It's unquestionable that Stardew Valley has left an impact on the indie gaming scene in its time, particularly for games of its genre. In fact, it's arguable that Stardew Valley's success prompted a resurgence in wholesome, slice-of-life styles of games, especially those centered around farming simulation and community-building. Developed by just one person, ConcernedApe, it stands among several games of its era that went against the grain of AAA game development that was swamped in combat-heavy, action-adventure games. It's why fans are eagerly awaiting ConcernedApe's next game Haunted Chocolatier, as their love of Stardew Valley has given the developer a certain prestige.

But while Haunted Chocolatier continues to have details teased out as players await a confirmed release date, one of its biggest selling points has been Haunted Chocolatier's themes of mysteries and secret truths that can be uncovered. ConcernedApe has already confirmed that the game will be a significant departure from its predecessor Stardew Valley, so while these games may share a universe, they will be distinctive on their own. Fans have wondered though why Stardew Valley didn't have its own secrets to explore, and the reason behind this lies both in the game's origins and its core concepts.

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Stardew Valley's Original Inspiration

Harvest Moon Stardew Valley

By now, many players will be familiar with the fact that Stardew Valley was heavily inspired by the series Harvest Moon, hence why the two are compared so much. Some fans would even suggest that Stardew Valley is Harvest Moon's spiritual successor after the series was rebranded as Story of Seasons. Not only does Stardew Valley embrace the core values at the heart of Harvest Moon, but it expands upon these in interesting ways. This could be due to the fact that Stardew Valley's indie status gave it the freedom to grow and innovate where the Harvest Moon series was potentially limited by large scale development.

Regardless, at the center of Stardew Valley's gameplay was its commitment to farming, community, and realism in nature. Its premise remained simple yet effective, utilizing the tried-and-tested trope of a modern individual inheriting a plot of land from their late grandfather and moving to the countryside to escape the big city. From there, the player is shown the ropes of how to farm, learns about the town, and engages with Stardew Valley's narrative of community versus corporatization. Therefore, the need for a mystery or secret is not required, as this was never the focus of Harvest Moon, so it wasn't Stardew Valley's either.

Stardew Valley Provides Adventure in its Own Way

Stardew Valley Krobus Secret

Though not integral to the game's main objectives and plot, Stardew Valley does have its own mysteries that the player can discover. Many of these aren't even fully addressed in the game, but are left to the player to draw their own conclusions and ideas. For instance, the Strange Capsule that can appear on a player's farm and the creature that eventually breaks free after a few days is never explained in game. However, some "mysteries" are more prominent, such as the mythos behind the Juminos despite them being an important impetus behind improving the community center.

While there are ample more to mention, the short of it is that there is already rich lore to discover through Stardew Valley, but by not making these central to the gameplay experience, players are able to better focus on farming and building the community. Mysteries and secrets are instead treated like rewards for curious players and provide an outlet for fans to speculate and entertain their own creativity. This ultimately allows Stardew Valley to stand on the merits; in spite of regularly being compared to Harvest Moon, it has been able to establish its own unique identity on the indie scene.

Stardew Valley is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, and Xbox One.

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