Jump to content

Stardew Valley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stardew Valley
Developer(s)ConcernedApe
Publisher(s)ConcernedApe[a]
Designer(s)ConcernedApe[b]
EngineMonoGame
Platform(s)
Windows
Release
February 26, 2016
  • Windows
  • February 26, 2016
  • macOS, Linux
  • July 29, 2016
  • PlayStation 4
  • December 13, 2016
  • Xbox One
  • December 14, 2016
  • Nintendo Switch
  • October 5, 2017
  • PlayStation Vita
  • May 22, 2018
  • iOS
  • October 24, 2018
  • Android
  • March 14, 2019
Genre(s)Farm life sim, role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as Stardew Valley. The game was originally released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is an open-ended game, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.

Barone solely developed Stardew Valley for over four and a half years. He was heavily inspired by the Story of Seasons series, with additions to address some of those games' shortcomings. He used it as an exercise to improve his programming and game design skills. British studio Chucklefish approached Barone halfway through development with an offer to publish the game, allowing him to focus more on completing it.

Stardew Valley has been cited as one of the greatest games of all time. Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Story of Seasons, praised the game for retaining the freedom that later entries of his series had lost. It is also one of the best-selling games of all time, selling 35 million by 2024.

Gameplay

[edit]
Stardew Valley puts players in charge of growing crops and raising livestock on a farm.

Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game primarily inspired by Story of Seasons, a series by Marvelous and previously known as Harvest Moon.[1] At the start of the game, players create a character, who inherits a plot of land and a small house once owned by their grandfather in a small village called Pelican Town, located in the titular Stardew Valley. Players may select from several different farm types, each with a unique theme and different benefits and drawbacks.[2] The farmland is initially overrun with boulders, trees, stumps, and weeds, and players must work to clear the debris to make way for crops, buildings, and various other placeable items.

Players interact with non-player characters (NPCs) who inhabit the town, including engaging in relationships with them. 12 of the villagers are able to be wed and live at the player's home and assist in tending the farm. Players are able to conceive a child with their spouse or adopt one in the case of same-sex marriage. Players can also engage in fishing, cooking, crafting, and exploring procedurally generated caves with materials and ores to mine or creatures to combat. Players can take on various quests to earn additional money or complete specific collections of materials (called "bundles") to restore the town's Community Center or pay certain amounts of money to complete JojaMart bundles. Completing bundles rewards players with various items, including seeds and useful machines. Completing multiple bundles grants players access to previously restricted areas and game mechanics.[3] All these activities must be metered against the character's health and exhaustion level, and the game's internal clock. The player can consume food that grants certain buffs that are useful in certain activities and situations. Food is also a source of replenishing health and energy, which allows the player to complete more tasks in a given day. The game uses a simplified calendar, each year having four 28-day months that represent each season, that determines which crops can be grown and which activities can be beneficial. Later in the game, players can restore a greenhouse and access a tropical island that can grow any crop regardless of the season.[4] This island also contains a volcano and additional resources that can be used within the game.[5]

Development

[edit]
Developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone describes the development of Stardew Valley at Hackfort 2019.

Stardew Valley was originally titled Sprout Valley and was created by American indie game designer Eric Barone, known professionally as ConcernedApe.[6][7][8] Barone graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma in 2011 with a computer science degree but was unable to get a job in the industry, instead working as an usher at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.[9][10] Looking to improve his computer skills for better job prospects, he had the idea to craft a game that would also pull in his artistic side.[9] Barone grew up in the Pacific Northwest and incorporated many elements of the region into the gameplay and art.[11]

Stardew Valley originally began as a modern fan-made alternative to the Story of Seasons series, as Barone felt the series had gotten "progressively worse" after Harvest Moon: Back to Nature.[12] Unable to find a satisfactory replacement, he created a game similar to the series, saying he intended "to address the problems I had with [Story of Seasons]" and that "no title in the series ever brought it all together in a perfect way".[6] Barone was also inspired by other games, including Animal Crossing, Rune Factory, Minecraft, and Terraria, adding features of those games such as crafting, quests, and combat.[6][13][12] He was the sole developer of the game, creating all of its pixel art, music, sound effects, story, and dialogue.[6][12] Barone used Reason Studios, a digital audio workstation, to create all the music and sound effects within the game and Paint.NET for the pixel art.[14]

Initially, Barone considered releasing Stardew Valley on Xbox Live Indie Games due to the ease of publishing on that platform, but found that his scope for it became much larger than originally anticipated.[9] He publicly announced the game in September 2012, using Steam Greenlight to gauge interest in it.[15][6][12] After the game was shown a great deal of support from the community, Barone began working on it in full, engaging with Reddit and Twitter communities to discuss his progress and gain feedback on proposed additions.[6] Shortly after the Greenlight period in 2013, he was approached by Finn Brice, director of Chucklefish, who offered to help publish the game on release.[9] Chucklefish took over many of the non-development activities for Barone, such as site hosting and setting up his development wiki.[16] Barone decided not to use Steam's early access feature for development, as he felt it was not well suited to Stardew Valley.[16] Barone spent four years on the project, redoing it multiple times and often spending 10 hours or more a day on it. He originally programmed it in C# using the Microsoft XNA framework, but later migrated to MonoGame in 2021, which, according to Barone, "futureproofs the game and allows mods to access more than 4 gigs of RAM".[17]

Barone aimed to give players the feeling of immersion in a small farming community, saying he wanted Stardew Valley to be entertaining while also having "real-world messages".[10][18] In contrast to earlier Story of Seasons games, which could end after two years of in-game time has passed, Barone kept Stardew Valley open-ended so that players would not feel rushed to try to complete everything possible.[10] During development, he recognized that some players would attempt to figure out mechanically how to maximize their farm's yield and profit through spreadsheets and other tools, but hoped that most would take the time to learn these on their own.[10] To that end, he designed the cooking aspect of the game purposely not to be profitable, but instead to pay back in bonuses that aided exploration, farming, mining, and fishing skills.[10] Barone also opted not to include the butchering of farm animals for meat products, encouraging players to name and tend to each animal.[10]

Release

[edit]
Stardew Valley booth at PAX West 2016

In April 2015, Barone announced he intended to release the game only once he felt it was feature complete, refusing to put it onto the Early Access program or accept pre-sale payments.[6] The game was released for Windows on February 26, 2016.[15] After its release, Barone continued to work on it, taking feedback from the community and patching bugs, and stated plans to add more features.[7] Barone anticipated adding in more end-game content, as well as ports for other platforms.[9][19][16] He said that he initially planned a four-player cooperative mode to be released in the game at launch.[15] In this mode, Barone planned that all players would share a common farm, enabling players to all do different tasks related to it, such as one player mining while others tend to different parts of the farm.[19] The multiplayer feature supports both local area network and remote online connectivity.[20] Barone had planned for public beta testing of the multiplayer feature in late 2017 for the Windows version, but was still working to improve the network code by early 2018.[21] The multiplayer beta for Windows was released in April 2018 and officially launched for all PC platforms on August 1, 2018.[22][23] In December 2018, the multiplayer update was released for the Nintendo Switch.[24]

Mobile versions for iOS and Android were developed with help of The Secret Police, with the iOS version released on October 24, 2018, and the Android version on March 14, 2019.[25] Both versions include the ability for Windows, macOS, and Linux users to transfer progress to their device.[26][27][28] In 2018, Barone said he wanted to assemble a team of developers to help continue the game's development.[29] By 2019, all versions of the game, except on mobile, were self-published by Barone.[30][31]

Chucklefish's involvement

[edit]

In May 2016, Barone announced that Chucklefish would help with non-English localizations, macOS, Linux, and console ports, and the technical aspects required for online cooperative play, allowing him to focus solely on the first major content update.[32][33] The macOS and Linux ports were released on July 29, 2016.[34] Ports for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were announced at E3 2016 in June.[35] At the same event, Barone said that a port for the Wii U would also be released; that version was later canceled in favor of a version for the Nintendo Switch.[36] The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were released respectively on December 13 and 14, 2016.[37] The Switch version, ported by Sickhead Games, was released on October 5, 2017.[38][39][40]

In early 2017, Barone stated his intentions for the possibility of a PlayStation Vita port, which was released on May 22, 2018.[38][41] Retail versions for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are published and distributed by 505 Games. A collector's edition released at the same time included a physical map of the game's world, a download code for the soundtrack, and a guidebook.[42]

In December 2018, the publishing rights for all platforms outside of Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch reverted to Barone.[43] He regained the rights for the Nintendo Switch release in October 2019,[44] the official wiki in February 2021,[45] the iOS release in December 2021,[46] and the Android release in March 2022, ending Chucklefish's involvement.[47]

Mods

[edit]

Stardew Valley has also seen an active modding community, with players adding various new features to the game.[48] One is Stardew Valley Expanded, which has over 2 million downloads.[49] Other mods offer more cosmetic options ranging from changing the overall appearance of the game to introducing new animal designs.[50] The majority of mods are only playable through the PC version of the game.[51] Later updates to the game have added features for mod developers.[52][53][54]

Other media

[edit]

In November 2016, the Stardew Valley Guidebook was released, with the book being rewritten with each update.[55] In December 2019, Stardew Valley was added to the Tesla Arcade, a Linux-based video game service incorporated within most models of Tesla electric cars.[56] In 2020, ConcernedApe collaborated with Fangamer to announce the physical release of the game's standard and collector's edition, as well as the Switch and PC versions.[57] On August 15, 2020, the orchestral album Symphonic Tale: The Place I Truly Belong (Music from Stardew Valley) directed by Kentaro Sato and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra was released.[58] A cooperative board game adaptation, Stardew Valley: The Board Game, was released in February 2021.[59][60] ConcernedApe collaborated with Norihiko Hibino on an album series Prescription for Sleep. The series remixes video game soundtracks with piano and saxophone. The Prescription for Sleep: Stardew Valley album was released in May 2021. It includes 10 tracks from the game's original soundtrack and one new track called "Beauty in the Seasons".[61] The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook, featuring adaptations of more than 50 in-game recipes was announced in August 2023 and was released on May 14, 2024.[62][63] ConcernedApe promoted its first Stardew Valley concert tour, Stardew Valley: Festival of Seasons, on October 10, 2023.[64]

Reception

[edit]

Reviews

[edit]

Stardew Valley received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[79] It has been cited by several publications to be among the greatest video games of all time.[80][81][82][83][84]

Jesse Singal writing for The Boston Globe wrote that the game was "utterly compelling, lovingly crafted", and provided players with numerous varieties of activities to do without falling into a cycle of repetitive activities.[85] Elise Favis of Game Informer found that watching her autistic brother play Stardew Valley helped her understand his condition better, as the game provides enough structure of present events with enough of a view of future events to allow her brother to enjoy the game.[86] Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of the Story of Seasons series that Stardew Valley was inspired by, stated that he was "very happy" with the game, as it has shown to him that Story of Seasons was not a forgotten series and continued in spirit. He also stated that the approach taken by Barone with Stardew Valley was able to retain the freedom that he had wanted to keep in the Story of Seasons series that had been lost in the later games, with more focus on animation and graphics.[87] Gamasutra named Barone one of the top ten developers for 2016, identifying that he had "single-handedly" developed something that "breathed new life into a genre" otherwise dominated by the Story of Seasons series.[88] In 2017, Forbes named Barone one of their "30 Under 30" people to watch in the area of video games by citing his commitment towards making Stardew Valley.[89]

Many media outlets praised Stardew Valley for its LGBT options and representation, notably including the option for the player character to marry one of 12 villagers regardless of gender.[90][91][92] Gayming Magazine praised the option for a player to engage in same-sex marriage, while also criticizing the lack of racial diversity.[93] Paste described the game as being anti-capitalist, citing the negative portrayal of the fictional Joja Corporation.[94]

Sales

[edit]

Stardew Valley sold over 400,000 copies across Steam and GOG.com in two weeks,[15][95][96] and more than a million within two months.[16][97] Valve reported that Stardew Valley was in the top 24 revenue-generating games on Steam during 2016.[98] Journalists noted that the gaming community had shown support for Barone for the game; while there had been some players who obtained the game illegally, these players were impressed with the game and stated they planned to purchase the game, while other players made offers to help pay for those who could not afford the game.[6][99] An official sheet music book for piano and album was released in 2018 by label Materia Collective.[100]

By the end of 2017, Stardew Valley had sold more than 3.5 million copies across all platforms.[101] The game was also the most downloaded on the Nintendo Switch for 2017, despite only being released in October of that year.[102] Sensor Tower also estimated that for the game's first three weeks on the Apple App Store, it had earned more than US$1 million in revenue.[103] By June 2024, Stardew Valley had sold over 35 million copies, 19 million of which were on PC.[104]

Awards

[edit]
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2016 Golden Joystick Awards Best Indie Game Nominated [105][106]
PC Game of the Year Nominated
Breakthrough Award Won
The Game Awards 2016 Best Independent Game Nominated [107][108]
Game Developers Choice Awards Best Debut Nominated [109]
Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Nominated [110]
SXSW Gaming Awards Most Promising New Intellectual Property Nominated [111]
13th British Academy Games Awards Best Game Nominated [112]
2017 The Steam Awards 'The World Is Grim Enough Let's Just All Get Along' Award Won [113]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Previously published by Chucklefish
  2. ^ Including the writing, art, music, and programming

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Grayson, Nathan (February 29, 2016). "Steam's Latest Hit Is A Game About Farming And Relationships". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Phillips, Tom (September 29, 2016). "Stardew Valley is changing the way you start your farm". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  3. ^ Leack, Jonathan (March 2, 2016). "The Many Hidden Secrets of Stardew Valley - GameRevolution". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  4. ^ Oxman, Demaris (March 31, 2021). "Stardew Valley - Complete Greenhouse Guide: Layout Tips, Best Crops, & More". GameRant. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  5. ^ Oxman, Demaris (September 5, 2021). "Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide To Enchantments & Weapon Forging". GameRant. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Baker, Chris (March 9, 2016). "The 4 years of self-imposed crunch that went into Stardew Valley". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Hernandez, Patricia (March 3, 2016). "Stardew Valley's Creator Has Won The Hearts Of PC Gamers". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Phillips, Tom (February 27, 2017). "Here's what Stardew Valley looked like five years ago". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e Marks, Tom (March 10, 2016). "Interview: What's next for Stardew Valley". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Singal, Jesse (March 14, 2016). "How a First-time Developer Created Stardew Valley, 2016's Best Game to Date". Vulture.com. New York Media, LLC. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  11. ^ Meny, Ellen (April 15, 2020). "Auburn native develops beloved, bestselling video game". KING-TV. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d Lin, Amy (February 23, 2016). "Stardew Valley: Pushing The Boundaries of Farming RPGs". The Cornell Daily Sun. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  13. ^ King, Melissa (March 16, 2016). "Stardew Valley: Love Who You Actually Love". Unwinnable. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  14. ^ Faulkner, Cameron (March 19, 2024). "Here's what ConcernedApe uses to work on Stardew Valley and to unwind". Polygon. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Dealessandri, Marie (April 8, 2016). "How Stardew Valley won Steam". MCV. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  16. ^ Chalk, Andy (December 1, 2021). "Stardew Valley update 'futureproofs the game' with improved modding support". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Evans, Jill Blackmore (March 28, 2016). "5 Things You Should Know About 2016's Best Game: Stardew Valley". Format Magazine. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Grayson, Nathan (March 21, 2016). "The Past, Present, And Future Of Stardew Valley". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  19. ^ Glagowski, Peter (January 15, 2018). "Stardew Valley's multiplayer update will feature local and online play". Destructoid. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  20. ^ Nunnelley, Stephany (August 1, 2017). "Stardew Valley multiplayer details emerge, beta test coming to Steam at the end of 2017". VG247. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  21. ^ Donnelley, Joe (April 30, 2018). "Stardew Valley launches multiplayer beta". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  22. ^ Donnelly, Joe (August 1, 2018). "Stardew Valley multiplayer out now on PC". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  23. ^ Frank, Allegra (December 10, 2018). "Stardew Valley's big multiplayer update hits Switch this week". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  24. ^ Madnani, Mikhail (February 26, 2019). "'Stardew Valley' for Android Finally Has a Confirmed Release Date". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  25. ^ Webster, Andrew (October 9, 2018). "Peaceful farming sim Stardew Valley is coming to the iPhone". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  26. ^ Devore, Jordan (October 9, 2018). "Stardew Valley is headed to iOS this month and then Android". Destructoid. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  27. ^ Moyse, Chris (October 24, 2018). "Cultivate your own pocket farm as Stardew Valley lands on iOS". Destructoid. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  28. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (December 14, 2018). "Eric Barone forming team for Stardew Valley". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  29. ^ Kidwell, Emma (November 30, 2018). "Stardew Valley dev announces decision to self-publish". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  30. ^ Barone, Eric (October 1, 2019). "Stardew Valley - Self-publishing on Switch". Stardew Valley Developer Blog. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  31. ^ O'Conner, Alice (May 3, 2016). "Stardew Valley Recruits Help For Co-op". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  32. ^ Pagat, Mat (May 2, 2016). "Stardew Valley Multiplayer, Console Ports Confirmed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 10, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  33. ^ Devore, Jordan (July 20, 2016). "Smile-inducing farm sim Stardew Valley hits Mac, Linux next week". Destructoid. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  34. ^ Pereira, Chris (June 13, 2016). "Stardew Valley Confirmed for PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  35. ^ Campbell, Evan (November 29, 2016). "Stardew Valley Console Release Dates Announced, Now Coming to Nintendo Switch". IGN. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  36. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (November 29, 2016). "Stardew Valley crops up on Xbox One in two weeks". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  37. ^ a b Lada, Jenni (January 19, 2017). "Stardew Valley Vita Port Under Investigation". Siliconera. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  38. ^ Lada, Jenni (February 28, 2017). "Chucklefish Bringing WarGroove, Stardew Valley, And Pocket Rumble To The Switch". Siliconera. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  39. ^ Kzenivic, Kevin (October 2, 2017). "Nintendo Switch Version Of Stardew Valley Releases This Week". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  40. ^ Frank, Allegra (May 14, 2018). "Stardew Valley on PS Vita lives, and it's almost here". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  41. ^ Passalacqua, Michael (February 3, 2017). "Stardew Valley Collector's Edition Announced for Retail". IGN. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  42. ^ Blake, Vikki (December 3, 2018). "Stardew Valley dev splits with UK publishing partner Chucklefish". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  43. ^ Olson, Mathew (October 8, 2019). "Stardew Valley's Creator on Self-Publishing, the 'Everything' Update, and His Future as a Solo Developer". USgamer. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  44. ^ ConcernedApe (February 23, 2021). "Stardew Valley Wiki Ownership Change". Stardew Valley Developer Blog. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  45. ^ ConcernedApe (December 7, 2021). "Move To Self-Publishing for iOS". Stardew Valley Developer Blog. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  46. ^ Chalk, Andy (March 17, 2022). "Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone hosts a mini-AMA on Twitter". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  47. ^ Marks, Tom (March 4, 2016). "The best Stardew Valley mods". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  48. ^ Hope Bellingham (February 15, 2024). "5 years after its release, one of the biggest Stardew Valley mods hits 2 million downloads". gamesradar.
  49. ^ Castello, Jay (December 8, 2022). "The 23 best Stardew Valley mods to shake up your playthrough". Polygon. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  50. ^ Castello, Jay (December 8, 2022). "The 17 best Stardew Valley mods to shake up your playthrough". Polygon. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  51. ^ Bellingham, Hope (December 2, 2021). "New Stardew Valley update adds support for modders". GamesRadar. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  52. ^ Kamen, Matt (December 2021). "'Stardew Valley' 1.5.5 update adds more support for modders". NME. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  53. ^ Diaz, Ana (April 12, 2024). "The Stardew Valley 1.6 'modpocalypse' could've been much worse". Polygon. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  54. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (April 4, 2024). "Forget the watering can — your best Stardew Valley tool is a guidebook".
  55. ^ Lawler, Richard (December 19, 2019). "Musk: Holiday Tesla update adds 'Stardew Valley,' self-driving preview". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  56. ^ Marshall, Cass (July 30, 2020). "This adorable physical copy of Stardew Valley comes with your own deed". Polygon. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  57. ^ "CNVG-0005 | Symphonic Tale: The Place I Truly Belong (Music from Stardew Valley) - VGMdb". vgmdb.net.
  58. ^ Campbell, Ian Carlos (February 23, 2021). "Stardew Valley is now a cooperative board game". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  59. ^ ConcernedApe (February 23, 2021). "Stardew Valley: The Board Game (Available Now!)". Stardew Valley Developer Blog. Stardew Valley. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  60. ^ Makuch, Eddie (April 29, 2021). "Stardew Valley's Music Gets Lovely Lullaby Remix In Prescription For Sleep Album". GameSpot. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  61. ^ Barone, Eric [@ConcernedApe] (August 31, 2023). "I would like to announce the upcoming Stardew Valley Cookbook! It'll be out next spring, and includes 50 recipes from the game... such as pink cake, salad, and the strange bun" (Tweet). Retrieved February 6, 2024 – via Twitter.
  62. ^ ConcernedApe (September 22, 2023). "Stardew Valley - The Stardew Valley Cookbook". Stardew Valley Developer Blog. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  63. ^ Doolan, Liam (October 11, 2023). "Stardew Valley "Festival Of Seasons" Concert Tour Announced". Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  64. ^ Hancock, Patrick (March 7, 2016). "Review: Stardew Valley". Destructoid. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  65. ^ Gwaltney, Javy (March 24, 2016). "Stardew Valley Review – Your New Home Away From Home". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  66. ^ Leack, Jonathan (March 1, 2016). "Stardew Valley Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  67. ^ Ryckert, Dan (March 21, 2016). "Stardew Valley Review". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  68. ^ Sanchez, Miranda (August 7, 2018). "Stardew Valley Review 2018". IGN. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  69. ^ "Stardew Valley". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  70. ^ Lucas, Daniella (February 25, 2016). "Stardew Valley Review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  71. ^ Velocci, Carli (March 29, 2016). "Stardew Valley review". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  72. ^ Hodapp, Eli (October 23, 2018). "'Stardew Valley' Review – Who Needs Real Life?". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  73. ^ a b "Stardew Valley for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Paramount Streaming. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  74. ^ a b "Stardew Valley for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Paramount Streaming. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  75. ^ a b "Stardew Valley for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Paramount Streaming. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  76. ^ a b "Stardew Valley for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Paramount Streaming. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  77. ^ a b "Stardew Valley for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Paramount Streaming. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  78. ^ Reviews:
  79. ^ Aubrey, Dave; Young, Georgina; Campbell, Kyle; Wutz, Marco; Woodrow, Ryan; Ovcharov, Stoyan (September 10, 2022). "The 100 best video games of all time, ranked". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  80. ^ Rosenberg, Adam; et al. (July 3, 2020). "The 24 best video games of all time, according to our games-loving team". Mashable. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  81. ^ Moore, Bo (June 16, 2014). "The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016.
  82. ^ "The 500 Best Video Games of All Time: 300-201". Polygon.com. November 27, 2017. 209th place. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  83. ^ West, Josh; Weber, Rachel; Donnelly, Joe; Wald, Heather (November 23, 2021). "The 50 best games of all time". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  84. ^ Singal, Jesse (March 17, 2016). "In 'Stardew Valley,' you reap what you sow". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  85. ^ Favis, Elise (April 28, 2016). "Understanding Autism Through Stardew Valley". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  86. ^ Espineli, Matt (November 20, 2016). "Harvest Moon Creator on His New Game and How Stardew Valley Carries on His Legacy". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  87. ^ "Gamasutra's Best of 2016: The top 10 game developers of the year". Gamasutra. December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  88. ^ Perez, Matt (January 3, 2017). "30 Under 30 In Games 2017: The Creators And Founders Behind TSM, 'Stardew Valley' And 'Cards Against Humanity'". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  89. ^ Wilson, Lena (April 27, 2021). "Live Your Gay Millennial Pandemic Fantasy in Stardew Valley". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  90. ^ Brooks, Laken (March 23, 2021). "How video games can help LGBTQ+ players feel like themselves". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  91. ^ Lynn, Lottie (June 25, 2020). "Pride Week: Witnessing the rise of LGBT+ representation". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  92. ^ Hart, Aimee (July 20, 2020). "Stardew Valley is not the LGBT utopia I first thought it was". Gayming Magazine. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  93. ^ T. Wright, Steven (April 15, 2016). "Is Stardew Valley Trying to Turn Us into Communists?". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  94. ^ Barrett, Ben (February 29, 2016). "Stardew Valley, a PC Harvest Moon-like indie game, rockets to the top of Steam top sellers". PC Games N. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  95. ^ Marks, Tom (March 9, 2016). "Stardew Valley has sold 425,000 copies". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  96. ^ Frank, Allegra (April 13, 2016). "Stardew Valley tops a million copies sold, two months after launch". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  97. ^ Williams, Mike (January 3, 2017). "GTA 5 and Civilization 6 Top Steam Best-Sellers of 2016". US Gamer. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  98. ^ Hernandez, Patricia (March 2, 2016). "A Surprising Number of People Feel Bad For Pirating Stardew Valley". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  99. ^ Makuch, Eddie (September 26, 2018). "Stardew Valley's Music Gets More Peaceful In New Piano Album, Listen To A Track Here". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  100. ^ Chan, Stephanie (January 19, 2018). "SuperData: Stardew Valley is an indie success with over 3.5 million copies sold". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  101. ^ Phillips, Tom (January 19, 2018). "Nintendo Switch's most-downloaded game in 2017 was Stardew Valley". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  102. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (November 15, 2018). "Stardew Valley grosses $1 million in iOS debut". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  103. ^ Sherry, Ben (June 21, 2024). "Eric Barone Isn't Concerned". Inc.
  104. ^ Sheridan, Connor (November 18, 2016). "Overwatch scoops five awards, Firewatch wins Best Indie Game: Here are all the Golden Joystick 2016 winners". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  105. ^ Loveridge, Sam (September 15, 2016). "Golden Joystick Awards 2016 voting now open to the public". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  106. ^ Makuch, Eddie (November 16, 2016). "All the 2016 Game Awards Nominees". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 24, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  107. ^ Stark, Chelsea (December 1, 2016). "The Game Awards: Here's the full winners list". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  108. ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 4, 2017). "Game of the Year Nominees and More Revealed for Game Developers Choice Awards". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  109. ^ Hall, Charlie (January 9, 2017). "Hyper Light Drifter, Inside and Virginia among nominees for 2017 IGF Awards". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 10, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  110. ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 25, 2017). "All The 2017 SXSW Game Award Nominees". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 16, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  111. ^ Webber, Jordan Erica (March 9, 2017). "Bafta games awards 2017: Inside and Uncharted 4 lead the way". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  112. ^ "The Steam Awards 2017". Steam. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
[edit]