Stardew Valley Review: The Best Simulation Game?

Stardew Valley: At First Glance

If you have ever played Stardew Valley or seen someone playing it, you should know this game is one of the simplest games ever. Moreover, according to a tweet on Twitter by the developer (ConcernedApe), this game was made in “his bedroom”.

Surprised right? You should see the look on my face when I also found out.

Despite the fact that the video game was developed in the developer’s bedroom, it has been a huge success!

Well, since its release on the 26^th February 2016, Stardew Valley has gone on to sell over 10 million copies. I guess one of the major reasons why this game has sold so many copies is because of its relatively low price.

Specifically, as of December 2021, when I wrote this review, Stardew Valley had a price tag of just $14.99. Having said all that, let us get to know more about this video game in subsequent sections below.

Stardew Valley: Systems Requirements

Earlier, when I mentioned that Stardew Valley is one of the simplest games, I meant in every area including the system requirements. To be more specific, the system requirements to play this video game are minimal.

First and foremost, let us talk about the minimum and recommended processor requirements. Impressively, any processor with a maximum frequency of 2 GHz will give you enough power to enjoy Stardew Valley to the fullest.

Well, you sure will get a lot of processors that have a maximum frequency of 2 GHz or even higher. A few processors with 2 GHz or higher maximum frequency include the Intel i3-8130U processor and Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor.

In addition to the processor requirement, your PC must also have a minimum of 2 GB RAM to get the best experience while playing Stardew Valley. This shouldn’t be a problem because most PCs nowadays come with a standard memory of 2 GB.

That said, now let us discuss the graphics card requirement to play Stardew Valley. First, it is important to note that Stardew Valley isn’t a graphics-demanding game.

Specifically, all you need to enjoy a premium graphics/gaming experience while playing Stardew Valley is a graphics card with 256 MB dedicated VRAM.

With all that being said, it is okay to say, to play Stardew Valley without any issue, your PC must have a processor with 2 Hz maximum frequency, 2 GB RAM, and a GPU with 256 MB dedicated VRAM.

Well, I know a particular gaming PC that has exactly all these requirements. The PC I am talking about is the Dell Inspiron 1520.

Impressively, this gaming PC isn’t expensive at all. Like, the PC is for budget gamers like me!

However, before buying the Dell Inspiron 1520, you should check if your computer has the system requirements to play Stardew Valley. Refer to the “References And Further Reading” section of this article for extensive instructions on how to check your PC’s processor, RAM, GPU, and VRAM.

Lest I forget, to download Stardew Valley, your PC needs to have about 500 MB of free disk space. I guess this shouldn’t be an issue though.

This is because you rarely see a PC with less than 10 GB disk space talkless of 500 MB. Even Chromebooks nowadays come with nothing less than 16 GB of disk space.

For the DirectX requirement, your PC must have DirectX Version 10 to run and play Stardew Valley smoothly. To be clear, Microsoft DirectX is a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) for Microsoft platforms that manage tasks related to multimedia, including game programming and video.

That said, Stardew Valley can run on numerous operating systems. However, the recommended operating systems include Windows Vista or higher, Mac OSX 10.10+, or Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

Stardew Valley can’t only run on numerous operating systems, it can also run on multiple platforms. Specifically, asides from PC, you can also play Stardew Valley on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, PS4, and Xbox One.

Moving on, Stardew Valley has always been compared with popular video games like Minecraft. However, the major difference between Stardew Valley and Minecraft is that Minecraft is quite demanding when it comes to system requirements.

To give more details, to run Minecraft smoothly, you will need a PC that has an Intel Core i5 processor with a 3.5 GHz maximum frequency. Also, the PC must have about 4 GB RAM, GeForce 700 Series GPU, and 4 GB free disk space.

Minecraft is sure more popular than Stardew Valley, but they are very similar in almost every area. Thus, I really don’t know the reason why Minecraft has so many demanding system requirements.

Besides, PCs that have the necessary requirements to run Minecraft smoothly are really expensive. A few PCs that I know that have similar requirements include the Lenovo Y700 and Acer Nitro 5 Spin.

With that being said, if you want to play Minecraft but your PC doesn’t have the necessary requirements, Stardew Valley is a perfect alternative.

All things considered, I will rate Stardew Valley a nine out of ten in this system requirements review section. This rating is based on the less-demanding requirements to run this video game.

Stardew Valley: Music, Sound and Graphics

There isn’t too much to discuss when it comes to Stardew Valley’s sound and graphics. Probably the reason is that the game is a basic farm simulation video game, unlike action RPG games.

Also, Stardew Valley isn’t particularly a 3D video game. Instead, this video game is more like a 2D video game made with sprite animation. 

To give more details, sprites are two-dimensional images or animations overlaid into a scene. Additionally, they are the non-static elements within a 2D game, moving independently in the background.

Furthermore, sprites are often used to represent player-controlled characters, props, enemy units, etc. Also, sprites can be composed of multiple tiles or even smaller sprites.

Being a 2D game with sprite animation doesn’t mean Stardew Valley is so bad graphically. In fact, this video game has brighter and more vibrant colors compared to even more expensive games like Minecraft.

Moreover, Stardew Valley having bright and vibrant colors is very impressive and necessary. This is because, since the game is a farm simulation game, the green colors of plants, leaves, and trees are very vibrant and colorful.

That said, the sprite animation used for creating characters and NPCs (Non-playable characters) in Stardew Valley is very detailed, varied, and unique. Therefore, players will be able to clearly differentiate between all the characters in the game.

This is a huge feat for the developer, and I believe he deserves some accolades. The reason I said that is because most sprite-based games come with similar or look-a-like characters, which makes gameplay somewhat difficult.

Moving on, the small touches of vibrant graphics and colors that went into the environments – even along the borders where the characters/players cannot walk – are noticeable and add to the overall graphics quality of the video game.

Having said all that, let us quickly discuss the sound and music of Stardew Valley. Sound on Stardew Valley isn’t something out of the ordinary; it is exactly what you will expect from a simulation game. 

However, what makes the game unique compared to other simulation games is the number of details the developer puts into the sound. To be more specific, basically, every living thing on the video game generates one sound or the other.

For example, goat bleats, chickens cluck, and cows moo on the farm. In fact, you will even be able to hear the sound of birds chirping and tweeting when flying around.

Moreover, I really love the real-world-like sound generated when cutting down a tree or uprooting plants in the game. Something else I like about this video game is the “footstep” sound generated when characters are walking or moving.

All these sound features give players the impression of actually being on a farm, which is really impressive and fun. However, the only issue I have with Stardew Valley is that when two characters are communicating, dialogue isn’t audible.

Instead, a letterbox appears on the screen showing the words the characters are saying. On a positive note, the video game comes with over 50 soundtracks.

Therefore, different scenes, shops, and townsfolk have their own theme songs as well as unique ones for specific times or events. Moreover, the songs are all quite pleasant and fit the setting of the game.

In conclusion, having 2D graphics with sprite animation doesn’t stop Stardew Valley from offering players decent graphics quality. Also, the sound of the video game gives players the illusion of actually being on a farm.

However, characters not being able to generate sounds when communicating is a bit of a turn-off for me. Therefore, in this music, sound, and graphics review section, I will be rating Stardew Valley an eight out of ten.

Stardew Valley: Storyline and Characters

Before entering the story scene or even starting Stardew Valley, you have to create a character as a player. In the character creation scene, you first have to pick a gender between male, female, or even gay.

The idea of being able to create a gay character in Stardew Valley is an impressive thing from the developer. This is because it shows that the game is for everyone including the LGBTQ+ community.

That said, after choosing your gender, you then get to choose other character creation stuff like eyes, hair, skin color, color, shirt, and pants. So, after creating a character, the game begins with the player’s dying grandfather handing him/her a letter.

After handing the letter, the dying grandfather then tells the player to open it once he’s/she’s grown up and life has let him down. After twenty years as a frustrated employee of Joja Corporation, life has become increasingly difficult, thus the player opens the letter.

The letter indicates that the player inherits the now-dead grandpa’s old farm in the laid-back Pelican town. So, arriving at the farm, you will find a field of messy weeds and overgrown trees outside of a little hut on the farm.

Also, Pelican town, where the farm is located, is a tiny-but-lively rural town beset by the very company (Joja Corporation) that the player used to work for. Thus, the community center in Pelican town is in shambles, bridges are faulty, and people are struggling to survive.

However, more than thirty intriguing characters populate the town, including those you meet after unlocking new areas. Each of the characters has its own daily routines and relationships that you can discover.

Moreover, there are about 12 bachelor/bachelorette characters (6 males and 6 females) that players can have a romantic relationship with. The bachelor characters include Alex, Elliot, Harvey, Sam, Sebastian, and Shane.

The bachelorette characters, on the other hand, are Abigail, Emily, Haley, Leah, Maru, and Penny.

Moving on, an issue I noticed about the characters in Stardew Valley is the lack of ethnic diversity. To be more specific, with over thirty characters in the game, only one of them is black.

The name of this black character is Demetrius, and he’s married. In fact, Demetrius’s biracial daughter, Maru, is part of the bachelorettes’ characters.

However, it would have been nice if there is a mixture of ethnicity among the characters in the video game.

Notwithstanding, the story of the video game is understandable and the characters are overall impressive. In fact, the storyline of Stardew Valley is somewhat better or let me say similar to other simulation games like Graveyard Keeper.

To give more details, Graveyard Keeper is a graveyard-keeping management simulation game inspired by Stardew Valley. Furthermore, Graveyard Keeper is all about the player becoming the owner of a plot of land including a small graveyard.

The plot of land, as well as the graveyard, was once owned by the player’s predecessor near a small town. I guess you all can now notice the similarity between Stardew Valley’s story and Graveyard Keeper’s story.

If you really don’t get it, let me explain briefly. The major similarity between the two games’ stories is that players in both games inherit a particular property from a deceased or someone.

Moving on, I am not the only one who thinks Stardew Valley’s story and characters are understandable and impressive. To be more specific, a number of gamers had a few positive things to say about the game’s story and characters on Steam. 

A gamer with the tag VodkaFun said “I can’t get enough of this game with its straightforward storyline and fun characters”.

In conclusion, Stardew Valley offers a very simple story and quite a number of characters. Unfortunately, all the characters are NPCs (non-playable characters) except the player’s character.

On a similar negative note, the developer of this game missed a few crucial factors such as ethnic diversity.

All things considered, I will rate Stardew Valley an eight out of ten in this storyline and character review section.

Stardew Valley: Gameplay

As mentioned many times in this article, Stardew Valley is a simulation video game. However, it isn’t like any simulation game; it is more like a farming simulation game.

The farming mechanism of this game is impressive. It is so impressive that it brings out the best of every gamer that plays it.

To give more details, there are various seeds available to be planted in specific seasons that will need to be watered daily.

Also, players have to harvest the seeds before the start of the next season. The changing of seasons in Stardew Valley is perhaps one of the most exciting events.

To be more specific, summer has plenty of sunny days, which is really helpful when growing a certain type of crop. There are also other seasons like spring and fall, which is when you can plant most of your crops.

However, the snow-covered ground in winter seasons prevents any crops from growing outside. It is important to note that each season runs for 28 days.

Therefore, figuring out how best to spend each season is a great challenge as each year in the game passes. That said, in the game, players can build barns to raise animals for their eggs, milk, and other products.

Sadly, when you begin the game, you will have to farm slowly and gradually i.e square by square and animal by animal. However, as the game progresses, tools can be upgraded and farm automation products can be crafted.

Thus, requiring less time to spend on individual plants and animals. Impressively, the farm automation and upgrades are timed quite well to correspond with when the player’s farm chores start to feel like real work.

Furthermore, players can decide whether or not to process their farmed goods to make them into more profitable artisan goods. Besides, they can also use them for something else entirely.

For example, players could sell their farmed grapes or cook them for consumption for energy and health. They could also use the grapes to make jelly or wine with the craftable preserves jar and keg.

Impressively, players can execute actions like chopping wood, tilling soils, and using the watering can.

Moving on, if not doing anything “farming”, players can spend time in a local mine. When mining, players find ore and gems as they progress down.

These ore and gems are a good way to make money and find the necessary materials to upgrade tools and craft new items. However, battle/combat occurs against monsters when mining in the mining holes.

Combating these monsters is simple, using the top-down hack-and-slash mechanics. However, combating can be challenging if you don’t have the right equipment and tools.

That said, even though the game is a simulation game, RPG elements are all over Stardew Valley. To give more details, skill points are earned for virtually every task the player performs.

Thus, if a player has enough skill points, farming, mining, foraging, fishing, and combat abilities will level up every night when the player goes to bed.

Moving on, apart from farming and mining, players can also socialize. To be more specific, players can interact with NPCs in Pelican town.

However, all NPCs have unique personalities and schedules that have them traveling all over town and the surrounding areas. In spite of this, you can still make friends with them when they are available.

Friendship levels with the town NPCs will increase by talking, completing quests, or bringing them gifts. Impressively, increasing the friendship level with NPCs will cause them to reciprocate your efforts by gifting you presents or recipes.

Furthermore, most NPCs have interesting story arcs that can be unlocked based on friendship levels. Getting to know each and every NPC is really interesting, as they are such well-written and well-developed individuals.

You should recall that I mentioned some bachelor/bachelorette characters earlier in the “Storyline And Characters” section. Well, simply raising the friendship level up to 10 stars is all players need to be able to propose and marry any of these characters.

Moreover, players are rewarded for their time spent courting and pieces of dialogue that develop the characters. Impressively, new personality traits emerge in the bachelor/bachelorette characters after they marry the player.

For instance, they may take up the act of cooking and providing some food items.

Moving on, same-sex marriage is allowed in Stardew Valley, so all bachelor/bachelorette characters are available for same-sex marriage. However, there are some bachelor/bachelorette characters that may not be interested in same-sex relationships.

That said, once married, there is a choice to have children in opposite-sex marriage or adopt children in same-sex marriage. However, if you feel your marriage isn’t working or you married the wrong person, you can file for a divorce.

To do so, you have to go to the mayor’s house, where there is an option to file for divorce.

What if you regret the decision to divorce? Impressively, there is even an option to erase your former spouse’s memory, so you can both remarry.

With all of these options, Stardew Valley provides plenty of options for players to create their perfect family.

Moving on, festivals arrive on some calendar days in Stardew Valley, approximately two to three times per month. This provides opportunities to speak with townsfolk/NPCs, buy some festival exclusives, and also compete in mini-games for gifts.

Festivals are something to anticipate as the game years pass, and once experienced, they provide a fun experience.

That said, while there is no end-game in Stardew Valley, there are a few major milestones to achieve. The first is the broken-down community center, which I mentioned in the “Storyline And Characters” section.

To give more details, the mayor of Pelican town introduces the damaged community center early in the game. The mayor then talks about what the community center used to represent to the town.

This begins the optional quest to fix or rebuild the community center. However, if you don’t choose to fix the community center yourself, there is another option available.

This option is to just flatten the community center and let Joja Corporation open up their megastore on the land.

The second major milestone is a visit from the player’s grandpa’s ghost. Specifically, after two years in the game, approximately 70 hours of gameplay, grandpa’s spirit returns.

What does grandpa’s ghost want though? Well, the ghost came back to judge the farm’s progress.

If enough of grandpa’s unspecified goals are met, his ghost will be gracious and show the Stardew Valley’s ending credits. If not, there is no big deal.

The player just has to keep playing and visit grandpa’s burial ground/shrine at any time to get his approval.

Impressively, multiplayer is also available in Stardew Valley. Therefore, a player can invite about 3 more players to join them in their game.

As expected, being able to invite people helps you accomplish far more farm work in a day. Additionally, when you invite a player, they get their own home and have to start a new character from scratch.

Moreover, invited players can do everything the original player can do including getting married.

In conclusion, there is a lot of diversity when it comes to the gameplay of Stardew Valley. To be more specific, there are different things to do apart from farming when playing the game.

Also, being able to invite friends to your game/farm is kind of cool. Therefore, Stardew Valley deserves nothing less than a nine out of ten rating in this Gameplay review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Stardew Valley is an excellent game that would let players relax and lose themselves for hours. Additionally, this game offers an impressive storyline, and fun and diversified gameplay.

Moreover, this game has lots of fun characters that players can explore. Also, I really love the fact that players can play as gay characters in this video game.

However, the lack of ethnic diversity among the video game’s characters is undesirable. Nevertheless, Stardew Valley makes up for this minor issue with its multiplayer feature.

Additionally, the game is inexpensive and requires less-demanding system requirements. Thus, if you need a farming simulation game similar to Minecraft, affordable, less-demanding system requirements, Stardew Valley is worth considering.

I hope you found this Stardew Valley review helpful. If you found the review helpful, kindly spare 2 minutes to share your thoughts with our community using the comments form below.

Alternatively, simply respond to the “Was this page helpful” question below and provide us with your feedback.

Finally, for more Video Game reviews, visit our Video Game Reviews page. You may also find our Video Games System Requirements page very helpful.