Critically acclaimed indie farming simulator Stardew Valley has been able to stay relevant for years after its launch, yet there are still some things that other farming sims could improve on.
Developed solely by Eric Barone, he has been able to keep his game relevant through updated content to the most recent co-op mode that is both local and online. For as much praise as Stardew Valley receives to this day, it also has its fair share of problems that need to be addressed. With the announcement of Cloudscape, another indie farming sim being solely developed by Chris Gottron, it's time to bring what Stardew Valley is lacking.
Stardew Valley's Resource Management and Equipment
There are many collectibles, resources, plants, tools, and more, that it is almost impossible to keep track of it all. It does not appear as daunting in the early game, yet it becomes abundantly clear that Stardew Valley suffers from a lackluster resource management system. While it's possible to upgrade the backpack twice, the inventory space for a chest remains the same throughout the game. Before long, there will be an over-abundance of chests on the farm. Unless time and effort are dedicated to sorting everything into its appropriate chest, players likely end up with a menagerie of resources scattered everywhere.
Adding to this problem is the lack of equipment slots allotted to the playable character. The only items that players may equip permanently without taking up space in the backpack are hats, boots, and rings. That means those venturing into the Stardew Valley mines for resources will always have a weapon slot taking up inventory space, potentially even more if players decide to bring food and other equipment too. Combat will be a major part of Cloudscape, and if it wants to improve upon Stardew Valley, it will need separate equipment slots for weapons, armor, and tools.
Stardew Valley's Relationship Troubles
One of the selling points of Stardew Valley is its colorful cast of characters, many of which are eligible bachelors or bachelorettes. To befriend anyone, players must first figure out which item or items characters like and then give them gifts. What makes this system convoluted is the limited amount of times players may gift a character in one week. Limiting the system to 2 gifts per does incentivizes gifting to more than romanceable NPCs during the week. However, the gifting system takes much too long and requires a stable amount of resources, and depending on the NPC's preference, the item required may be in abundant or limited supply. Giving a gift to a character on their birthday does guarantee a heart, but it can take multiple gifts to get just 1 heart.
Then there is the disparage problem between the spouses in Stardew Valley. The characters in the game are brimming with personality and stick to a routine and schedule, and players are rewarded with cutscenes when attaining enough hearts with each character. However, when players marry a character such as Abigail, they lose all of their personality with limited dialogue, and all they do is stand around the farm.
No True Ending to Stardew Valley
Arguably, Stardew Valley ends technically at the end of the third year when the player character's grandfather's ghost rates their progress on all progress made throughout the game. A successful run-through requires a completely repaired village center, at least 8 hearts with every character, a successful farm with happy farm animals. However, the game continues after his appearance regardless of progress made. It is up to the player and whether they continue playing or not, and the game does encourage repeat playthroughs with the addition of different farms. Now that the 1.5 update is on all platforms, fans wonder if there will be a 1.6 Stardew Valley update that will keep the game feeling new and fresh.
It may be beneficial for new farming sims to have a more clearly defined end goal and leave it to the player's choice of achieving that end goal. It seems that Cloudscape has a clearly defined end goal, the objective being to escape the island and find the playable character's homeland. There is no telling if there will be a post-game to Cloudscape, yet having an objective from the first moment is enough to give players incentive to survive. Despite having farming simulator elements, Cloudscape is categorized as an action-adventure RPG, meaning that the story will be less open-ended than Stardew Valley.
Stardew Valley is available on mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.