Stardew Valley is about more than just farming. You fish, mine, rear animals, build relationships, marry, explore, and yes, make money. These systems are all extremely fleshed out.

There are multiple ways to construct a profitable farm. Be a bee keeper and sell honey. Place a ton of tappers on trees to collect their sap. Harvest fruits and make wine. Make beer and ale instead. Rear animals and sell their products. Or just straight up farm crops to sell.

The world feels alive and populated. The villagers have their own schedules and you often see them going about their day. After a while you get to know more about each character, and they're often deeper than would appear!

As you become more liked by the residents of Stardew Valley (by giving them gifts!), you'll trigger little cutscenes with them. These cutscenes and interactions do a really good job in making it feel like your relationship building efforts are actually doing something. It's this sense of progression that keeps the game from feeling like you're just raising an arbitrary stat to get a certain ending.

Speaking of progression, Stardew Valley's pacing is particularly well done. When you start the game for the first time, it doesn't hold your hand and lead you through a step-by-step tutorial. You get some seeds, basic farming instructions, and off you go. Then you're given an initial quest to meet the villagers. That's all you really need. Each new feature or system that comes up is organically introduced and explained. You never reach a point where you have to wonder, "well now what do I do?".

Wholeheartedly recommend. I feel a little guilty paying just $15 for this.

Stardew Valley is about more than just farming. You fish, mine, rear animals, build relationships, marry, explore, and yes, make money. These systems are all extremely fleshed out. There are multiple ways to construct a profitable farm. Be a bee keeper and sell honey. Place a ton of tappers on trees to collect their sap. Harvest fruits and make wine. Make beer and ale instead. Rear animals and sell their products. Or just straight up farm crops to sell. The world feels alive and populated. The villagers have their own schedules and you often see them going about their day. After a while you get to know more about each character, and they're often deeper than would appear! As you become more liked by the residents of Stardew Valley (by giving them gifts!), you'll trigger little cutscenes with them. These cutscenes and interactions do a really good job in making it feel like your relationship building efforts are actually doing something. It's this sense of progression that keeps the game from feeling like you're just raising an arbitrary stat to get a certain ending. Speaking of progression, Stardew Valley's pacing is particularly well done. When you start the game for the first time, it doesn't hold your hand and lead you through a step-by-step tutorial. You get some seeds, basic farming instructions, and off you go. Then you're given an initial quest to meet the villagers. That's all you really need. Each new feature or system that comes up is organically introduced and explained. You never reach a point where you have to wonder, "well now what do I do?". Wholeheartedly recommend. I feel a little guilty paying just $15 for this.