Stardew Valley

[Draconifors]

Another fantastic game that didn't yet have its own thread here.

So, who else plays this gem of an indie? I am getting close to 900 hours clocked on Steam, yet I have never gotten anywhere near "completing" the game (getting Perfection).

There's so much to do, so much to discover, and so many puzzles to solve. There's one particular one I've been stuck on for probably years by now, across two different farms (below), and am no closer to solving. I refuse to simply look up the answer.

My current farm is called Valhalla farm, and my farmer, Freyja, is married to the wonderful Elliott.
Here is a picture of the farm, very much a work in progress (currently in Fall year 3), and of the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies event a couple of in-game days ago.

I recently found out an update 1.7 is in the works, and I'm excited to find out all the changes and additions that are coming.
So far, I only know two additional NPCs will become romanceable -- but of course I have no interest in that when I already have the best husband.

(I am running a few mods. Most notably, the reflections in the water is a mod.)

 

[Hayashi.226]

Can I ask, what's the attraction of the game? I guess it's different from running and gunning/slicing, probably differently paced too? Still, what keeps you playing?

 

[CiriusBlack]

Can I ask, what's the attraction of the game?

That's a good question, actually. I played this almost 150 hours with my husband few years back and the game was super addicting back then. For both of us. It never seemed to be that interesting, even if I saw a lot of people playing and streaming it, but when the price was cheap enough, I decided to give it a try. And I was happily surprised.

Husband did a lot of exploration in the mines and farming at our base was my favorite things to do. I'd say its fun and relaxing grinding game that you can play alone, or with friends. I could easily see myself playing this again some day, if I just ever run out of other interesting games to play

 

[Draconifors]

Can I ask, what's the attraction of the game? I guess it's different from running and gunning/slicing, probably differently paced too? Still, what keeps you playing?

It's filled with fun and things to do.

Farming, fishing (my favourite), mine exploration, quests, puzzles, minigames (Junimo Kart is awesome), and more.
It can be relaxing, or very intense, depending on how you choose to play.

Next major thing on my to-do list is to decorate my (well, our) farmhouse. So many catalogues with so many items, the choices are endless.

Edit: Here's what I had to say 800 hours ago, so parts are outdated. It's my Steam review.

Stardew Valley is an amazing game, especially considering it's an indie developed by one person.

The more I play, the more I discover just how involved and complex the game really is. So many things to do, so many things to find, so many things to customize.

One of my most recent discoveries include the ability to move any and all farm buildings even if they have animals inside (seriously, how cool is that) and the option to change the appearance of the fishing bobber.

I have just finished year 1, and there is much I haven't done or tried yet.

Fishing is super addictive and fun. I reached level 10 sometime during the summer, and still have a lot of species to catch. I like that there is a real challenge in fishing, that it's not just click to cast, click again to hook and catch fish. I'm still using the basic fishing rod, because I haven't found any need to upgrade yet -- but I know the toughest fish will require extra buffs.

The friendship system is an example of complexity and involvement, and not something I would have expected to find in the game. It certainly adds to the RPG aspect, and it's really neat how more friendship stars affect things.

Farming and animal husbandry are very enjoyable, with a huge variety of all kinds of options available. I haven't even unlocked everything yet.

Mining is fun, too, and enemies highly varied. It's always an adventure entering the mines.

I dislike nothing about the game, which is the strongest recommendation I can give!

 

[Draconifors]

Coming in three hours (11 AM Pacific):

 

[RAdventurer077]

There is quite a nice book: "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels" by Jason Schreier
It is about how video-game industry works in general taking several wall-known names as representative examples.
One of them is exactly - Stardew Valley.
It sounds a bit crazy, and a magic but it was created by a single man - Eric Barone. He built Stardew Valley solo, working for 5 years, supported by his girlfriend. And then the game sold 1.5 million copies in its first few months.
Actually I quite appreciated the girlfriend probably not less than the developer ))
Instructive and inspiring story and quite a good book.
I recommend to read.