Remember the days of Harvest Moon where you would be productive farming in a game but you would never go out and do it for real?
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Well, those days are back.
Image source: http://nintendoenthusiast.com/blog/2018/01/15/new-content-stardew-valley-way/
Stardew Valley is the newest pixelated farming stimulator to take over the gaming world.
Although it was released in 2016, the game has gained more popularity in the recent months due to several gamers live-streaming the game online.
Image source: https://imgur.com/gallery/dhpKN7Z
In the game itself, the player takes the role of a character who, to get away from the city life, takes over the late grandfather’s dying farm in a place called Stardew Valley. Just like Harvest Moon, you get to plant and harvest crops, take care of livestock, other various farming, mine ores and stones, fish and pick up flowers & sell them for $1 each.
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It is an open-ended, open world game that leaves the players with many things to do.
Image source: https://www.pcgamer.com/show-us-your-rig-stardew-valleys-eric-barone/
The whole game was designed solely by Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe. He did everything from coding and designing the game to improve his own programming and game design skills. It took him four years and he frequently interacted with the community to get feedback.
Despite of being one of the best sellers on Steam few months after its release, it is still one of the most loved games to date.
Although it resembles Harvest Moon a lot, the creator, Yasuhiro Wada, stated that he was very happy with the game as Harvest Moon was not a forgotten series but continued on in spirit. With the release of Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon also gained sales and popularity once again!
It won several awards and sold more than 3.5 million units as well as was released on major consoles.
With never-ending events, tasks and Easter Eggs to find, the (pixelated) world is your oyster.
In 2018, a new co-op feature that allows you to play with your friends will be released soon. You can farm with them, do activities with them and even get married!
The slow-paced, open-world game caught the attention and hearts of millions and will continue to do so.
