Ever fantasize about tilling virtual fields at the doctor's office? Maybe you imagine yourself harvesting crops made of binary code while waiting at the bus stop. Well, if you dream of electric sheep and all these other digital farm life scenarios, you'll be pleased to know that Stardew Valley is bringing country life charm to Nintendo Switch on October 5. It'll cost $15 (other regional pricing has not been announced).
Never heard of Stardew Valley before? It's a farming sim in the pixelated style of the early Harvest Moon games (the Harvest Moon series is now known as Story of Seasons). It lets you fish, cook, craft, explore, even get married and have (or adopt) children. It also has a supremely soothing soundtrack:
The game was created over the course of four years by Eric Barone, but word-of-mouth and positive buzz inspired publisher interest, and now Stardew Valley is available on PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, and (if you're reading this after October 5) Nintendo Switch. Yup, it's a real raddishes-to-riches story.
Earlier this year, we dissected our love of the game and what makes it work so well - but if you want to hear it straight from the developer's mouth, here's what Barone has to say:
"I’m very happy to see Stardew come to a Nintendo console... I grew up on Nintendo, after all! This will not only be the first time Stardew Valley appears on a Nintendo platform, but also the first time Stardew will be on a portable system," Barone wrote on the game's website. "I would like to give a big shout out to Sickhead Games, who worked very hard to develop this port. They did a great job, as always, and deserve all the credit!"
Look forward to the best methods of livestock care being the new watercooler talk among your gamer friends.
