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Stardew Valley


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Who's a fan?!

I finally picked up Stardew Valley for the Switch (I've been interested in playing for a while, but don't have a PC I can play comfortably at) and it's already on my favourites list.

It has everything I enjoyed from the Harvest Moon series, only with more interesting characters and more realistic objectives. And it's incredibly impressive that it was created by just one person, as all aspects of the game are pleasing - the art, music, writing and gameplay are all very enjoyable, and I've only encountered a couple of minor, non-game-breaking bugs. 

I've been especially impressed by how well the game deals with more serious issues, too. The characters have some surprising depth for tiny sprites with a limited number of lines, and the issues of suicide and depression are handled in a way that feels appropriately sensitive and realistic. 

I do wish there was a little more content post-community center completion and the post-marriage content is also lacking, but hey, one man's work, and I still sunk a good 70 hours in my first game before growing bored with the objectives, which is no playtime to sniff at! 

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I picked the game up around the middle of October for PC, and I've really enjoyed it so far.  I've never played Harvest Moon, so this was sort of my first experience with a game like this.

The maturity of the game actually took me slightly off guard, particularly Shane's story (whose theme I really like, btw).  I didn't expect the game to have me deal with serious issues.  However, I think it helps to ground you into the game.  The issues feel relevant, and sometimes even relatable.  It's one of those games where even just being friends with the characters feels rewarding.  Though it's nice that you can marry some of them, including those of the same gender.

I like the farming itself as well, and I like that it's beneficial to more than just myself.  It just makes me all the more inspired to do the best I can to make the farm efficient and big.  I also like that you get to name your farm animals, though I always find the names the game gives me to be hilarious enough to keep.

 

And it is very impressive that one man was able to create this whole game.  Sounds, writing, coding...  It's quite surprising this game has so few bugs, and that's one way you can really tell a lot of passion and care went into the game.

My sister's plugged a lot of time into the game - playing with multiple files to marry different characters - but I've got 60+ hours logged on Steam, and I haven't even completed all of the game.

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12 minutes ago, Ertrick36 said:

The maturity of the game actually took me slightly off guard, particularly Shane's story (whose theme I really like, btw).  I didn't expect the game to have me deal with serious issues.  However, I think it helps to ground you into the game.  The issues feel relevant, and sometimes even relatable.  It's one of those games where even just being friends with the characters feels rewarding.  Though it's nice that you can marry some of them, including those of the same gender.

Shane is my favourite! Although many of the characters are really likable and relatable once you become friends with them. It definitely is rewarding.

I name all my animals after Fire Emblem characters. Sumia the sheep, Hector the horse, Tharja the void chicken... 

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I appreciate the more mature characters - not just in terms of personality, but also in age. It's implied that most of them have graduated college, or are college-graduate age level, and a couple (Shane, Emily) appear to be in their late 20s/early 30s. 

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I bought the game for PC a while back.  My other half has played it quite a bit, but between work and kids, I haven't really had much time for gaming this past year.  I do love Harvest Moon and hope to play it eventually.

The being able to play for 5 minutes at a time is the main reason I've played nothing but FEH for the last 9 months, although I did buy Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear this weekend, so hopefully I can play that in a reasonable time.

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13 minutes ago, Rezzy said:

I bought the game for PC a while back.  My other half has played it quite a bit, but between work and kids, I haven't really had much time for gaming this past year.  I do love Harvest Moon and hope to play it eventually.

The being able to play for 5 minutes at a time is the main reason I've played nothing but FEH for the last 9 months, although I did buy Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear this weekend, so hopefully I can play that in a reasonable time.

I sympathize! And yes, it's definitely not a game you can really play for five minutes at a time. Hopefully you get to try it soon!

Edit: Aah, and there's new content coming!

 

Edited by Res
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1 hour ago, Res said:

Edit: Aah, and there's new content coming!

 

Wow!

Couldn't have timed this topic better, could you?

Can't wait to see what'll be comin' next.

3 hours ago, Res said:

Shane is my favourite! Although many of the characters are really likable and relatable once you become friends with them. It definitely is rewarding.

I name all my animals after Fire Emblem characters. Sumia the sheep, Hector the horse, Tharja the void chicken... 

- Shane is definitely one of mine as well, but I like them all to some extent.  One thing I also like is that they all have their own unique hobbies and jobs that diversify them further.  It's like they have their own little contributions to the town, or just in general.

- I almost read "Frederick the horse".  That would've been really funny; horse-riding Jeigan turned horse being ridden by a farmer.  Though I like Tharja the void chicken.  There was one chicken I got that was named "Piccard".  The most normal sounding name I got, and it's the name of a sci-fi character...

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Eh, as a kid I used to play Harvest Moon, but I haven't played one in millennia. My earlier memories were of 64 and Back to Nature, with a tiny tiny smidgen of SNES and a bigger one of Save the Homeland. I tried A Wonderful Life too, but that was too slow and I never played more than like 2 days (although I am now amazed by how mature it is, thinking on it makes me glum because of the circle of life). Magical Melody and Friends of Mineral Town were as far into HM as I intensively got. After this, HM died off for me.

Later I tried getting into RF, I played through the original and Frontier completely, but not any other. I made it as far as the Wind Shrine on RFO, the boss of the Fall Dungeon in RF3, and the start of the 2nd Gen in RF2 (after a year long 1st Gen). I just couldn't bring myself to marry anyone in RF3, nor ever commit in general barring to Mana to progress RF2. I played all the games for a while, but after a certain point, they've all lost their appeal to me for some reason, maybe I just don't like dating sims? Maybe they were too intensive? Maybe the gameplay was too easy and simple? Maybe the narratives were weak? Farming not nuanced enough? Hence I never bought RF4.

There is also the fact it's impossible to return to an RF/HM you've put down for a while unless you make meticulous notes your elaborate highly strung schedule before you took a break.

Maybe I'd get SV on sale to see if I can get back in some day, but as it, like Pokemon, this is a gem that's lost its lustre.

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I can't comment too extensively on HM since the only one I really played was Friends of Mineral Town, and that was many years ago. I tried one of the DS game and couldn't get into it. Stardew Valley, for me, is everything I expected from a HM game, only better (from what I remember of HM!). I think it's worth a try, at least. The main improvements for me are a) more streamlined farming and more realistic goals (I remember there was some FoMT content I needed either friends or a GameCube for) and b) more mature characters and dialogue. 

1 hour ago, Ertrick36 said:

Wow!

Couldn't have timed this topic better, could you?

Can't wait to see what'll be comin' next.

- Shane is definitely one of mine as well, but I like them all to some extent.  One thing I also like is that they all have their own unique hobbies and jobs that diversify them further.  It's like they have their own little contributions to the town, or just in general.

- I almost read "Frederick the horse".  That would've been really funny; horse-riding Jeigan turned horse being ridden by a farmer.  Though I like Tharja the void chicken.  There was one chicken I got that was named "Piccard".  The most normal sounding name I got, and it's the name of a sci-fi character...

Absolutely - I love that, too. And yes; the characters in general are really likeable. I love that you gradually grow to love some of the characters only as you get to know them better and that they're not all what they appear to be when you first greet them. 

Maybe I'll name my horse Frederick in my next game...

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Oh, Stardew Valley. I like that game.

Having played HM and RF long before, this seemed like something worth to try out. It's a fun little game, though lately I haven't had the time to play it.

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I played a lot of Harvest Moon in the past, but I felt that the recent ones kinda 'lacking' and doesn't go deep enough. Except Rune Factory 4, praise RF4, but does it count ?. Stardew Valley really go as far as a Harvest Moon can go and I really, really, really love it.

Over 100 hours into the game, and for me, that's lot. I really enjoyed 100% the game. The only Harvest Moon game I actually collected all the fishes ! Or Items !
The map I picked was the Forest Farm, cuz I figured I need a lot of wood, well, I was right on that, it was kind of hard to make the farm pretty.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/15/2017 at 7:50 AM, B.Leu said:

I played a lot of Harvest Moon in the past, but I felt that the recent ones kinda 'lacking' and doesn't go deep enough. Except Rune Factory 4, praise RF4, but does it count ?. Stardew Valley really go as far as a Harvest Moon can go and I really, really, really love it.

Over 100 hours into the game, and for me, that's lot. I really enjoyed 100% the game. The only Harvest Moon game I actually collected all the fishes ! Or Items !
The map I picked was the Forest Farm, cuz I figured I need a lot of wood, well, I was right on that, it was kind of hard to make the farm pretty.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, too! I feel like the Forest Farm is probably the best farm for a beginner/completing the Community Center ASAP. 

On 11/23/2017 at 11:17 AM, LordOTaco said:

I have it on my PC and loved it so much i got it on my Switch a perfect kind of game for the console imo.

It really is. My husband actually tried to get me to play it over a year ago; he bought it on Steam, gog and for the Xbox One, each time trying to entice me to play, but I'm pretty much solely a mobile gamer these days. I *was* interested - I just never had the chance to really sit down and sink any time into it. It's actually what prompted me to get a Switch!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Stardew Valley was a game I bought wanting to break out of my comfort zone and try a new type game I hadn't before, but man am I glad I did. The game is great for just kicking back and relaxing after a long day. There's just something so cathartic about doing simple tasks like watering crops or fishing. As much as I love me some action in my video games it's good to slow down every once in a while, and Stardew Valley absolutely delivers on that front. I'll be on the look out for more games like this in the future, consider me a fan.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/12/2017 at 2:13 PM, Res said:

 

It really is. My husband actually tried to get me to play it over a year ago; he bought it on Steam, gog and for the Xbox One, each time trying to entice me to play, but I'm pretty much solely a mobile gamer these days. I *was* interested - I just never had the chance to really sit down and sink any time into it. It's actually what prompted me to get a Switch!

I'm glad you enjoy it.  It definetely is a time sinker for sure!  So much to see and do hell theres even that adventurer cave mini game that is big on its own.

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