Stardew Valley

So What Ever Happened To…

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Remember when everyone was playing Stardew Valley? I sure do, and I was right there with them. Everyone was talking about it, and we were all having a blast re-living our various Animal Crossing day dreams. There were more of my friends playing that game than are currently playing No Man’s Sky (47 to 33) but I’m hearing a LOT more about No Man’s Sky these days.

Are any of my friends still playing? I’m not really sure. I do know I only have 2/40 achievements unlocked, though a number of them didn’t release until I had been playing for a while.

So what happened?

Well, nothing in specific. It just happens to be the way playing video games goes. We all get drawn towards a game for a little while, play it a whole lot, burn out, and move on. In fact October should be a popular month for this with the latest Civilization game releasing (I’m so excited, but it will be another one of those games I have to wait to purchase, especially since I’m due in October).

I have lots of games like this in my steam library. Some games we revisit and play over and over again, they grab a hold of us and never let go and we’re constantly wandering back (Skyrim, I’m looking at you). Games like Civilization, Cities: Skylines, Banished, Tropico, and even ‘simple’ games like Cook Serve Delicious and Triple Town manage to get me to play them over and over. Other games, not so much. Of course there’s also the issue of taking a look at my library and then spending the next few hours trying to decide what would be good to play, or what I’m in the mood for.

What about everyone else? How do games catch your attention, and if you have a large game library, how do you decide exactly what it is you want to play?

Stardew Valley? Of course!

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Like a lot of my friends, I bought Stardew Valley when it released with high hopes that it would be what I was looking for (a PC version of Harvest Moon with a few extras thrown in) and then I was pleasantly surprised when it ended up being even better than I had hoped. Right now my little character is only in the mid-summer months, but already I’ve had fun exploring the mine, collecting bundles for the community center, meeting towns folks, and yes, even fishing.

Fishing was difficult for me at first. The wording on the mini game was a bit misleading, and I had problems keeping the green moving bar under the fish. Once I went up a level, it got much easier. I hear better tools and more levels will help out even more. For the past three days I’ve been trying to catch a Sardine for a quest, but they keep evading me, even though I caught one on the very first try when I got my rod (I of course sold that fish, I needed funds for a chicken coop). The game has a lot of character, and that’s what really appeals to me. I named my chicken, and then grew fearful as it was accidentally left out in the rain one day. You start making relationships with the townsfolks, and counting on them to be there when you want to talk to them.

Of course there are the usual frustrations. I’m convinced the calendar day changes right when I need a specific shop so that it’s closed, and the first day I played run was off by default so it took me hours to get anywhere. Still, these are items I don’t mind living with – and I can’t wait to see what happens next on my little farm.

As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself!