Parent reviews for Stardew Valley (2024)

This is one of my all-time favorite games. I am almost 30, and a parent myself. While it’s primarily a farming sim, with fighting in the mines (or on the farm if you choose Wilderness), it’s also very much a dating sim. I know that the box says e10+, but I don’t know that I’d be cool with it just yet (my oldest isn’t that old yet), considering some of the not-so-subtle subtleties. Aside from the dating sim situation, there’s the implied sex scandal between Lewis and Marnie, the implied affair between Caroline and Rasmodius, Pam’s alcoholism and neglect of Penny, Shane’s alcoholism and suicidal tendencies, current or recently ended war (Kent just returned from a VERY long deployment), Kent having combat-related PTSD, the Elemental War, Leo’s whole situation, brainwashing exes, turning your children into doves, Linus choosing homelessness (I don’t personally have an issue, BUT I think it could give an incorrect impression that homeless people choose that), and far FAR more gambling than games had back when I was their age (think Mauville Game Corner in Pokémon Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald), this is much closer to actual blackjack and slots (Pokémon slots was much easier and didn’t function as closely to real slot machines as the Casino does). The combat is deceptively simple, it can easily be an awesome mash-button-no-thoughts kind of game, but it also takes some strategic planning. I think that the combat style is perfect for kids who want more complexity than Pikmin, but aren’t ready for something more intense like Skyrim. It’s not graphic, some of the monsters might be a little scary for young children (flying skulls, for example), and the little “blood drops” that fly off your health bar when you get hit, or are at low health, while not scary or graphic, do exist. The farming, fishing, foraging and mining, while all skill based, is pretty straightforward. Fishing can be very difficult, out of all of my friend group, I personally have the best luck with it, but due solely to sheer stubbornness. Like most games, difficult tasks get easier with experience/leveling, and fishing (as well as the other in-game skills) is no different. Your green bar starts out small, difficult to control, and the fish are FAST; the game starts you out with a bamboo rod, go into the shack and buy the 25g training rod. The bar gets smaller with each rod-rarity. Level, foods, and tackle will make it bigger, and can make it work differently. It’s not something that younger kids, or kids who can’t strategize, will be able to think through— especially when many adults can’t either. One thing I have seen people complain about, but I don’t understand or agree with, is Abigail eating non-food items. All characters have preset lines for receiving gifts, and that’s her “likes” preset; it was semi-accidental at first, but at this point ConcernedApe has more incentive to keep it, rather than change it. It’s quirky, unexpected and will either weird someone out or make them laugh; it’s a very Abigail response. My biggest concern that I haven’t seen ANYONE mention, while not part of the game itself, is what happens if you Google “Stardew Valley [character name]”. While nothing explicit happens in the games, this searches *absolutely* bring up explicit material (I love a good spicy fanfic, but I don’t want my kid reading them). I don’t think most kids are looking for fanfic, just which gifts are best for which characters or something, but it WILL come up. Because of that alone, I’m personally waiting to have my kids play it until they’re old enough to either know what NOT to click on (not just “this specific link is okay”), or old enough that I’m okay with them reading that particular literature.

This game an amazing farming simulator! The graphics are beautifully inspired by the 16 bit SNES era! There is so much to do in this game! There is also RPG elements that have you fighting monsters. The laid back farming plus the RPG elements make it a mix of Animal Crossing and Pokemon.There are a few characters mentioned to have a slight drinking problem, but as you befriend them, they start to lean away from it. The women are dressed modestly (without the show of cleavage) There is a casino within the game where the player can play the slots, though again I'll compare this game to Pokemon as all the older Pokemon games have casinos where you are able to play the slots as well. There is also a character that is shown smoking a cigarette. And on a final note there is an character within the game that says the word "hell", though more of in a positive sense, eg: "Alcohol is the devil's tool to bring you down to hell, I'd stay away from it if I were you"Overall, I'd give this game a 10/10 and recommend it to anyone looking for a nice relaxing farming/adventure experience.

Like others on here have said, Stardew Valley is an awesome game, but I feel 13+ would be a much more appropriate rating. The game maintains an overall sense of wholesomeness throughout, but still very much gives the impression of being something that was made for adults rather than kids/families. There are heavily implied sex scenes at various points in the game, which are never graphic, but still something you probably wouldn't want your 10-year-old exposed to. Some of the characters also have some pretty heavy baggage, including two who are alcoholics, one who is a war veteran with PTSD, one who reveals a history of being in an abusive relationship, a couple with a daughter who is implied to be the result of the mother cheating, and one who obsessively stalks a woman. There's also some tobacco use, and a handful of vague marijuana references (really doubt that kids would pick up on these though).Also, being a game with a large adult audience, there are some pretty weird (ie, sexual) mods and custom content available online, and it's pretty easy to come across this stuff just by looking up the game on YouTube or other social media platforms.

This game is a really fun farming simulator and my kids really love this game. Eeverything is alright and lots of other parents keep on blabbing about a n alcoholic npc but you help him overcome his problem so this game is good for teaching kids about the dangers of alchohol. You can get married but there is nothing inappropriate so on the whole a decent game.

I think Stardew Valley is a wonderful game for building up character in young people and has none of that addicting junk that games such as fortnite have nowadays. I have three kids and they love this fame. Highly recommend to parents who want their children to play more meaningful games instead of that junk that teens play nowadays.

Independent game developer ConcernedApe (Eric Barone) really struck gold with this game! He took the best ideas from Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing and RPG games and blended them together into something new and unique and charming and fun (and a bit addictive!)NOTE: There is alcohol in this game. The one alcoholic character is shown as initially messed up and lives in a trailer. And if you do drink booze in the game, it slows your walking speed for a few seconds, basically highlighting a negative effect. BUT you can also brew and sell wine (or beer) as one of your farm products. So mixed message there...booze has bad effects, but if you make and sell booze, you can get rich lol NOTE 2: You can have girlfriends/boyfriends in this game (you can even date the entire singles population of the town!) You can also marry (one at a time in this case) and divorce. But no worries, there are no "naughty" cutscenes...all the cutscenes if you get a gf/bf or get married are all cute and sweet or funny (they kiss basically). And you can have kids too (they never grow up...they will be perpetual toddlers!). And here's the kicker...something many people would wish they had in real life...after a divorce, they can wipe the memory (for a price) of their ex (so there won't be bad blood and they can even court the ex again). So because of above, I would suggest 13+ for this game.

MY FAVORITE GAME! Okay, let me get this strait some really old fashioned people may say: "Ooooooooh, AHHHHH SO MUCH Violence! Shane! Babies! AHHHH! Abigail eats rocks!" Well, it is true, they're is a BIT of violence, but no blood at all. Besides, slaying monsters in the game is pretty fun. Now, as for Shane, he does have a part where he's at a cliff, and on the ground, unable to get up because of the amount of beer in his body. It is true, and there's no avoiding that. If your child doesn't understand, you can explain it, but gently. I rated this 6+ mainly for to reasons, One, because of the Shane part, and two, because the tools can be hard to use. I've played this game for six years, and still haven't figured out how you use the slingshot. now, if your kid is super sensitive, try the game at eight. But if they can understand things well, with a bit of parent supervision, ages four and up would be good. Now, you can get married, and have kids, but it's optional. and also, the kissing is very cartoonish. As for Abigail eating rocks, that's just a glitch. I think. Still, there are so many good parts to this amazing game. they're are great role models, messages, and easter eggs. I LOVE THIS GAME! It really has a place in my heart, and to me, is much more then a simple laid back farming game, where you plant corn. To me, It's great. Have a great day!

Kate z Parent of 7-year-old

Love this, the game doesn’t allow you to advance by spending real money. Incentivized kids to plan, follow multi-step processes, work to earn money, save, etc. wish more games like this one were out there.

Lisa B. Parent of 13-year-old

A miracle happened, my teen (13) did not get swept into the black hole that is Fortnite. Fortnite is totally his preferred genre of video game and what all his peers are into, but nope, every time I check, my teen is tending to his Stardew Valley garden, building his house and occasionally buying something extravagant, like a tv. Haha!As his parents, we joke that, "Maybe that carrot he's carrying is a weapon, " or "Maybe he put some dynamite beneath his neighbor's farm," but instead, I think my teen-like teen might be playing a video game that I can't find any issues with -- yet. His brother likes to troll him by wearing funny outfits and loading up his brother's house with too many TVs so he can't get in the bed and sleep to re-energize. After playing games like Overwatch, Battlefront, Battlefield and Fortnite, my teen now plays ... Stardew Valley! All kidding aside, there must be something really engaging about this game for my kid to be drawn to this over all the other popular games.

I don't understand why there's little "ease of gameplay..." Common sense media says mastering the game is difficult. This is WRONG! Mastering the game takes a while. But anyone can achieve it if the put the time into working their way up. The gameplay just lasts a really long time.