020: Hands-On With Stardew Valley 1.6
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1TV1Hkoqb2MLrIYPmW9zaA
The term "Stardew-like" has gotten thrown around a lot when it comes to defining the farming simulator genre. In its current form, this is intended to indicate a game that is kind of like Harvest Moon where the game allows the player to form relationships with NPCs, farm, grow and nourish animals, mine, and forage. Stardew Valley is not the first game like this, and if the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo Switch is any indication, it will not be the last. Maybe it is the fact that there is some confusion under the trademark for Harvest Moon (the Story of Seasons franchise has taken over in every way but name) but it is not a fitting name.
There is a place that the term "Stardew-like" would be appropriate and it would be in situations where a game gets the amount of long-term free support that Stardew Valley has, especially in the DLC-centric market that the video game industry has become. The latest update adds a ton of content for free including:
- A new farm type
- Multiple festivals
- A new mastery system for once you max out your level in each skill
- New items
- New home renovations
- New pets
- 8 player multiplayer on PC
Check out Adam's thoughts on how these things were implemented in this week's episode of The Backlog Files.
