The mines are accessible after a few in-game days, and essentially form a giant dungeon for you to explore for valuable resources needed to build proper farm equipment and earn equipment upgrades. Monsters like green slime beasts and giant mosquitoes attack you during your travels, giving you a chance to engage in simple-but-satisfying combat.

You click the mouse to swing your weapon at your enemies until they’re dead, often exploding in a gratuitous and amusing manner. The mechanics are shallow, but the true danger in the mines comes from stamina depletion instead of enemies, so management of recovery items ends up being more important than combat itself.

You have to keep an eye on both your energy meter and health bar, as hitting zero in either results in you waking up on the top floor of the place, with some items and a fair chunk of change missing. The dungeon, from combat to exploration, is pretty one-note, but it also creates and scratches an itch, providing a nice change of pace to the other two sections of the game.

Stardew Valley also has low points. A lack of a fast-travel option is particularly frustrating, as I often found myself walking the same path every day, with travel between town and farm taking a few minutes. The lackluster map system doesn’t help matters because it’s so hard to read; you have to take time to learn the entire valley’s layout by heart.

An extremely frustrating fishing minigame also sticks out as one of the weaker and inescapable parts of my experience.

While not necessarily a failing or flaw, the biggest hurdle that Stardew Valley unapologetically constructs is the sheer amount of patience (or time for wiki-diving research) required to progress. Learning recipes takes time, as does figuring out how to acquire materials for whatever you’re trying to build. I didn’t mind this so much because it felt true to the experience of learning to live off the land, but it certainly doesn’t enhance the game or make it more approachable.

As my time with Stardew Valley came to a close, I felt a tinge of sadness. After nearly 25 hours, I was worn out but also deeply appreciative. Turning off the game was almost like leaving a second, smaller home, one filled with fond memories and good people.

Though the quirks might unnecessarily keep players at arm’s length, those willing to grapple with the more arcane aspects of Stardew Valley are in for a world of delight.