(So I wasnât at first trying to write this like an IGN or Polygon review, but it just kinda started happening so I rolled with it. Also I wanted to try my hand at it. Also I wanted to explain my absence. So yeah.)
Itâs no surprise that Iâve been fairly absent lately. This is 110% because Iâve developed a strange addiction to a game I never would have expected.
Stardew Valley.
An innocent little indie game hiding in the form of a top down pixelated RPG, this gem seems like nothing more than a grindy, cheesy, pass-the-time game. But itâs far more than that.
Iâd seen a bit of a Letâs Play of this game, quite a while back on a livestream, so I vaguely knew what I was getting myself into. Before finalizing my purchase, however, I decided to go and read reviews on the game. Because Google is great. OVERWHELMINGLY POSITVE was what I got back. A lot of them saying this game was satisfying and nostalgic, reminding them of Harvest Moon, an old [SNES?] game. Now, Iâd never played Harvest Moon before, so that almost discouraged me from buying Stardew.
âIf this game is successful purely for nostalgia, but Iâve never played the game it makes you feel nostalgic about, this is probably not for me,â I said to myself since I have conversations in my brain all the time.
Along with this, I really didnât want a grindy game where nothing would happen and Iâd just get bored quickly. Nevertheless, this game, only a mere $15, found its way into my library.
I entered with a mix between high and low hopes. Low hope because I didnât want this game to completely disappoint, but high hopes in the back of my mind because of the total positivity it received.
35 hours into the game, the same amount of playtime I have on Mariokart 8 DX, a $60 TripleA masterpiece, let me tell you… This game has blown my expectations away.
First off, the music. Oh, the music. Iâd actually listened to some of the soundtrack before, so when I began playing there was a vague familiarity there that just felt.. good. It was almost Deja-Vu-like. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful and depending on the atmosphere, fits perfectly. It never seems to overshadow the game play or make a big deal of itself, itâs just there. And I love it. Iâve found myself humming some of its main tunes without even realizing it. If not for the music I garauntee this game would not be nearly as good.
The graphics. Some people are close minded about video game graphics. âIf we have games that are so realistic, so beautiful, why would you want to play games that look like… Like crap!â
Why? Because itâs just another form of art. And one that I utterly adore. Thereâs something about 8-bit that just feels so… wonderful. Itâs almost like it creates a new reality, and in this reality itâs similar to ours in essence, but in materialization is completely different. Not only does this game take the 8-bit nostalga, but it perfects it in a way that it looks smooth and modernized, while still have each little individual pixel be its own thing.
The gameplay. Funny enough, thereâs so much more than just farming in this game mainly about farming. In fact, thereâs are paths you can take in which you donât hone your farming skills at all, and you focus on a different career. It leaves you with so much freedom, but still confined to your small little town. The questing system, however, is where the real meat is. The way itâs executed, with your permanent main quests and your times semi-daily quest is just great, and helps keep the game from becoming stale. Plus, not completing a quest has no negative connotations, it just simply has no reward.
And possibly the best part of the entire game – the characters. Iâve become so attached to my little neighbors and fellow townsmen, itâs kind of sad. Trying to become friends with all of them is hard. Like really hard. Another great part is they have every kind of stereotype. They have the emo, and drunk, the sports player, the blonde white girl (no offense blonde white girls), the homeless social outcast guy, and others. It makes for great interaction and conversations, especially as more dialogue becomes available the more hearts you get with them and as the seasons change.
All of the elements in this game lend itself to near perfection, and if that wasnât enough, thereâs yet another thing to consider. This game was made by one guy with a minimum amount of help, quite a lot like Undertale. This guy is an absolute legend, and itâs games like this that make me think that the Triple A industry is gonna be overrun with geniuses like Eric Barone, Toby Fox, and Scott Cawthon.
I would highly recommend this game, especially since itâs only $15. I would probably spend $40 on this game. Selling the game this cheap is a steal, and considering the amount of playtime Iâve gotten from it, the fact that Iâm nowhere near done, especially if I want to conpetionist it, AND the fact that this game has a replayability aspect to it are all reasons why this game has made it into my top 10 favorite games list. I would highly recommend.
9/10. Nighttime neon colors are too bright for my poor eyes. Seriously it burns.
