Stardew Valley is a happy game.

Coming from solo developer Eric Barone (aka ConcernedApe), Stardew Valley is a cute retro styled farm simulator game in the same vein as Harvest Moon. While the game stands as an homage to the popular Nintendo series, this game pulls together a wide array of systems and influences from a bunch of other games; comparisons can be made with Rune Factory, Minecraft, Animal Crossing and more. What results is a delightful, pleasant experience with an insane amount of content - all of which is a joy to engage with.

Having never been into any sort of farming game in my life, I came into Stardew Valley not entirely expecting to like the game - though, like many others, had my interest piqued by the constant buzz surrounding the little indie title. Two particular notions pushed me over the edge into buying this game: one, I was hearing a lot of talk from people who aren't typically into this genre loving it; and two, that pirates of the game would download it, start playing it, then immediately go buy it simply to support the developer (some even going so far as buying the game multiple times just to gift it to others so they could experience it). I figured this was a game I would at least want to understand fundamentally - plus, the US$15 price tag meant it wouldn't break the bank. I've definitely spent a lot more on worse.

I'll set the scene for you: it was Friday night, 9pm, and I'd spent the day not really doing much of significance. I was a little down on the changes that had been made to Pillars of Eternity in the 3.0 patch (a whole other story) so I was tossing up whether I would just call it a night and go to bed or sit up for a little while longer and play something else. Stardew Valley was sitting there, installed, ready to boot up.

By Monday night, my in game clock told me I had spent 47 hours playing Stardew Valley.