Stardew Valley is an indie farming simulation role-playing video game developed by ConcernedApe and published by Chucklefish Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on February 26, 2016.

I have roughly 60 hours in game and have done just about everything the game has to offer, from finishing the museum collection, to catching every single fish. I've stil got a few more achievements to get, but I can base my review on just about everything you'd have in mind. I will also try and keep this as spoiler free as possible.

Stardew Valley is a game that borrows several similiar ideas from games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. You start out in basically a dump that your grandfather left you, in order to carry on his legacy and turn it into a farm he would be proud of. You're dropped into the world with nothing and with the simple understanding of this: do whatever you want. That's the great thing about this game. There is no right or wrong way to play it. You can build whatever, grow whatever, and do whatever you want to make this game enjoyable for yourself. It's very relaxing and you will definitely be putting multiple hour play sessions into this.


The core mechanics are based on these;

• Upgrading and decorating your farm, from planting crops to cook, sell, or gift to villagers to become friends or for missions, to building barns and coops to house farm animals.
  
• Meeting, befriending, and even marrying and having children with the valley residence. There are a total of 10 different villagers you can romance, 5 bachelors and 5 bachelorettes. The game even offers same sex marriage with the choice for adoption.
  
• You can upgrade your tools, thanks to the local blacksmith, in order to make their specific duties easier for you.
  
• Exploring the local mines searching for artifacts to donate to the museum, while fighting off several different monsters throughout each level.
  
• Fishing in the ocean, to various lakes and rivers throughout the valley in order to collect every single fish, including the 5 legendary fish.

Of course, these are just the basics, as the game has much more to offer than what I've just listed.

The game also has a great modding community that adds and changes things to your liking. There are mods that change the character portraits for your favorite waifu, and even mods that can make the fishing mechanic easier or harder.

The biggest thing I took away from this game was the developer, ConcernedApe. This is a man that loves what he does and is someone that the gaming community needs more of. He listens and gives players what they want. He is open to ideas, but already has all these goals set for Stardew Valley. This game is his baby and is something he plans on taking care of. So thank you, ConcernedApe, for possibly my favorite game of 2016, so far.

For a $15 game and only being developed by one person, it has so much more content that I could have imagined. I bought this game after several recommendations from some friends and do not regret it. It fills into that niche market on Steam that is just waiting to be grabbed at, and ConcernedApe perfected it.

• Customization: You are given the freedom to do whatever you want, which is a huge plus in my book.
  
• Visuals: An excellent SNES style for a great nostalgic feeling.
  
• Content: Possibly hundreds of hours of content, with no time constaints, besides the day cycles.
  
• Dev: Truly an inspiration and someone most developers should take after.
  
• Save System: It's a trap. You save upon going to sleep for the night. If you're like me, you'll want to go back outside to check your crops and mail, so the cycle never ends.

• End-game: In my experience, after about 60 hours, I'm left with not much to do. ConcernedApe has said, however, that he is working on this and will be adding more content in the future.
  
• Villagers: While the citizens are excellent and each have their own story and life, I'd live to see more people move in as you progress through the story and upgrade the community center.
  
• Married Life: As of now, no matter who you chose to marry, all life is drained from them. Your spouse's traits and dreams end as soon as you marry them. I would like to see the married section completely redone so I don't feel terrible ruining their dreams and forcing them to live on a farm.
  
• Combat: It's very simple, almost like Terraria. Basically a point and click until dead.

Overall, Stardew Valley is my favorite game of 2016. There are hours upon hours of content that will keep you satisfied. The developer has stated that multiplayer will be coming in the future, along with much more content, so I'm sure to put many more hours into it once all that is released. Until then, he's continuing to fix bugs, which as a developer, is never truly done. If you're a fan of classic series such as Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing, then you will certainly enjoy Stardew Valley.

If you thought this review was helpful, please give it a thumbs up.

http://steamoss.com/steamstore/app/413150/

[h1]Overview[/h1] Stardew Valley is an indie farming simulation role-playing video game developed by ConcernedApe and published by Chucklefish Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on February 26, 2016. I have roughly 60 hours in game and have done just about everything the game has to offer, from finishing the museum collection, to catching every single fish. I've stil got a few more achievements to get, but I can base my review on just about everything you'd have in mind. I will also try and keep this as spoiler free as possible. Stardew Valley is a game that borrows several similiar ideas from games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. You start out in basically a dump that your grandfather left you, in order to carry on his legacy and turn it into a farm he would be proud of. You're dropped into the world with nothing and with the simple understanding of this: do whatever you want. That's the great thing about this game. There is no right or wrong way to play it. You can build whatever, grow whatever, and do whatever you want to make this game enjoyable for yourself. It's very relaxing and you will definitely be putting multiple hour play sessions into this. [h1]About The Game[/h1] The core mechanics are based on these; [list] [*]Upgrading and decorating your farm, from planting crops to cook, sell, or gift to villagers to become friends or for missions, to building barns and coops to house farm animals. [*]Meeting, befriending, and even marrying and having children with the valley residence. There are a total of 10 different villagers you can romance, 5 bachelors and 5 bachelorettes. The game even offers same sex marriage with the choice for adoption. [*]You can upgrade your tools, thanks to the local blacksmith, in order to make their specific duties easier for you. [*]Exploring the local mines searching for artifacts to donate to the museum, while fighting off several different monsters throughout each level. [*]Fishing in the ocean, to various lakes and rivers throughout the valley in order to collect every single fish, including the 5 legendary fish. [/list] Of course, these are just the basics, as the game has much more to offer than what I've just listed. The game also has a great modding community that adds and changes things to your liking. There are mods that change the character portraits for your favorite waifu, and even mods that can make the fishing mechanic easier or harder. The biggest thing I took away from this game was the developer, ConcernedApe. This is a man that loves what he does and is someone that the gaming community needs more of. He listens and gives players what they want. He is open to ideas, but already has all these goals set for Stardew Valley. This game is his baby and is something he plans on taking care of. So thank you, ConcernedApe, for possibly my favorite game of 2016, so far. For a $15 game and only being developed by one person, it has so much more content that I could have imagined. I bought this game after several recommendations from some friends and do not regret it. It fills into that niche market on Steam that is just waiting to be grabbed at, and ConcernedApe perfected it. [h1]Pros[/h1] [list] [*] Customization: You are given the freedom to do whatever you want, which is a huge plus in my book. [*] Visuals: An excellent SNES style for a great nostalgic feeling. [*] Content: Possibly hundreds of hours of content, with no time constaints, besides the day cycles. [*] Dev: Truly an inspiration and someone most developers should take after. [*] Save System: It's a trap. You save upon going to sleep for the night. If you're like me, you'll want to go back outside to check your crops and mail, so the cycle never ends. [/list] [h1]Cons[/h1] [list] [*] End-game: In my experience, after about 60 hours, I'm left with not much to do. ConcernedApe has said, however, that he is working on this and will be adding more content in the future. [*] Villagers: While the citizens are excellent and each have their own story and life, I'd live to see more people move in as you progress through the story and upgrade the community center. [*] Married Life: As of now, no matter who you chose to marry, all life is drained from them. Your spouse's traits and dreams end as soon as you marry them. I would like to see the married section completely redone so I don't feel terrible ruining their dreams and forcing them to live on a farm. [*] Combat: It's very simple, almost like Terraria. Basically a point and click until dead. [/list] [h1]Verdict[/h1] Overall, Stardew Valley is my favorite game of 2016. There are hours upon hours of content that will keep you satisfied. The developer has stated that multiplayer will be coming in the future, along with much more content, so I'm sure to put many more hours into it once all that is released. Until then, he's continuing to fix bugs, which as a developer, is never truly done. If you're a fan of classic series such as Harvest Moon or Animal Crossing, then you will certainly enjoy Stardew Valley. If you thought this review was helpful, please give it a thumbs up. http://steamoss.com/steamstore/app/413150/