Board 8 > Just beat stardew valley (switch)

(+) Yeah! (+)

This game does A LOT right, but towards the end I couldn't help but realizing that everything this game does well is a stolen feature from either harvest moon, rune factory, or animal crossing. Every feature is super well polished, but none of them feel... Interesting or groundbreaking.

I mean obviously the harvest moon series has been stagnant for decades, and a game that simply get features right is a welcome change of pace, but I just couldn't help but feel unsatisfied toward the end of the game. Everything worthwhile can be done within two years, and toward the end of the two years I was neglecting my farm and sleeping in every day. I had all the money I needed, all the townspeople were at max hearts (except maru, but I wasnt getting out of bed just to give her a battery pack)

Villagers were mostly boring, there didnt seem to be a huge incentive to raise them to max hearts. I thouht being able to befriend korbo and the cave troll was cool, but at the end of the day I didnt get anything but more hearts on a picture.

In harvest moon 64, all the villagers you befriend come visit you on your evaluation day and throw a big party, it makes it worth it, because seeing everyone come to the party with unique dialogue is why you befriend people like the guy who ships your crops. In rune factory you get to bring villagers with you when theyre at max hearts. I know they played these games, because soo much was borrowed from them.

Also barring NPCs from marrying each other is dumb. I get they left that open so the pc can marry whoever they want without starting a new game, but the game needs replay value.

Don't get me wrong, it was a super fun game in the first year. And once I found some fun ways to game the system I was pretty proud of myself. But it was just so darn shallow it was hard to even enjoy things like decorating my farm, because I knew I wouldn't be playing for much longer.
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Rival marriages have been my most missed feature in all farming games now.

Oops should have read next paragraph down before I posted.

SantaRPidgey posted...

But it was just so darn shallow it was hard to even enjoy things like decorating my farm, because I knew I wouldn't be playing for much longer.

You can keep playing if you want. The game does not self destruct after evaluation.

I would disagree about it being a shallow game as well. The characters all have a lot of (for lack of a better word) character to them. I could describe Leah and George and Lewis in more detail and with more nuance than characters from any of the HMs I've played.

The yearly festivals stack up, the progression of farming and skills is incredibly satisfying. Honestly i can't say enough good things about this game. And the recent edition of multiplayer is profound as to the amount of new life added to a game ive already played to death.

Speaking of which @Zigzagoon @Silver_Ermine we gotta start playing again. I miss our farm :(

My wife leaves tomorrow for 3 weeks so im about to have all of the spare time for games for the rest of July.
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I know they played these games, because soo much was borrowed from them.

I get they left that open so the pc can marry whoever they want without starting a new game, but the game needs replay value.

Unless I'm mistaken, IIRC, wasn't it only one person who built and developed this entire game?

I will agree with you that there is some absence of satisifacation. I also remember Harvest Moon 64 fondly, and lament how boring the game is after marriage. I like that the NPCs don't marry here, though their dialogue doesn't really change anyway regardless. I just remember after everyone is married off, the bar was so quiet and empty with the same patrons saying the same sad things night after night. But, man, that festival when everyone shows up... it's so nice (even though the only time I made it there was my first playthrough and barely anyone came to visit me and Maria, ;_;).

Stardew Valley is a ton of fun, but you're right about how boring it gets to wake up and do something with nothing to really chase.
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I love Rune Factory, but not too interested in the Harvest Moon games. I guess I like the fantasy aspect too much. Stardew Valley is more realistic, isn't it? Not sure it would appeal to me that much... (I actually already have the game since it was in a humble bundle or something)
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Stardew has a little fantasy, and it has the mines which are combat focused, but it's much closer to harvest moon.
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Stardew Valley was the work of one man, who loved Harvest Moon but was unhappy with the clumsy way it mishandled a bunch of things to make the game unsatisfying. I don't think his goal was to create a smash runaway success rivaling the best AAA games available for digital download. So trying to put words into the mouth of his "development studio" is a bit ridiculous.

And the game's not shallow. It can get redundant and repetitive quickly, but that's true of all games. It can be easy to game the system, but that's true of most games. It's a sandbox-esque experience where there are tangible goals to follow if you need tangible goals, and if you pursue those ruthlessly, congrats, you can "beat" the game. But I wouldn't really call it beating the game any more than you can beat SimCity.
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azuarc posted...

Stardew Valley was the work of one man, who loved Harvest Moon but was unhappy with the clumsy way it mishandled a bunch of things to make the game unsatisfying.

see I didn't know this. This makes it much more impressive.

I would still argue that it's shallow, but it's a lot easier to forgive the shortcomings.
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Forceful_Dragon posted...

SantaRPidgey posted...

But it was just so darn shallow it was hard to even enjoy things like decorating my farm, because I knew I wouldn't be playing for much longer.

You can keep playing if you want. The game does not self destruct after evaluation.

I would disagree about it being a shallow game as well. The characters all have a lot of (for lack of a better word) character to them. I could describe Leah and George and Lewis in more detail and with more nuance than characters from any of the HMs I've played.

The yearly festivals stack up, the progression of farming and skills is incredibly satisfying. Honestly i can't say enough good things about this game. And the recent edition of multiplayer is profound as to the amount of new life added to a game ive already played to death.

Speaking of which @Zigzagoon @Silver_Ermine we gotta start playing again. I miss our farm :(

My wife leaves tomorrow for 3 weeks so im about to have all of the spare time for games for the rest of July.

We do yeah but I still sort of want to get my internet figured out so I can stream reliably again. Being stuck at 2.5mb upload doesn't cut it for me
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Still? :(

Who do i need to call in Canada and yell at?
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Probably some bozo.
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