Stardew Valley

Mechanics

The general mechanics in Stardew Valley are almost a carbon copy of gameplay elements known from the aforementioned Harvest Moon series. This is primarily an economic game, during which we deal with managing and developing our farm. We start the whole fun by restoring it to a usable state - digging out stones, cutting trees and removing weeds. Next, we start planting plants, watering them and harvesting crops. They are our main income and source of livelihood. Over time, we gain the ability to cultivate increasingly new species of plants, and even breed animals, and the money earned can be invested in the development of the farm.

The realities of the classic economic game described above have been presented in Stardew Valley as a sandbox RPG. The game features a huge scope in this regard, offering an extraordinary multitude of activities and tasks that we can devote ourselves to, depending on our preferences. Apart from farming, our protagonist can also go fishing, visit a nearby mine and look for useful resources, and even venture into dungeons, where dangerous monsters and valuable treasures await him. All of this is complemented by a typical sandbox-style advanced crafting module and a character development system, which allows us to improve various skills of our hero as we advance to the next levels.

Another important aspect of the game is integrating with the local community. During breaks from field work, our farmer can go to the nearby town, participate in various events, as well as interact with encountered characters and accept quests assigned by them. Similar to Harvest Moon, the game also provides the possibility of starting romances, and in the long term, getting married and raising children.

Multiplayer

Stardew Valley is a game originally created solely for singleplayer gameplay. After its premiere, the creator did not stop working on its development, introducing a number of new elements as part of later updates, including the possibility of multiplayer gameplay in cooperative mode. It's worth noting that the multiplayer mode is not available on mobile platforms.

Technical aspects

In terms of presentation, Stardew Valley strongly refers to the first installments of the Harvest Moon series, offering simple 2D graphics in a top-down view, reminiscent of productions from the era of 16-bit consoles. Despite its apparent simplicity, the game offers an extremely complex gameplay model, as well as a whole host of treats and additional possibilities, which we gradually discover as we progress. The creator also didn't forget about such details as the day and night cycle, dynamically changing seasons, and even a fatigue system for the hero, which causes him to lose energy as a result of "pulling all-nighters" or performing more demanding household tasks.