As a gaming addict who has started with zombies more than a decade ago, I’ve moved from the gory to more varied games and found over the years my gaming style has changed. My new favourite is Stardew Valley.

Put simply, it makes me fall into a peaceful bubble.

So what is Stardew Valley?

This warm-welcoming, homey Indie game shows us the work of farm life as you see fit.

The beginning of this quiet life adventure begins by leaving the big Zuzu City, along with a boring desk job. The idea of leaving the job comes from a letter the MC’s (Main Characters) Grandpa leaves. Entrusted with some hand-me-down tools and a pocketful of money. Can you manage the inherited farm that seems to be overgrown?

Embark on adventures. You can try Ginger Island, the Mines, cut scenes with all your favourite characters, to name a few. When playing this game, I fall into a peaceful bubble, solely focusing on building my farm at the location of my choice.

This hit game continues to top charts. It’s easy gameplay. And the fun commentary and the pixels of the game has real appeal. It also reminds me of 80’s–90’s games except the game setting the game appear more late 80’s to early 2000’s.

As of July 2025, Stardew Valley now holds the top spot on Steam’s user-rated charts, surpassing Valve’s beloved Portal 2. According to Steam250, which aggregates scores from user reviews, Stardew holds a rating of 8.87 across over 900K votes. Portal 2, by comparison, has a still impressive 8.85 rating from just over 437K reviews.

What Do Gamers Love So Much About Stardew Valley?

This Indie game is built for multiplayer, so you and your friends can have a blithesome time together. You can work on your farms together, romance the townspeople of your choice and build a life full of wonder and adventure together. Learn how to Forage, Fish, Farm, Mine and Combat to fight those pesky monsters in the mines to get fruitful treasure.

Doing the quest of the game, we learn that Joja Corporation has struck town—and not in a good way. It’s not good business. It’s fun to uncover what the townspeople think of Joja Supermarket and help them with the new technology of life.

Keep the adventure alive by attending the town’s traditional Flower Dance, Moonlight Jellies, and Festivals, to name a few. These beautiful and lively events take place annually in the game. This allows you to attend or miss out on them at your own convenience.

The number of years you can play in this game seems endless. It’s a constant challenge to complete all your tasks and quests with certainty, providing more time to keep you busy.

Some gamers, like myself, find that Stardew Valley is THE farming game blueprint.

The urge to play Stardew is simply incredible. The game holds a life-giving energy and satisfaction especially when you’ve fulfilled your tasks. People like me enjoy the peacefulness that farming can bring. I also love the more intense satisfaction that finishing a task or quest fills me with.

Good farming games are in short supply. And where Stardew Valley really works is it provides a strong sense of connection, particularly with the gams twists and turns.

What Stardew Valley Means To Me

As someone who was born in rural Australia and lives in the Upper Hunter town of Murrurundi, I totally understand why so many people resonate with country life, especially those living in urban centres.

The sweet and comforting ambience of Stardew Valley is reminiscent of the gentle flow of village life where I live. The never ending tranquil soundtrack and transportive nostalgia in one of the many things that has attracted me to the game since I started playing two years ago.

Yes, there are magic and monsters. But I still find little things in the game that remind me of my own quiet country existence. From the magic of growing plants to caring for animals, it’s mesmerising to see the way the world mysteriously unravels itself.