Stardew Valley - review @ Destructoid

[Myrthos]

Destructoid has a review available for Stardew Valley.

Stardew Valley is a farming and life simulator. But this isn't like the more modern wave of "simulators" that have dominated the genre. This is old school, Harvest Moon-inspired simulation. It has clear roots in that franchise, but it separates itself with many other mechanics thrown on top of just farming. In fact, there's an entire season (winter) when farming doesn't happen!

Here is a typical day, relatively early on, in Stardew Valley: Wake up, water and pick the crops, refill the dog's water, and feed the chickens. Eat a snack to restore some energy. Head out into the town, check the calendar for anyone's birthday or town events, then check the bulletin board to see if anyone needs something to be done. From there, it depends on how you feel. Maybe today is a fishing day, heading to the different areas to catch all types of fish. Maybe it's an adventurous day in the mines, slaying monsters and collecting gems and ores. Or perhaps it's time to re-plant some of the harvested crops from earlier.

There are a ton of things to occupy any given day. Players start out with a huge plot of farmland and some tools. After clearing some room, it's time to get some crops and plant them. Nothing is really "tutorialized" to the player, but the game does a wonderful job of introducing the player to new things and hinting at the best way of optimizing skills.

Story cutscenes are introduced sporadically, but it's mostly up to the player to advance it as they please. According to the developer, the story does have an end, but that's not the end of the game. Luckily, the community is filled with interesting characters to make the story worth paying attention to, even if it may not seem that way at first.

More information.

 

[joxer]

I do love the game, but that score?
Cmon, no, it's not.

 

[wolfsrain]

9.5 is definitely too much, especially if you play the original release version.

Yes, it's a nice game, but definitely not an innovative one. 7.5/8 is a more realistic score. It's an engaging game, with a lot of replayability and one that offers quite a bit of fun. It ramps the nostalgia factor quite well, which makes you overlook the pixelated graphics (i like them, personally, but not everyone out there will be happy with those). And for the asking price, you could probably do a hell of a lot worse.

Overall: i would recommend the game to anyone that likes Harvest Moon, but also to the more casual players. It's easy to learn, despite the lack of an in-depth tutorial.

 

[Swann]

Charming and addictive.

 

[arthureloi]

I think it honestly deserves all the praise it's been getting. For those, like me, who grew up with harvest moon and animal crossing, this rings all the right bells. 9.5 is more than deserved. I imagine harsher criticism would mostly come from people who don't like or understand these types of games.

There's really no glaring flaw I see with this. Everything sort of clicks.
No innovation? Why innovate in this case? This is the classical formula turned to excellency. It even incorporates elements from other games in the genre.

I couldn't be happier about it.

 

[Hexprone]

I'm having a blast in the game myself, but I agree that 9.5 doesn't exactly say "well-executed example of a familiar formula" to me.

Also, how the hell do I get rid of the damned slingshot? You can't throw it away, no one wants to buy it, and not only do I never use it but I now have the upgraded version if I ever took it into my head to try it out, so it's just a wasted inventory slot I keep having to shuffle around. I'm filled with rage about this important issue!

 

[arthureloi]

I'm having a blast in the game myself, but I agree that 9.5 doesn't exactly say "well-executed example of a familiar formula" to me.

Also, how the hell do I get rid of the damned slingshot? You can't throw it away, no one wants to buy it, and not only do I never use it but I now have the upgraded version if I ever took it into my head to try it out, so it's just a wasted inventory slot I keep having to shuffle around. I'm filled with rage about this important issue!

You can drag unwanted items to the trash bin icon in the inventory. They will be lost forever that way. The icon is located in the lower right side of the inventory window.

Spoiler

If you want to extend your inventory space, you can buy new bags at Pierre's. You just have to click the little bag on the counter and you'l be prompted to buy it.

 

[Gwendo]

So, you basically don't agree with the score but then describe what sounds like a near perfect game. Duh…

If it's good, engaging, well executed, low priced… What's stopping you to acept a 9.5? It has to be an AAA game to get a score like that?

Stardew Valley deserves the praise it's getting. And it was made by a single guy. No team, no studio. He made the graphics, sounds, music, programming, gameplay systems, etc. If that's not impressive…

 

[Hexprone]

You can drag unwanted items to the trash bin icon in the inventory.

Nope. The game won't let you trash tools, and the slingshot counts as a tool.

 

[Caddy]

My daughter somehow didn't get her bamboo fishing pole on the second day. Anyone know how to buy one? I didn't see an option to by a fishing pole from Willy.

 

[JDR13]

Stardew Valley deserves the praise it's getting. And it was made by a single guy. No team, no studio. He made the graphics, sounds, music, programming, gameplay systems, etc. If that's not impressive…

It's a lot of fun, and I agree it deserves the praise, but I wouldn't give it a 9.5

Of course everyone has a different way of rating games, and some people are more generous than others. I've been gaming for almost 30 years, and there's only a handful of games I'd rate that high. Stardew Valley isn't one of them.

Still, it's a surprisingly entertaining game.

 

[arthureloi]

Nope. The game won't let you trash tools, and the slingshot counts as a tool.

Are you sure? I've discarded clothing, swords and if memory serves me right, I've also discarded the slingshot too.

But if it doesn't work for you, you can always build a chest and stash it there.

 

[purpleblob]

I'm enjoying this soooooo much but I wouldn't give 9.5. Being addictive and ticking all the boxes for perfect RPG is two different thing IMO. I would definitely give it 9.5 for the fun factor though if we are rating it as a kids/family game I would give it 9.5 again. If we are rating it as an rpg though, I would give it 6 or 7. Inventory is too simple and clunky and the game in General is quite simplistic for an rpg IMO.

 

[arthureloi]

I'm enjoying this soooooo much but I wouldn't give 9.5. Being addictive and ticking all the boxes for perfect RPG is two different thing IMO. I would definitely give it 9.5 for the fun factor though if we are rating it as a kids/family game I would give it 9.5 again. If we are rating it as an rpg though, I would give it 6 or 7. Inventory is too simple and clunky and the game in General is quite simplistic for an rpg IMO.

Should it be rated as an RPG?

 

[purpleblob]

I think it fits in as either kids game or RPG? Certainly not RTS, adventure, sports etc game?

 

[Hexprone]

Should it be rated as an RPG?

Yeah, I think so.

Farming is stat-based as much as it is task management, and you choose "classes" as you level up for different specialties.

The clickiest part of the game -- fishing -- reportedly loses much of its frustration as you level up the skill and your gear (I wouldn't know, as I haven't had the patience to grind it past the frustrating early levels).

 

[GabrielMP_19]

It's more a farming fantasy simulator than an actual RPG. Having RPG elements doesn't really make a game an RPG. But then again, there isn't a single person that agrees on the definition of RPG, so whatever, really. If The Division can be, I guess Stardew Valley can, too.

 

[joxer]

It's more a farming fantasy simulator

Believe it or not, farming is a thing in it I do least. Probably others too.
So here it's fishing simulator. Or mining? Or gifting? Dunno… Just isn't farming, sorry.

The clickiest part of the game -- fishing -- reportedly loses much of its frustration as you level up the skill and your gear (I wouldn't know, as I haven't had the patience to grind it past the frustrating early levels).

Iridium pole and level it up on easy to catch fish, ignore those you simply can't on low level when your green bar is half the size.
Fishing is the skill I maxed first and fish net you some serious $. There are also five legendary fish (you learn about them from a lost book where and when to find), these are superhard even with maxed skill and Trap Bobber. Caught three of those, mostly got lucky and had to retry a dozen and more times.

9.5 is more than deserved.

More than, yes.
And why, I'll tellya.
Can this game be much more improved? How? And in how many parts? Can it be made so much better than it is?

An example of another game where answers are easy - can TW3 be much more improved? No it cannot. Sure, some small improvements, okay, but much more?

Stardew Valley is an awsome game, but in all honesty, everything in it can be much more improved. 7/10, sure. 9.5/10 should be kept for titles that are nearmasterpiece material. Regardless of the genre.

 

[arthureloi]

Fair enough. I would say nostalgia and affection for the genre makes me a little blind. I wouldn't rate it any lower, but that's just me.

 

[GabrielMP_19]

Believe it or not, farming is a thing in it I do least. Probably others too.
So here it's fishing simulator. Or mining? Or gifting? Dunno… Just isn't farming, sorry.

My average day in the game is basically farming a lot (in the first summer, I got 120k from farming and might have gained more if watering plants wasn't so fucking boring), fishing and giving salad to everybody I want to love me. So... yeah, it's not a farming simulator, but it's very far from that, either. BTW, mining and fighting sucks. Most boring part of the game.