Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of platform. Stardew is a great example of how, often, it’s better to wait a bit before diving into a game.
Oxenfree is a spooky '80s teen movie turned into an adventure game Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, and how wholesome games taught me a terrible lesson The Witness is an exhilarating and infuriating puzzle game that will haunt your dreams And because it’s not an action-heavy game, you can also play Stardew while distracted last night I harvested a huge crop of potatoes while watching the Toronto Maple Leafs win their first game of the season. Even if you can only contribute a little bit in one particular session, that work still helps you build up your farm into something you can be proud of. Like real-world farming, Stardew is largely about incremental progress.
Since each day lasts just a few minutes, you can make at least a little progress even if you only have a small amount of time to play.
This setup also makes the game work really well on a portable device like the Switch.
Certain days bring with them special occasions, like the spring egg festival, but otherwise your schedule is mostly left up to you. You can plant and water crops, clear out your overgrown plot of land, or venture into town to go shopping or make new friends. During each day, you have a limited amount of time to do pretty much whatever you want.
Stardew is a game about setting up a new life on a farm, and it’s structured as a series of days. Today Stardew makes its debut on the Nintendo Switch, and (for me at least) it’s an ideal pairing.
Deep down, I knew I would like the game, but I kept skipping over it - and I’m glad I did.
But I didn’t have much interest in playing the game on PC, and when it was later ported to consoles I found myself without much in the way of free time. Here was a game that brought back the supremely chill spirit of the Harvest Moon series, games where you could live out a quiet life as a farmer in a small town. When Stardew Valley first came out early last year, I was intrigued.