Stardew Valley

I have not personally played this so much, but my wife has and she gives it a 10/5 :D

excellent game! new multiplayer update adds so much more content.

Stardew Valley is a charming game with a open ended. You can fish,grow flowers,crops,orchards,lumberjack,raise live stock,produce goods,mine, forage,find treasure, adventure,etc. There is a story & mystery to the game that plays out as you go on through the game. Crafting uses all the items you can find,grow, or buy. There are variety of things you can craft from furniture,artisan crafting stations,clothes,food ,etc.Unlocking craft items and recipes are given to you as you level your skills. Your tools & activities you use/do level you up more you use them more you unlock. Your farm itself can be improved as well as areas throughout the town. Barns,silos,Chicken Coops,Livestock pens,new rooms for your home,etc can all be done. There are various areas for you to explore some only as the story or time progresses.Do not let this worry you since the story folds out at a good pace since time moves briskly. The NPCs have their own personalities , likes & dislikes as well as background stories.Some you can marry,others you can get quests from. These are usually fetch of give me an item quests.These are either posted,mailed to you or requested of you in person. The shops run by the various NPCs sell specialized items and only buy items related to them. The graphics in the game are as charming .Lots of detail in the game since everything is hand drawn. Detail are all over which are usually taken for granted in other game genre are present. The 4 seasons are lovely as well as the weather changes and change of flora & fauna. Some quirks but those are more pet peeves & many are being ironed out thanks to community feed back.As the game stands it is relatively bug free outside of rare bugs the community is quick to submit reports to (very pain free process). MP is planned (up to 4 players via co-op no ETA atm) If you like games like harvest moon & building this is a must and will clock you at least 20 - 100 hours of enjoyment, even more if you are a completionist .

Truthfully I am blown away by this game. Never in my life have I been so engrossed in the gameplay and have hours upon hours slip away from me confined in the magic of Stardew Valley. ConcernedApe has done what Natsume has not been able to do since Harvest Moon 64 and that is to deliver what the demographic wants most. An experience where the player is in control, immersed in a country culture, small awesome rewards as you learn to build, and efficient controls in farming. Truthfully I believe Natsume should be calling this guy and offering him quite the contract to take over the Harvest Moon franchise on the permanent. Maybe not though, perhaps Stardew Valley could be the new intellectual property. Either way, ConcernedApe got it ALL right. What did he improve upon? Control: No more wasting items by throwing them, ease of watering, and slick fluid movement. This is the best control for a farming sim I've had. Farming is easy, you have plenty of energy to complete tasks, and you won't get frustrated. Character Development and Interaction: You know, I actually care about the characters. Its real. When I saw Pam get all upset about drinking, I was throttled. Watching Clint overcome his shyness for Emily was a treat. Shane's struggle with alcohol is fascinating. And that jock Alex, what a jerk. These characters are great and watching them change is incredible. Customization and Crafting: You can customize everything about your farm. This is what we want so badly. Harvest Moon DS almost got it right. There is so much to do in Stardew Valley that you will pride yourself on the organization of your farm. Music: Three songs per season? THANK YOU. Lovingly crafted. I never get sick of the music. A Purpose: Saving the community center is a joy. I talked about this earlier, but you get little rewards as you go further. Get this game. Everything ConcernedApe does after this, I will be first in line. This is the game I've been waiting for since Moon 64.

I played Stardew Valley on Nintendo Switch first. It was one of the first games that made me care about NPCs in a 2D game except in Breath of Fire 2. I am more a PS1 and PS2 gamer so I missed out RPGs and other 2D games, playing mostly shooters and survival horror. It felt refreshing. Being the first 3rd party game that supports HD Rumble is great. Interacting with NPCs is is very limited and events being really boring after the first time BUT finding out new things about the lower levels in the mine and unlocking areas made me keep playing for at least 70h. The whole mining, upgrading, harvesting and collecting for the city hall is addicting. Animal Crossing has less pressure but knowing Stardew Valley allows to be completed as fast as possible or as slowly as you want it is the perfect couple / friend co-op game ever. There might be no other better game to co-op except on PS1 / PS2 (and earlier generations like Secret of Mana...) Now I own it on PC since 2 years. Just started continueing my playthrough on PC. Using borderless window, it supports 4k resolution and shows the whole areas and even works flawlessly in 4:3 1920x1440p on a CRT. Do not complain it might be a clone or similar; be thankful to get an other experience / other scenario in this genre.