1,000 hours in 10 years – why Stardew Valley is so special to me

Julia Escher

26.2.2026

Translation: Eva Francis

Pictures: Julia Escher

Some people treat gaming like speed dating, changing their go-to video game frequently. Others have long-term relationships with their favourite games. I’m definitely the latter. My longest love story? Over ten years and over 1,000 hours with Stardew Valley.

On 26 February 2026, the country-life RPG Stardew Valley’s celebrating its tenth anniversary. It began as a pet project of developer Eric Barone (a.k.a. Concerned Ape) and today, it’s one of the most successful games in video game history. Since its original release on PC, the game has sold almost 50 million times. It’s available on practically every platform.

As someone who’s been a fan since its release, I’ve poured almost 1,000 hours into the game. Why do I keep coming back to it? Of course it’s appealing to escape into a (seemingly) idyllic world and relax with undemanding yet satisfying farming tasks. But there are plenty of games that allow you to do that. So what makes Stardew Valley so special?

Passion in every pixel

The story behind the creation of Stardew Valley is second to none. Inspired by the game Harvest Moon, Eric Barone decided to develop his own game. From the mechanics to the characters and the music, he designed every single element of Stardew Valley himself. While he was working on the game, he lived with his partner, who kept them both afloat by working two jobs. It was a difficult process, but Barone never gave up on his vision and wrote a gaming fairytale – Stardew Valley ended up being a huge success.

This dedication can be felt in every pixel and is one of the reasons why Stardew Valley has a large and passionate fan community. And Barone shows his gratefulness to the fans by adding new content to the game – to this day and free of charge.

He now has a team of developers working for him, making sure he can concentrate on creating his new game named Haunted Chocolatier. But he’s still involved in the development of all Stardew Valley updates. Barone recently announced Update 1.7 in an interview with IGN. On the day of the tenth anniversary, it will be announced which two new marriage candidates will be added to the game as part of the update. Online forums are full of speculations and fan theories.

Barone actually supports fan projects and has added numerous mods based on such projects. The most famous one’s probably Stardew Valley Extended (SVE), which includes two new farm maps, numerous new areas, items, cutscenes and characters. As a self-proclaimed purist, I only played the vanilla game for a long time. Last autumn, my curiosity got the better of me and I started a game in SV Extended. Now I have to admit: I couldn’t go back to vanilla.

Friendships are more important than productivity

The obvious appeal of this type of farming game is that you can escape to another world and turn your romantic idea of a simple country life into gaming reality. But Stardew Valley is more than just a farming game that allows you to water a few plants, cut down trees and pet animals. Behind the pretty pixel graphics lies a depth of content that makes the game stand out from other Stardew-like feel-good games.

One of the most important mechanics in this game is not about increasing productivity, but about friendship. Each character in Pelican Town – where it all takes place – has their own preferences, problems and life experiences. However, these only become visible as you increase your friendship score with them. How do you do this? For example, by gifting them their favourite items or helping them with a request. The better friends you are with a person, the more they’ll open up to you. This gives the NPCs dynamic behaviour and depth of character.

Behind Shane’s dismissive behaviour, for instance, lies a person plagued by depression who drowns his sorrows in alcohol and struggles with suicidal thoughts. The game encourages you to look behind the facade of a person.

In my opinion, it’s this character development that sets Stardew Valley apart from other farming simulation games. The game’s not primarily about farming or maximising profits – even though you can play it that way if you want. Instead, it’s about not judging people based on first impressions. The game conveys a timeless message that still holds true even after ten years, emphasising the value of community, empathy and helping others.

Cracks in the perfect surface

Not only the characters in Stardew Valley are complex, so is Pelican Town. The small rural village is suffering economically, with money worries and unemployment addressed by various characters. Pierre’s village store’s been struggling to make ends meet since the discounter JojaMart opened its branch. The bus service has been discontinued, leaving bus driver Pam unemployed and drowning her sorrows in the saloon. And mother Jodi would like to cook healthier meals for her kids, but can only afford cheap, unhealthy products from JojaMart.

Now a sleepy town, Pelican Town once operated a mine that was shut down. There are very obvious parallels to widespread poverty in rural areas of the USA since the decline of industrial sectors.

The contrast between city and countryside begins in the intro when the main character quits their soulless office job at a large corporate in the city and moves to Pelican Town to restore their late grandfather’s neglected farm. The game takes a back-to-the-roots approach, steering in the opposite direction of urban migration. Zuzu City appears repeatedly as a point of reference, and young computer scientist Sebastian even dreams of moving there.

The differences between a rural and personal environment and an urban and anonymous one culminate in a decision that I, as a player, am faced with. Do I contribute to the reconstruction of the local community centre, which will ultimately lead to the closure of the JojaMart store? Or do I invest in a JojaMart membership, which will badly harm the small village shop?

As I mentioned earlier, the Stardew Valley world might look idyllic at first sight, but if you look closer, you’ll soon start seeing cracks in the perfect surface.

For me, that’s exactly what makes Stardew Valley so special. It strikes the right balance between feel-good escapism and authentic characters. It gives space for human emotions such as loneliness, pressure to perform and anxiety about the future without being overly obvious.

Pelican Town isn’t perfect and it’s far from as sleepy and peaceful as it first appears. That’s what makes the world interesting and vivid. After all, nothing’s perfect in the real world either. And on some days, I just shut it all out, dive into a familiar farming world, and pet my fluffy sheep.

Julia Escher

Freelance Editor

julia.escher@ik.me

I started knitting 14 years ago and love experimenting with fibres and colours. When I'm not working with wool, I’m gardening or pursuing my other great passion: reading and writing about Chinese (art) history. You can find my knitting projects on Ravelry under Julia-knitsalot. more

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