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LETHALgames: Stardew Valley Review (Nintendo Switch)

Recently I went around asking for a mindless game that I could sink a bit of time to here and there. After getting the same suggestion from a few people, I pulled the trigger on a relatively cheap game in Stardew Valley. 



Learn To Live Off The Land

The game isn’t one you’ll get much excitement from, but more so something that you’ll start playing then realize that somehow a few hours have passed. It’s fantastic for killing time. Within the first 4 days I had logged close to 22 hours of gameplay.


There’s 6 key elements to the game that you kind of balance all at once from my experience. You’ll get random tasks assigned that connects back to just about all these things. There’s also a bit of a story to some parts, but I won’t speak on that as I wouldn’t want to spoil the game for anyone deciding to play.
  • Farming
  • Exploring
  • Fishing
  • Building/Crafting
  • Social
  • Financial
Farming - The game is pretty straight forward with the farming aspects of things, I mean, you’re building a farm! You buy seeds, prepare your land, plant them and keep up on them until crops are ready to harvest. 

Exploring - The game has a good size map that takes some getting used to. It’s required for some tasks to travel around either to meet someone and/or find a specific item. There’s a map in game that’s quite helpful as it lets you know where people from your community live, which is usually a good indicator of where to find them. You also can go deep in mines to get resources which will come in handy as you play through the game. You have a set quota of energy/time in a day as well which keeps you at a proper pace in the game.

Fishing - I’ve killed SO much time with the fishing in this game. It gives you another means to make money and obtain food for consumption outside of just farming. It’s basically just a mini game where you attempt to keep the fish within a green bar. I don’t know what it is about it, but it’s eaten up a lot of time for me.


Building/Crafting - A big part of advancing in the game is learning to build things with the resources you collect. Be it machines to recycle trash you find when fishing, tapping devices to harvest syrup from maple trees, or even basic things like fences for your farm it’s all important. What you want to build (either for your farm or a mission) will dictate what kind of resources you go out and collect.

Social - One aspect of the game that I find hard to keep up with, cause I’m so locked in on my farm is the social aspect. There’s a town full of people you can interact with, and even build relationships with. I’m not close (as the ladies have scoffed at my attempted gifts of copper bars) but you can also get to the point of getting married as well.

Financial - Everything costs money and/or supplies! Whether it’s upgrades to your house, seeds to plant, or upgrading your tools you’re going to have to spend. You make money by completing tasks and selling off the crops/resources your grow/find. 


Overall Rating: 9.25/10

Considering the price ($14.99 USD/$16.99 CAD), I would consider this a must have title if you’re a Nintendo Switch owner. Even if you don’t become completely sucked into the game, I’m sure you’ll at least get enough play to get your moneys worth.

For other game reviews check out this archive of other titles that I’ve given my thoughts on!
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