Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a farming simulator where you also work to develop friendships with the other townsfolk. Play involves exploring the world, making decisions about your farm and incrementally turning it into a thriving business. It stands out for how this farming challenge is the backdrop for all manner of stories and adventures as you make your way in the world.

CONTENT RATING

Gambling

PLATFORMS

Nintendo Switch

Xbox One

PlayStation 4

PC

Mac

iOS

Android

POSITIVE GAMEPLAY

Communication

Educational

Gardening

Geography

Hopeful

Leadership

Popular Choice

Problem Solving

PLAY STYLE

Competitive Online

Co-Op Local

Co-Op Online

Multiplayer With Portable Devices In The Same Room

You choose which type of farm you want to start working on and what your character looks like. On the surface, with pixilated graphics, it looks like a simple farm simulator. However, players are soon drawn to the wider world, people and relationships that make the valley tick. Along with the daily grind of cultivating, ploughing, planting and harvesting you also get to explore the town, meet people who need your help and go on quests into the dangerous mines.

As you progress you discover all manner of different interweaving local stories. When you know the townsfolk well enough you get more detail about their backstories and what brought them to the valley. You can even influence their decisions and affect how things turn out for them.

The result is a game that is less about farming wealth and more about generosity and community value. There is a surprising amount of depth both to the farming work and the lives of the characters you meet.

GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Good to know

Insights to ensure your child's gaming experience remains safe and enjoyable

Consider time investment

Adventure games often take a long time to finish. Encourage regular breaks to get moving, rest their eyes and balance their time with other activities.

Nurture key skills

Many adventure games incorporate problem solving and critical thinking, important skills for school, work and more offline. Talk to them about their game to see how it supports them and their goals.

Build resilience

Encourage children to take risks with their characters in-game to safely learn potential consequences. Talk about what might happen outside of the game and why it's important to keep those risks in-game only. While playing, encourage them to think about innovative risks their character can take.

Skill level

Suggested by Family Gaming Database

The understated visuals and slower progression in the game make it suitable for children with the patience and skill to persevere. The two-player mode can be a good way to get younger children into the game when played with a parent, guardian or older sibling. Still, some that children as young as 5 years old enjoy this. "My daughter was playing Stardew Valley before she could read what the people were saying, but it didn't matter to her."

Content rating

Rated PEGI 12 for Simulated Gambling. This game contains moving images that teach the use of games of chance. The player can visit a casino location and trade in-game money for tokens, which can then be used to bet on various casino games such as blackjack and slots. All the games feature detailed instructions on how to play. There is mild violence involving fantasy and human characters. However, the characters are pixilated and lack any real details. The violence is completely non realistic in nature. When characters are hit, they lose health points which are shown above them. There is no sight of injury and when characters are defeated they quickly disappear. The player has the option to make alcoholic drinks, including beer, wine and mead. When the player consumes the alcohol, they receive increases in their health and energy statistics. However, a negative consequence is also shown, with an icon indicating that the character is 'tipsy', which temporarily reduces their speed. The player can go throughout the whole game without making or drinking any alcoholic beverage.

PEGI rating explained?