I walked onto the land my grandfather had left for me. A derelict farm covered in weeds and rock and fallen trees. “It needs a bit of doing up,” the mayor said as he showed me into the dilapidated house, “But I’m sure you can make it work.”
This has to be a joke, I thought. But I had quit my unfulfilling job in the city and dropped everything to come to a small town on the other side of the desert. Add to that the only bus out of here had broken down, so I really had no choice but to stay.
I planted a few parsnips but there wasn’t much else to do on the farm, so I spent my downtime fishing and getting to know the locals. The town carpenter was very nice and I developed a little crush on the local doctor. The annual flower dance came around soon enough and I tried asking the doctor to be my dance partner, but I was rejected.
The egg festival came and even though I, a grown woman, seriously went all out to find the most eggs, I was beat by a kid. I really wanted that exclusive prize.
I decided that I wanted to build a new kitchen, but that would cost me ten grand, of which I didn’t have a fifth of, so I finally got serious about the farm. I expanded it, spent about 4,000 gold on new seeds and fertilisers and built a rather nice farm. I was going to get a lot of income when my produce all matured. I went to bed broke that night, but feeling happy. When I woke up it was summer and all my crops had died.
Let it be known that I am in love with Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley is the latest indie game taking Steam by storm. Reminiscent of Harvest Moon but less tedious, Stardew Valley is a pixel art never-ending farming RPG based in the small Pelican Town, filled with interesting characters and odd mysteries. It even has a dungeon-esque mine with over 100 levels filled with bugs and slimes and loot.
The whole game was developed by one guy, ConcernedApe, and he really is concerned about the game and its ongoing longevity. He’s made it replayable as well as never-ending, and has future plans to improve upon it as people bring in feedback.
For a game made by one person, it is absolutely amazing. Wait, let me rephrase that: This is an amazing game, fullstop. I’m not going to say anything more because I’m heading back to Stardew Valley. See you again in maybe a month or so.
Platforms
PC
Prices
Steam – NZ$17.99