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Stardew Valley - Review
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Stardew Valley - ReviewPosted:
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Game Review for Stardew Valley
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Description:
Platforms:PC,XB1,PS4,Switch and PS Vita
Release Date: February 26th 2016
Genre: Indie/RPG/Simulation
Developer: ConcernedApe
Publisher:Chucklefish
Modes: Single-Player, Multiplayer
Awards:Breakthrough Award 2016 (Golden Joystick awards),Simulation game of the year (NAVGTR awards)
Metrics: 3.5 million units sold (PC.XB1.PS4),Most downloaded game on Switch (2017)
Synopsis
You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won't be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community centre, once the town's most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!
Plot
Let's start with the most important one the plot of the game, Stardew Valley is an indie farming/RPG game where you inherit your Grandfathers farm in the town of Stardew. Upon arriving at the farm you are greeted by the Mayer who advises you to speak with the other citizens and make yourself acquainted with them while the other, the carpenter, tells you about her services. The player is then left to his/her own devices and is guided via mail and what the other citizens inform the player about.
Gameplay
Stamina:
At first, it may seem too overwhelming when you have no idea where you are going or what to do next. I started by cleaning up the farm a little as it was overgrown and unsightly when I arrived. Upon learning of the Stamina bar I realised how your actions really need to be thought out within the game. Later in the game, you find out that there are items and foods you can consume that will increase your energy throughout the day and different quality items have different effects on the energy a player gains from them. You may also find that later in the game the Spa is unlocked that allows the player to fully refresh his/her stamina.
Exploration:
So you may need to go around the town a few times before you are fully acquainted with the layout as there are some places that are away from the may town square and these can be hard to locate for a new player. The in-game map really helps you to figure things out by pressing M on PC. You will also have a chance to look around while you are looking for every citizen of Stardew as part of Mayer Lewis' first quest for you.
Activities:
So what can you do in Stardew? Well of course first and foremost is the ability to farm, you can plant various crops throughout the year, but be sure not to plant them to near the end of the season as they will die once a new season has begun. You will also need to water the crops each day otherwise they will also die, a watering can is provided at the start and can be upgraded.
The second activity is fishing, after a few days in Stardew you will be contacted by Willy, the fisherman in the town, he will give you a rod and tell you to begin fishing, when it comes to fishing you can catch different fish at different points in the game. Each season has its own fish, the fish you catch can also be affected by the weather and also the time of day.
The third activity is mining, you are able to go to the northern part of town and see that the bridge is blocked at the beginning, eventually you will get mail advising you that the mines are open, the mines are arranged in floors from 1-120, depending on the floor you are on different enemies may await you as well as different items. Such as Iron which is more common on floors 40-50. Every 5 levels an elevator will unlock that will allow you to fast travel between the elevators you have unlocked. and every 10 levels the level will consist of only a chest and no resources/enemies although a body of water may be present for you to fish in.
Activity 3.5 is joining the adventurers guild, you can do this once you reach 10 slimes killed, a quest to do this will be given to the player after getting to level 5 in the mines, once you do this you will be given more quests and a killboard where each mob in the game must be killed a set number of times to earn a reward.
Activity 4 is completing the community centre, this is an ongoing task which requires the player to gather different items from different activities and add them to a book which will unlock different things as a result and each subsection offers its own rewards, such as the Spring foraging section where one of each of the spring foraging items will be added while rewarding 30 spring seeds. Completing the whole foraging section rewards a bridge repair of the bridge to unlock the Quarry which is located east of the mine past the Adventurers Guild.
The final activity in Stardew are the Festivals, in each month events will take place to mark special occasions, these include an Egg Festival in the spring and a Stardew Valley Fair in the fall. Each of these festivals allows the player to take part in community activities so that they may earn friendship points and special items. The events repeat every year so don't worry if you lose in the egg hunt or cant get enough points at the fair.
There are other things too but if I talk about them all I could be here forever as for such a small and simple game it packs in a lot of content
Other things you can do: Marry people and subsequently have children, have buildings on the farm to keep animals, either a bat cave or a mushroom cave, early in the game you also get to chose a pet and name them, based on your characters preferred pet between dog and cat
Whatever you are doing in Stardew it will be fun, but be sure you are home by 2 A.M otherwise, you will pass out and lose a portion of your stamina for the next day.
Graphics
The graphics on Stardew are not the best but they also aren't trying to be, it is a pixelated and low resolution but i feel that it does not limit this games ability to entertain and keep you happy for hours on end. Each month has its own unique look to represent it where everything changes for example the pictures below are set in Fall and as such everything is brown and there are a lot of leaves on the ground, during spring there is flowers everywhere and everything is colourful as was the case with summer except they use different plants and have more of them too, then in winter there is snow and ice etc.
You can also alter the look of your farm using unlockable crafting items like paths and decorations as well as building unlocks which change the interior of the farm house, these are unlocked via the carpenter. You may also receive items of decoration via NPCs in the game, such as if you are married your partner will move their stuff in which changes the look of your house. The NPCs may also send you recopies in the mail for items or give them to you especially the museums curator, Gunther.
Here are some screenshots of the game i took (My game is currently in Fall):
The outside of my farm
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I have been focusing on mining and fishing and only have these crops as i could only craft this many sprinkelers which basically do the watering of crops for you.
An example of Mail
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The player's mom often contacts you and send you items like this cake
Here is the Dock where you first meet Willy
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And last but not least here is the town square where some of the festivals take place
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Controls
The controls in Stardew are very well set out as default. The map is M the journal is F the menu is Esc, left click and right click are for actions and interactions respectively.
The only thing i have to say about the controls is when you are being attacked in the mines you may come across your character not attacking the right way which can lead to you taking a lot of damage or even dying which is a disaster as you will lose a portion of the money you had (up to 5000) and all the items you had at the time which are not retrievable!
Rating
I have really loved this game, I was waiting for it to come on sale so if I didn't like it I would waste less money but honestly, it is one of the most fun games I have played to date. There are endless activities and never enough time to do them! I often find myself in the mines and realise its midnight and have to run to bed before passing out, and it sometimes happens in the game too... But seriously its really an amazing game and one which I recommend you to check out for yourselves as it is available on many platforms.
Scores:
Gameplay 10/10
Plot 10/10
Controls 7/10
Graphics 8/10
Sound 10/10 - I know i haven't mentioned sound in my main post but its because there is too much to say and not enough ways to express it, they have chosen the right sounds and vibe to suit the game, there is no OTT rock or anything like that its peaceful melodies and the sounds really add to the game
Things to look at if you have bought or are thinking of buying the game:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] - I always had at least 3 wiki tabs open during my first year and even beyond that depending on activity
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] - Very useful guide on what to do and what not to do in your first year of the game
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] - Nice little guide for people new to the game
Thank you for viewing and i sincerely hope you like my review and it makes you want to buy the game or at the least see what its all about.
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
Description:
Platforms:PC,XB1,PS4,Switch and PS Vita
Release Date: February 26th 2016
Genre: Indie/RPG/Simulation
Developer: ConcernedApe
Publisher:Chucklefish
Modes: Single-Player, Multiplayer
Awards:Breakthrough Award 2016 (Golden Joystick awards),Simulation game of the year (NAVGTR awards)
Metrics: 3.5 million units sold (PC.XB1.PS4),Most downloaded game on Switch (2017)
Synopsis
You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won't be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community centre, once the town's most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!
Plot
Let's start with the most important one the plot of the game, Stardew Valley is an indie farming/RPG game where you inherit your Grandfathers farm in the town of Stardew. Upon arriving at the farm you are greeted by the Mayer who advises you to speak with the other citizens and make yourself acquainted with them while the other, the carpenter, tells you about her services. The player is then left to his/her own devices and is guided via mail and what the other citizens inform the player about.
Gameplay
Stamina:
At first, it may seem too overwhelming when you have no idea where you are going or what to do next. I started by cleaning up the farm a little as it was overgrown and unsightly when I arrived. Upon learning of the Stamina bar I realised how your actions really need to be thought out within the game. Later in the game, you find out that there are items and foods you can consume that will increase your energy throughout the day and different quality items have different effects on the energy a player gains from them. You may also find that later in the game the Spa is unlocked that allows the player to fully refresh his/her stamina.
Exploration:
So you may need to go around the town a few times before you are fully acquainted with the layout as there are some places that are away from the may town square and these can be hard to locate for a new player. The in-game map really helps you to figure things out by pressing M on PC. You will also have a chance to look around while you are looking for every citizen of Stardew as part of Mayer Lewis' first quest for you.
Activities:
So what can you do in Stardew? Well of course first and foremost is the ability to farm, you can plant various crops throughout the year, but be sure not to plant them to near the end of the season as they will die once a new season has begun. You will also need to water the crops each day otherwise they will also die, a watering can is provided at the start and can be upgraded.
The second activity is fishing, after a few days in Stardew you will be contacted by Willy, the fisherman in the town, he will give you a rod and tell you to begin fishing, when it comes to fishing you can catch different fish at different points in the game. Each season has its own fish, the fish you catch can also be affected by the weather and also the time of day.
The third activity is mining, you are able to go to the northern part of town and see that the bridge is blocked at the beginning, eventually you will get mail advising you that the mines are open, the mines are arranged in floors from 1-120, depending on the floor you are on different enemies may await you as well as different items. Such as Iron which is more common on floors 40-50. Every 5 levels an elevator will unlock that will allow you to fast travel between the elevators you have unlocked. and every 10 levels the level will consist of only a chest and no resources/enemies although a body of water may be present for you to fish in.
Activity 3.5 is joining the adventurers guild, you can do this once you reach 10 slimes killed, a quest to do this will be given to the player after getting to level 5 in the mines, once you do this you will be given more quests and a killboard where each mob in the game must be killed a set number of times to earn a reward.
Activity 4 is completing the community centre, this is an ongoing task which requires the player to gather different items from different activities and add them to a book which will unlock different things as a result and each subsection offers its own rewards, such as the Spring foraging section where one of each of the spring foraging items will be added while rewarding 30 spring seeds. Completing the whole foraging section rewards a bridge repair of the bridge to unlock the Quarry which is located east of the mine past the Adventurers Guild.
The final activity in Stardew are the Festivals, in each month events will take place to mark special occasions, these include an Egg Festival in the spring and a Stardew Valley Fair in the fall. Each of these festivals allows the player to take part in community activities so that they may earn friendship points and special items. The events repeat every year so don't worry if you lose in the egg hunt or cant get enough points at the fair.
There are other things too but if I talk about them all I could be here forever as for such a small and simple game it packs in a lot of content
Other things you can do: Marry people and subsequently have children, have buildings on the farm to keep animals, either a bat cave or a mushroom cave, early in the game you also get to chose a pet and name them, based on your characters preferred pet between dog and cat
Whatever you are doing in Stardew it will be fun, but be sure you are home by 2 A.M otherwise, you will pass out and lose a portion of your stamina for the next day.
Graphics
The graphics on Stardew are not the best but they also aren't trying to be, it is a pixelated and low resolution but i feel that it does not limit this games ability to entertain and keep you happy for hours on end. Each month has its own unique look to represent it where everything changes for example the pictures below are set in Fall and as such everything is brown and there are a lot of leaves on the ground, during spring there is flowers everywhere and everything is colourful as was the case with summer except they use different plants and have more of them too, then in winter there is snow and ice etc.
You can also alter the look of your farm using unlockable crafting items like paths and decorations as well as building unlocks which change the interior of the farm house, these are unlocked via the carpenter. You may also receive items of decoration via NPCs in the game, such as if you are married your partner will move their stuff in which changes the look of your house. The NPCs may also send you recopies in the mail for items or give them to you especially the museums curator, Gunther.
Here are some screenshots of the game i took (My game is currently in Fall):
The outside of my farm
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
I have been focusing on mining and fishing and only have these crops as i could only craft this many sprinkelers which basically do the watering of crops for you.
An example of Mail
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
The player's mom often contacts you and send you items like this cake
Here is the Dock where you first meet Willy
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
And last but not least here is the town square where some of the festivals take place
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
Controls
The controls in Stardew are very well set out as default. The map is M the journal is F the menu is Esc, left click and right click are for actions and interactions respectively.
The only thing i have to say about the controls is when you are being attacked in the mines you may come across your character not attacking the right way which can lead to you taking a lot of damage or even dying which is a disaster as you will lose a portion of the money you had (up to 5000) and all the items you had at the time which are not retrievable!
Rating
I have really loved this game, I was waiting for it to come on sale so if I didn't like it I would waste less money but honestly, it is one of the most fun games I have played to date. There are endless activities and never enough time to do them! I often find myself in the mines and realise its midnight and have to run to bed before passing out, and it sometimes happens in the game too... But seriously its really an amazing game and one which I recommend you to check out for yourselves as it is available on many platforms.
Scores:
Gameplay 10/10
Plot 10/10
Controls 7/10
Graphics 8/10
Sound 10/10 - I know i haven't mentioned sound in my main post but its because there is too much to say and not enough ways to express it, they have chosen the right sounds and vibe to suit the game, there is no OTT rock or anything like that its peaceful melodies and the sounds really add to the game
Things to look at if you have bought or are thinking of buying the game:
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] - I always had at least 3 wiki tabs open during my first year and even beyond that depending on activity
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] - Very useful guide on what to do and what not to do in your first year of the game
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] - Nice little guide for people new to the game
Thank you for viewing and i sincerely hope you like my review and it makes you want to buy the game or at the least see what its all about.
#2. Posted:
Status: Offline
Joined: May 10, 20185Year Member
Posts: 2,707
Reputation Power: 578
Status: Offline
Joined: May 10, 20185Year Member
Posts: 2,707
Reputation Power: 578
Got my first game review published
Thanks to everyone that helped ;)
Leave feedback and your thoughts on the game
Thanks to everyone that helped ;)
Leave feedback and your thoughts on the game
- 1useful
- 0not useful
#3. Posted:
Status: Offline
Joined: Feb 11, 201311Year Member
Posts: 7,128
Reputation Power: 4736
Your synopsis is a mix, if not pointed towards the gameplay but its still classified as a "synopsis". I recommend just copying and pasting the synopsis from Wikipedia as its allowed.
In your gameplay, you have stamina as a main topic but its really just a broad topic that should be incorporated elsewhere in the category. Plus, you have more information under Stamina than you do exploration and exploration is probably one of the biggest possessions in the game. I like how you organised the "activities" but in the end, you can just put it all in one paragraph, choosing better subject transitions rather than (first activity, second activity, third activity, etc) like a list. Picture it like an essay, you aren't going to hand your professor a 7 paragraph listed essay with a minimal description in each paragraph. Combine some subjects, describe further with more context from your personal experience from the game and find the right wording to have a more... professional review.
In your ratings, you went on about your personal experience and opinion with the sound but you could have mentioned this within the gameplay because it's your experience with the game and sound is, of course, a crucial part of the gameplay. You also went on to give more information about tips and Wikipedia links under the rating but this can be some say "untidy". Next time in your future reviews, create an "Extra" category showing off tips and websites that will help. Its just better organization and better for the readers, gamers out there.
Your review is really good and well detailed for your first review. I helped you with the organization of the review prior to you submitting it so please stick with this "template" and your outcomes with reviews will be great. I suggest using a grammar checker because overlooking your review before submission, you had multiple spelling errors and simple mistakes you cant catch from the naked eye. Even with me fixing some errors with my grammar extension, I noticed A LOT of mistakes in each section. I like how you also added an "Award" tab at the beginning of the review, a great addition to a game review.
I hope to see you continue writing reviews since this forum is dead and its great to see newcomers going for the possible badge.
Stardew Valley is an indie farming simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone and published by Chucklefish. The game was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2016, with ports for OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One released later that year. A Nintendo Switch port was released in October 2017, with a PlayStation Vita port in May 2018. In your gameplay, you have stamina as a main topic but its really just a broad topic that should be incorporated elsewhere in the category. Plus, you have more information under Stamina than you do exploration and exploration is probably one of the biggest possessions in the game. I like how you organised the "activities" but in the end, you can just put it all in one paragraph, choosing better subject transitions rather than (first activity, second activity, third activity, etc) like a list. Picture it like an essay, you aren't going to hand your professor a 7 paragraph listed essay with a minimal description in each paragraph. Combine some subjects, describe further with more context from your personal experience from the game and find the right wording to have a more... professional review.
In your ratings, you went on about your personal experience and opinion with the sound but you could have mentioned this within the gameplay because it's your experience with the game and sound is, of course, a crucial part of the gameplay. You also went on to give more information about tips and Wikipedia links under the rating but this can be some say "untidy". Next time in your future reviews, create an "Extra" category showing off tips and websites that will help. Its just better organization and better for the readers, gamers out there.
[hr]
[size=18]Extra:[/size]
Things to look at if you have bought or are thinking of buying the game:
stardewvalleywiki.com/Stardew_Valley_Wiki - I always had at least 3 wiki tabs open during my first year and even beyond that depending on activity
youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Cmas3LMDU - Very useful guide on what to do and what not to do in your first year of the game
youtube.com/watch?v=orG_e681MWQ - Nice little guide for people new to the game Your review is really good and well detailed for your first review. I helped you with the organization of the review prior to you submitting it so please stick with this "template" and your outcomes with reviews will be great. I suggest using a grammar checker because overlooking your review before submission, you had multiple spelling errors and simple mistakes you cant catch from the naked eye. Even with me fixing some errors with my grammar extension, I noticed A LOT of mistakes in each section. I like how you also added an "Award" tab at the beginning of the review, a great addition to a game review.
I hope to see you continue writing reviews since this forum is dead and its great to see newcomers going for the possible badge.
- 4useful
- 0not useful
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