Stardew Valley on Xbox One Is…OK

Don’t be too mislead by the title of this article. Will just ‘OK’ in my opinion (for the time being, more on that later), I still think Stardew Valley is an outstanding title. Or, it will be an outstanding title when the various bugs and control problems are addressed and fixed. On the surface, though, I think Concerned Ape did a great job translating this game from the PC to the consoles, and despite the issues, I know I will sink hours into this title!

If you are unfamiliar – and I doubt you are – Stardew Valley is a spiritual successor to the early Harvest Moon titles. You remember those ones right? With the eight or sixteen bit graphics, grid based farming? Well, that’s all back, except in stunning HD with WAY more to do and accomplish.

If the farming elements are not enough for you, perhaps you want to fish…or mine…or forage…or tackle hoards of monsters…or…well…anything!

It is a wide open game that was a huge success on the PC, and will not attempt to replicate that success on the PS4 and the Xbox One. Early on, users are noting a number of problems that the developer is promising to fix soon, including not being able to move forward past Day 3 without playing the game in English on the PS4, and random crashes on the Xbox One when attempting to return to the main screen. These, coupled with some problematic controls on the Xbox One and PS4 controllers, have gotten Stardew Valley off to a slow – but still steady – start.

I’ll be working on a Let’s Play of Stardew Valley on the Xbox One. Episode one can be viewed above, and Episode 2 will be at the bottom of this article. Listen as I move through the various days of spring, offering my early critiques of the game as a whole.