izigame.me

I remember buying this game for my sister a few years back. Didn't think much of it at the time, but I thought it would be a nice gift for her. I remember seeing her playing it from time to time, the message indicating that she'd started playing it popping up on the corner of my screen. There was always a certain small pride in seeing that, because to me it meant that she was enjoying my gift.
Last September she committed suicide.
After everything had more or less settled down from that, I sat down and booted up her computer. All that was on there was Chrome, Steam, Word, and a few games. One of them, of course, was Stardew Valley.
She had played this game to pieces, clocking over 170 hours and owning practically everything the game had to offer. She had used every square inch to its maximum potential, and was making ridiculous amounts of cash. It was only then did I see just how much she loved my present. No other game she played quite captured her affection as much as this one. None of her friends really knew about it, however; it seems like she preferred to keep it to herself. Like it was her own little bit of heaven she could turn to whenever she wanted.
And because of that, I can't help but smile whenever I play this game.
I cannot recommend it enough; every bit of hard work the developer put into this masterpiece shows in every single aspect. The music is catchy and memorable (I'll often find myself humming certain tunes from it), the world feels lived-in and natural, and the gameplay is incredibly laid back and enjoyable. It's hard to stop once I get invested in the game; minutes can easily turn into several hours. And now, with the multiplayer beta, I play for even longer with my friends, each of us dedicated to our desired jobs. Most of all, however, we're all just happy to be together.