PC Critic Reviews

Far more than just a farming game, this one-man labor of love is filled with seemingly endless content and heart.

The core mechanics and relaxing aesthetic merge so well together that players will sink in to the experience and never want to leave.

Stardew Valley has been the most rich and heartwarming experience I’ve had in a game in years.

Regardless of a few small issues, Stardew Valley is a successful send-up to Harvest Moon that truly comes from the heart.

What do you do when your beloved game series – in this case Harvest Moon – keeps disappointing you? You make your own game, better in every aspect. Every moment spent with Stardew Valley is magical. It’s the Harvest Moon I’ve been waiting for my whole life. [06/2016, p.62]

Stardew Valley is without a doubt the best game in the Harvest Moon genre in many years. It has a subtle message about what it means to live a good life and to flourish through a combination of hard work and human connection. The Harvest Moon games all basically boil down to managing a mix of time, tasks, and metrics, and recent entries in the series have relied heavily on exploiting a new gameplay gimmick with each iteration: in one it's crafting structures for the town, in another it's trading with foreign economies. The problem with this approach is that once these gimmicks are exhausted — all the houses built or all the goods traded — the games feel hollow. Stardew Valley succeeds by delivering a robust experience that does not merely rely on watching a meter go up. It has something to say and says it well, while never abandoning the core gameplay that attracted players in the first place.

It isn't common that you encounter a game as charming and delightfully addictive as Stardew Valley. It finds a harmonious balance of progression, activities, and rewards resulting in each day being distinct and memorable.

An ideal combination of smart simplicity in mechanics and an incredible depth of content. Stardew Valley offers a pure, relaxing experience and hours upon hours of fun and gameplay.

Stardew Valley is an absolutely charming little gem about forgetting all your worries and relaxing on a farm.

Sophisticated and complex sandbox with the massive content. You will like its calm mood and pure gameplay. For a long time, there was not such funny and fulfilling game offering a perfect relaxing experience.