Slapping at your computer keys, working for Joja Corp is a seemingly aimless endeavor. Day after day, week after week, month after month goes about as slow as a snail going nowhere. You have no clue what you are contributing to and you seem to be the only one aware of the fact. Realizing the desperate need for change, you decide that it's finally time for the letter your grandpa gave you before he passed. In it, you discover the deed to his old farm. "OK, not exactly what I was looking for, but its worth a shot", you say to yourself, attempting optimism.
On the way there, anxiety suddenly sweeps over you as you remember the cold truth: you know nothing about farming! When you arrive and look around, you are suddenly calmed as you take in the beauty and simplicity of it all. Things grow all around you, fish are plentiful in the surrounding waters, the breeze is just perfect, the sound of tranquility fills the air, the people are very welcoming, and you constantly receive the satisfying feeling of getting things done that you never before felt at Joja Corp.
Welcome to Stardew Valley. Single-handedly developed, written, drawn, scored, and made by Eric Barone (ConcernedApe) to mirror the old Harvest Moon games. The player is given the opportunity to rebuild a brush overgrown farm, fish, mine for ores in the mines (and combat the strange creatures lurking there), and grow friendships with the locals of Pelica Town. You can also start a family if you choose, and make a profit off of growing plants, preserving fruits and vegetables, raising animals, cooking, ageing wines and cheeses, and a number of other things. This game uses 4 seasons, 28 days in each season, with 20 minutes worth of gameplay max in each day. Certain events, plants, fish, forageables, and things happen in certain seasons. As you move throughout the game, pace yourself! I promise you can't do everything you want in one day. When the clock strikes 2am, you pass out from sleep deprivation.
All in all, this game receives my 8 out of 10 star rating, but only because I feel it's not as open-ended as games like the recent Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You can't craft as much, and events are very limited in comparison, but that's not to say it isn't a fun game! I've spent hours carefully placing plants where I want them to grow, clearing out my farm for more buildings, fishing, building relationships, and mining rare ores. There have also been a handful of updates since the game's original release, so who knows what ConcernedApe will come up with in the months to come.
Looking for refuge from the hectic things life rudely shoves in your face? Stardew Valley is waiting.