Are you bored of your everyday life in the city, working 9 to 5 and the boss doesn’t give any fucks to you? Wish you can break the cycle and start a new life? Want to feel that life is even worth living?
Come on down to Pelican Town in Stardew Valley and be a farmer! Meet new people! Realize that most things cost an arm and a leg (they’ll also accept other body parts and say these are “bargain prices”)!
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Title: Stardew Valley
ESRB Rating: T
Developer: ConcernedApe
Publisher: Chucklefish Games
Price Tag: $15 on Steam
Release Date: February 26th, 2016
Game Engine: *Unknown*
Available for these other systems: Mac, Linux, PS4/Wii U/XBox One(Q4 2016)
Number of Players: Single (Multiplayer support soon)
Genre: Simulation, RPG
Game Features: The last bastion of the Farming Age versus the Commercial (“Powdered Butter”) Age. JajaMart (aka Mejer IRL) is wanting to show the populace that they are all the rage. With the player having..experience with this company, they see just how evil they really are.
The player can use his new position as Farmer of Pelican Town, to possibly rid the land of this fowl menace (and finally have people buy local again).
It also has a colorful, lively community of mostly happy people. Talking to them everyday helps raise their relationships with the player, and may even get them to give the player things for being so nice to them.
Story: The player’s aging grandfather bestows to them a ‘gift’, but it’s not just any ordinary gift. This gift, is a brand new life in an envelope. If the player chooses to accept it, they will be given the deed to their very own farm (includes a farmhouse, free of rent).
His only dying wish, is to keep the family name alive. It’s up to the player if they accept this. But, I’m sure the player will do the best they can.
Main Character: That depends on the player. They can make their player character a male or a female, set their hair, skin, eyes, and clothing. The name can be set. The farm’s name can be set, and the player character’s favorite thing in the world..can also be set. In other words, there’s quite a bit of character customization here.
Side Characters: This would be the happy populace of Pelican Town, with Louis as the Mayor of the town (has been so for 20+ years). They are ohh so happy to meet new people to their happy little town, and it’s very advised for the player to introduce themselves to them.
Enemies: The left mouse button is possibly the player’s biggest enemy, as doing these actions cause the player’s Energy bar to go down. If the player’s Energy bar reaches 0, they will move slowly and be super exhausted.
But there are also the creatures in the Mine (which is unlocked on the 5th day of Spring after a new game begins), such as Slimes and Maggots(which can turn into incredibly annoying flies).
Combat/Health System: Combat is basic for dealing with the nasties in the Mine, which is to use the left mouse button. But again, caution is advised of the Energy bar. The player can pass out and be taken back to their farm, but for a hefty fee. So of course it’s best to avoid that at all costs.
Also in the Mine, the player has a basic Health bar (if the Energy bar wasn’t micro-manage’y enough)
Maps/Levels/Chapters: The game mainly takes place in and around Pelican Town. The player can visit the Mine, the Beach, and other places. In the later game, it’s rumored the player can visit more distant places.
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What I liked;
-Very simple and well-built game. It’s tailored for the casual player. This is really the only ‘like’ that would go with all the other good feelings I have with it.
-This is the only thing I know of when the weatherman says it’s going to rain, you jump for joy(as it means a free day of not having to water plants).
What I didn’t like;
-No 4:3 support. This game nearly was removed from my Steam library for it giving me a headache (due to the forced increased resolution of 1600×900), but I decided to give it another chance.
-The game doesn’t really give the player a sense of direction in the early game (as in, if they should farm or do other things).
-Like other games, the dev felt most answers to common issues are answered via the Wiki (instead of having ingame help).
-The only way to save the game is by sleeping in the farm’s bed.
Final Opinions/Thoughts;
Unlike other games where I felt a refund was justified (or the game’s mechanics were too complicated to figure out), this did not deserve one. It’s why I pulled it out, and I’m very glad I did.
The music. The atmosphere. The people. There’s just something about Pelican Town where, I almost wish I was living there IRL. Though I would probably find farm life a bit boring overtime, especially waking up at 7 in the morning? Ehh.. not happening.
Overall, despite the headaches caused by the brightness of the screen, I feel with enough time, I’ll get used to it. And also, despite the negatives outweighing the positives, they aren’t enough to make me not recommend it. They are all minuscule dislikes. I just wish that 4:3 wasn’t seen as obsolete.