I’ve been playing a lot of Stardew Valley while I’ve been so unwell, because I’ve been too sick to do much but I haven’t wanted to just sleep all day, so playing on my Switch has been a godsend. It helps me keep my mind engaged while not having to sit up at my computer when I’m too exhausted to do that, and the Joy-cons being separate means I can have my arms at whatever level is comfortable for me.
Stardew Valley is wonderful, guys. It’s such a nice, soothing game. There’s something so incredibly comforting about a game where the worst thing that can happen is you pass out in the caves and get patched back up by the doctor, and the rest of the point of the game is making a good farm and doing nice things for the community you’re in.
Weirdly, one of the things I’ve been enjoying about this playthrough is that while you can improve things for the town, you don’t magically make everything wonderful. You can help Shane realise that he needs therapy, but he’s still got issues and he doesn’t get better overnight. You can build Pam a house so that she’s not living in a rundown trailer, but that doesn’t magically fix her alcoholism. You can encourage your neighbours as you become friends with them, and their lives improve, but it’s not like you’ve Manic Pixie Dream Farmered your way into their lives and absolutely fixed everything. You’ve just shaken things up enough to help people realise how they’ve stagnated, which is a thing that can happen in small towns. And it feels much less “rando stranger comes and fixes everything” because it’s your family’s farm that you’re renewing.
And that’s the other thing I like: there’s a strong narrative of renewal and rebuilding throughout the game. From rebuilding your family’s farm to renovating the community centre to helping refresh the community spirit as a whole, it’s a very healing game, and I’ve needed that lately. There is magic in the game, but you still put the work in to make things better, and that’s been good for me.
I’m also really impressed with the depth of the game, especially considering it’s been one dude working on it for the most part. He’s had one or two other people coming in, especially with the latest update, but it’s mostly been him, and the game is massive when you think about that. An update has just been released that has added new crops, a whole new area (there’s a resort!), a new farm type, new NPCs and quests, and that’s super exciting. It doesn’t drop for the Switch until next month, but that’s okay. I don’t mind waiting. I’m working on finishing the achievements for my current farm, anyway – I need to get a few more artefacts (I finally got the dinosaur egg! I have a dinosaur in my coop!) and a few more minerals, and I need to Craft All The Things. But it doesn’t feel grindy. It’s still fun. If you’re into Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon and that sort of thing, I totally recommend giving Stardew Valley a try. It’s a cute, fun, non-stressful game and it deserves more attention.
The Medical Snowflake Diaries 