Stardew Valley

At it's heart Stardew Valley is like any idle game. You buy stuff to do stuff faster to get money faster. Unlike most other idle games, there are many ways to do so, many hidden stuff to explore. It also has interesting characters to get to know. It has alot of content. But the base structure of the game is deeply flawed. There are many game mechanics to wrestle with, you can find yourself spending a fair amount of game time wrestling with poorly designed game mechanics and not enjoying the game so much. And the interesting stories of the characters? You'll have to memorize them all because the game doesn't keep a log of any of it aside from what gifts they like and dislike (and even that is in a completely separate screen one has to keep going back to) I would not recommend the game as now. Though I would note I rated it lower than I might have otherwise to counter the excessively positive reviews from others.

Have you ever played Harvest Moon on your SNES? At least PC Players have their own version now. I actually like that game. 4 Stars because: Some Quests are just confusing. How are you supposed top deliver something to a person that you dont even know? You get quests from the messageboard in the town but you have no idea in the first place where the questrelated person is lurking around. you get stuck in the menu. example: your inventory is full but you craft something. now you cant put that thing away. you HAVE to throw something away! it doesnt even tell you before that your inventory is full. controls (i use 360 pad), menus, interface... everything is somehow overloaded and a little bit confusing. this makes it bit complicated to get into the game in the beginning anyways... nice shameless copy of harvest moon. if you have no console at home, you can play this game now on your pc.

A YEAR of waiting for the multiplayer update for ps4. chose to just play on pc insted, Was stoked to play with my friends BUT YOU CANT PAUSE THE GAME. So constantly some one needs to smoke or shit.... and they end up passing out getting taxed 500+ constantly... makes the game annoying and highpressure. I wanted to like this game... my nongamer wife wanted to like this game,but between what i see as ripping me off on the ps4 and then not being able to put pause into mulitplayer (like its not child levels of easy) every forum discussing this game has this as a thread. I wont be supporting concerned ape again.

Things I LOVE about Stardew Valley: 1. It requires creativity. 2. It requires systemizing and time management. 3. Game world is beautiful. 4. It is possible to explore the world for days and days. I have played for over 1,000 hours and did not get bored. 5. Hilarious cheat where you can get items by naming farm animals or changing your name and talking to villagers. 6. I love cooking tasks. List of dishes could be longer. 7. Ginger Island is gorgeous and gives generous abundant gifts. 8, Many ridiculously funny hats. 9. Ability to pet cat and farm animals. 10. Ability to fully customize farm and farm houses. Kitchen remodels need to be added. Things I HATE about Stardew Valley: 1. Ableism. Fishing mini game is 100% ableist and inaccessible to people without eye to hand coordination. 2. Harmful Autism stereotypes. Demetrius is 100% incorrect representation of an Autistic person. If you don't know anything about Autism ask actually Autistic people. That is a good start. 3. You cannot marry Linus. 4. Bought affection. Not everyone's love language is gifts. Zero variety there Concerned Ape. 5. Necessity to marry in order to achieve perfection. This is some neurotypical BS on steroids. You ruin villagers lives dreams careers and aspirations by marrying them. 6. Ability to harm and abuse villagers at will using slingshot. Concerned Ape get some therapy you are sick. If I am able to abuse villagers then villagers ought to be able to kill me in return. Like game over kill me. 7. Ability to sacrifice children. As a multiple survivor of attempted filicide I have this to tell to Concerned Ape - get some therapy you are sick. 8. Blind capitalism and environmental destruction. Slaughter of native species. Literally every other person asks you to murder or destroy. 9. Necessity to murder native species in order to progress in both mines. I do not want to slaughter serpents. They are gorgeous. I want to be their friend. 10. Children never grow up. Like what?..

These bucolic life/farm sim type games aren't hard to get right. Throw the player into a pretty environment, add a basic laber/money sink loop with upgrades, and add characters to build virtual relationships with. Throw in a plot to give the whole thing some reason for existing and bam! you've got a game. This game fails pretty hard at things that aren't even remotely difficult to get right. Probably because the developers were more interested in gossamer thin allegory and flat out preaching than they were in making a good game. The basic plot conflict reads like a rabid Fern Gully fan played Rune Factory and decided to mash the two together while removing everything that made either one interesting. The characters are implausible and stiff with token lifestyle choices. I guess that's good in the realism department, because every single interaction you have with them is transactional. Building relationships is just another chore you do, and every unlocked interaction is going to preach to you about the value of tolerance or diversity in some fashion. Yes, lord, let this humble peon labour for the privilege of being brainwashed. The gameplay loop itself is more tedium and the upgrades essentially bring you up to the "this is where I should have been when the game started" level. The dungeon segment is boring and anything but challenging. At least we'll always have Rune Factory.