New but Nostalgic Farming Simulator

If you’ve been living a stressful, high-octane life in the city, living a quiet life in a sleepy, rural town in the country is an idyllic situation. However, not everyone can just drop everything to become a farmer in some obscure town. Fortunately for you, this is exactly the premise of the hit indie role-playing game Stardew Valley. 

In Stardew Valley, you play as a burnt-out office employee as they strive to escape the shackles of corporate slavery by reviving their grandfather’s neglected farm in Pelican Town. Along the way, you can make friends, earn money, and even find love. 

Retro-style farming simulator

For fans of old-school farming simulator games like Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley will be a reminder of the good old days. Farming sims nowadays have become more gritty and complicated that the novelty and charm of the genre have completely disappeared. It brings all of that lost charm back by staying true to the aesthetics and design of old farming sims. It’s rendered in a pixel-graphics style that’s reminiscent of the old Harvest Moon games. 

However, despite the retro graphics, it’s highly detailed and colorful. It doesn’t look unpolished or confusing either. The commands are also simple and easy to get used to. In contrast to modern games that have a lot of commands and functions that you need to master, it only has a handful of commands—perfect for casual players. If you’re a modder, you’re in for some good news as ConcernedApe has announced that version 1.6 will center on implementing powerful capabilities to ensure a more streamlined modding experience.

Establish your own goals

Although Stardew Valley’s gameplay is repetitive, there is no hard objective that you need to accomplish to finish it. However, it does give you a goal to reach by the end of your third in-game year, but it’s more of a pass-or-fail review of your progress rather than an actual endgame objective. Hence, you can pretty much set your own goal, such as: 

• Challenging yourself to create the most beautiful farm ever.
• Playing the charmer and seeking to marry a character of the same or different gender.
• Going full monster hunter and exploring the deep caves.

Enhanced Modding Experience in Version 1.6 

Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone recently shared some insights on what to expect in the upcoming version 1.6 update. While the previous major update, version 1.5, introduced new features like a beach farm and local split-screen co-op play, version 1.6 will focus on making Stardew Valley mods more accessible and powerful. This enhancement will be a delight for both modders and average players alike, as they can expect more streamlined modding experiences and capabilities.

New Content to Look Forward to

Though the version 1.6 update is smaller in comparison to version 1.5, ConcernedApe confirmed that it will still include new content. However, no further details were provided on what this new content would entail. As the game continues to receive support from both its creator and the modding community, players can look forward to more updates from ConcernedApe regarding the upcoming update.

Release and Development Timeline

Although no specific timetable has been given for the release of Stardew Valley version 1.6 on PC and other platforms, ConcernedApe announced that he will be taking a break from developing his next video game project, Haunted Chocolatier, to focus on the update. Once the update is released, he will return to Haunted Chocolatier development. Players can expect more news and updates on version 1.6 in the near future, with the update expected to roll out on PC first before heading to other platforms shortly after. 

A nostalgia bomb

There’s no denying that the main appeal of Stardew Valley is nostalgia, especially for fans of the old Harvest Moon games. It also has so much new content to offer such as a combat mechanic, the ability to marry characters, magic, and more. Whether you’re a long-time fan of farming simulators or a new player who’s just getting into the genre, Stardew Valley is a great game to try out.