Stardew Valley--one of the top indie games of 2016 and probably the best thing from that year, in my own opinion. Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game that many have compared to the beloved series Harvest Moon. However, it has elements similar to other indie games such as Minecraft and Terraria. So for me, it was a game that I always wanted to play ever since its release. Yet, I lacked the right kind of software and time to play. Now, with a more powerful computer and time in my schedule, I decided to purchase, download, and play the soon to be indie classic.

Oh how many hours I crunched in a matter of days.

I managed to crunch in a total of 35 hours into this game. The latest I stayed up to play this game is probably 5 o'clock in the morning. I would like to say this obsession of mine is REALLY unhealthy. My mom is even shocked of my binge playing to the point where I think she's about to take my computer away.

So, why am I obsessed with Stardew Valley?

Well, lucky for you, readers. In no particular order, I decided to compose a list of my favorite things about this game.

1. The Amount Of Things You Can Do

Many players have praised Stardew Valley for the amount of type of gameplay you can do. You can, of course, farm, but you can also mine, fish, forage, and combat monsters. The difference between Stardew Valley and other games like it is that Stardew Valley immediately introduces these components rather than making players unlock them later on in game progression like others do.

You can mine one day and fish the other. Each day is a new day of activities you want to do. You feel more in control of the game play which makes your experience more subjective rather than objective for a video game.

2. Diverse Cast of Non Playable Characters (NPCs)...Kinda

There is an underlying issue about the games Stardew Valley took inspiration from, specifically farming games such as Harvest Moon. As an avid fan for Harvest Moon (since the first Harvest Moon on the Gameboy), there wasn't much diversity in gameplay. Most of the characters were White and eventually Asian in later games. You would rarely find the game containing characters outside of those racial and ethnic groups.

As someone who is Asian American, I didn't have such a hard time relating to characters within these games. However, I couldn't help but think about my peers who felt left out of gameplay whenever I showed them Harvest Moon.

For Stardew Valley, there are characters who are bi-racial such as Maru as seen in the photo above. This game even hits diversity with disabilities with one character, George, being in a wheel chair.

Yet, the cast of NPCs are still a bit...white/european. Even though the diversity is a fresh breath of air, I would still like to see more diversity within this genre of gaming.

3. MARRIAGE EQUALITY

You know how I said that the new kind of diversity within a Stardew Valley was a fresh breath of air? Well, the marriage options within Stardew Valley is just a whole gust of air.

Yes everyone, you can marry male and female characters within the game. This is unheard of in games like Harvest Moon. Again, as an avid fan of Harvest Games and games like it, this was always a problem for me. Whenever I played as a female character, I was always bummed out about how cute the female NPCs were compared to the male NPCs but was never ever able to marry them unless I changed my gender. I also found it vice versa whenever I play a male character and find the male characters to be cute as well (I like switching up my gameplay once in a while, okay?).

To have a game like Stardew Valley giving me options where my gender didn't depend on it is AMAZING.

4. References

As a self proclaimed nerd/geek, I love to see references in the material I interact with because it shows me that creators are just like me.

Well, Stardew Valley has nice little references. In the picture above, my scarecrow is a cute references to the Studio Ghibli Howl's Moving Castle. There are also other references such as one NPC having a Chrono Trigger poster in her room.

5. Festivals

Again mentioning Harvest Moon, there were always festivals once a season. I was never too fond of them because they were just competitions for better materials or very dialogue heavy.

Stardew Valley does have festivals every season. And yes, some are very dialogue heavy. However, some of the festivals were fun with mini games and exclusive merchandise being sold there. So, even though I'm still not too fond of them for its dialogue, I do look forward to buying a bunch of merchandise and playing one or two mini games.

6. Mines

The mining in this game is somewhat challenging. You go down floors of mines (that seem endless) trying to find minerals, fighting oddly adorable monsters, and finding the next ladder down. Each floor is harder than the last and requires those who want to venture further to get better tools and materials.

I will admit, I had to reset my game once or twice because I died in the mines and lost some of my stuff.

Stardew Valley is a fun and innovative game that further progresses the gameplay of farming simulators similar to it. It makes you, the player, more in charge of how the game goes other than 1 or 2 quests and unlockables. I can see why it was one of the top indie games of 2016.

Now, if you don't mind, time to crunch more hours before my mom takes away my computer.