Cortyn from MeinMMO has been enjoying vacationing in Stardew Valley. Especially during the Corona period, the game was the perfect relaxation.
Most of you have probably heard of Stardew Valley – whether on PC or consoles. The farming game with its classic RPG Maker graphics has surely been one of the big “hidden gem masterpieces” of recent years. I, Cortyn from MeinMMO, found that the game helped me a lot during my vacation in April. Few other games help me to “unwind” and at the same time provide so much structure, as Stardew Valley does.
What is Stardew Valley? Gaming veterans may remember Harvest Moon. Stardew Valley follows the same vein but offers more. You inherit your grandfather’s farm and move to an old farm on the outskirts of Pelican Town. At the beginning, the farm is in poor condition: weeds, trees, and rocks everywhere. It is up to you to restore the farm to a flourishing state, plant crops, plant trees, and raise animals.
Much to do, so little time
Planning and structure are important: Although Stardew Valley makes few demands, you must structure and plan your day. Time moves relentlessly forward. If you aren’t in your bed on the farm around midnight, you may collapse from exhaustion and might get robbed.
Another limiting factor is stamina. Stamina is consumed during most physical actions, such as tilling the soil, watering crops, or mining ores. Once your stamina is depleted, you are done for the day. If you ignore the warning, your character will slow down and eventually collapse from exhaustion.
However, if you think of “stamina” as an energy system like in many mobile games, you are mistaken. You have the choice to simply go to bed early and start the next day. This skips the remaining time until morning and restores your stamina.
Additionally, energy can be restored with the right foods when the day gets particularly busy.
Nevertheless, planning is important. If you didn’t water your plants in the evening and can’t expend any more stamina, the harvest will most likely be ruined by the next day.
No stress, as nothing passes: Although limited stamina and passing time sound like stressful factors, they aren’t really. The worst that can happen is that your harvest may spoil or your favorite cow may be grumpy because you haven’t petted it for three days in a row.
However, all major events, such as the town festivals in certain seasons, repeat. So there’s nothing you can miss forever. Because even next year, you’ll have the chance to become the queen of egg hunting or add the perfect ingredient to the big village stew.
Many characters with many secrets
The town has a life of its own: Once you get used to farming life, you’ll quickly notice that the entire town has a life of its own. Each of the roughly 20 NPCs follows a weekly schedule. For example, you can only find the animal trader from Wednesday to Sunday until early afternoon in her shop; on Mondays and Tuesdays, she goes for a walk in the woods. On rainy days, she might meet a friend for cake. This weekly schedule changes with the seasons – making the village feel alive through simple means. There are hardly any “typical NPCs” standing behind the counter all day waiting for you 24/7.
If you take the time to please the villagers with gifts or observe them, you can uncover many small, interesting stories. It seems that the mayor has an affair or that a terrible monster resides in the town’s sewer system.
Upgrades, upgrades, and more upgrades: But the search for “better gear” is also fueled in Stardew Valley – which we MMORPG players really love. Spending time in the mines allows you to upgrade your axe, pickaxe, or watering can at the blacksmith. This makes the tools more effective, uses less stamina, or can water multiple fields at once.
Later in the game, irrigation systems and even small harvest helpers come into play, further maximizing yield and relieving you of work. This leaves more time to search for secrets or improve relationships with the town’s characters.
Stardew Valley also excels in multiplayer
Multiplayer makes it even better: Particularly cool is that Stardew Valley can now be played in multiplayer with up to 3 players. You can either work together in the fields or each manage different areas, like gathering resources or exploring the mine. The only downside is that time in multiplayer passes a bit faster. In single player, the game pauses during cutscenes or conversations with a merchant. However, in multiplayer, time keeps ticking, so planning and structure are even more important.
If you want to escape everything a bit or need a game that can be played in both short and long sessions, either alone or in multiplayer, you should check out Stardew Valley. I’m sure that some of you will also find the game to be as meditative and relaxing as it has been for me.
3 years and no end in sight
I have now reached the end of the 3rd year of playtime in Stardew Valley and still find new things I didn’t know or new puzzles I want to solve. So if I may leave you with one last piece of advice: don’t look up solutions for Stardew Valley and don’t Google how some things work. The game thrives on its little secrets and the joy of having discovered something new and interesting.
Stardew Valley is available not only on PC but also on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Have you played Stardew Valley yet? Do you play it in multiplayer or prefer solo?
