I bought a Nintendo Switch a few months ago, using a vacation as an excuse to pick up something to keep me occupied on the plane. I bought Mario Odyssey with it but, being the generous and thoughtful guy that I am, I knew that the wife wouldn’t be able to get into something like that. I had to get something for her to play as well. Luckily for me, Stardew Valley was on sale that week for about $12, so it was another great excuse to jump on a game that I had been hearing so much about.
I showed the wife the evening before we left for the trip, and she played it for a few minutes. She’s not really a gamer and she struggled with it, due to Stardew’s somewhat clunky menu system. I reassured her that every game has a learning curve and she’d get used to the controls before long. She just needed to put in the time. While that might make sense in a gamer’s brain, to my wife it was a hassle and a turn-off. I conceded and thought that was the end of it.
Fast-forward a few days, and we’re at the end of our vacation. I played Mario Odyssey the entire plane ride to Vegas, and off and on at the hotel, and now there I was sitting in the airport terminal killing time by scouring New Donk City for undiscovered moons. I felt her looking at me, and finally heard her say, “You said you bought that for both of us but I haven’t got to play it this whole time.” I felt guilty, but at the same time, I was under the impression she had practically no interest in the thing.
I love my video games, but I can’t say I’ve ever truly felt addicted to them. I stopped my game on the spot and offered it up, saying if she wanted to play it to just ask. Besides, I had my 2DS that I brought along as well, even though I only owned DKC Returns and Mario Kart 7. So I turned it over to her, and she spent the rest of the airport stay playing Stardew Valley.
Then she played Stardew Valley the entire plane ride home.
Then she played Stardew Valley every evening for the next month.
Then, finally, after pouring in over 100 hours (a feat she was sure was a lie) she finally put the game down, for now. Other than being amused that I was no longer the only adult in the household that has played a video game for over 100 hours, I was also kind of happy to get the Switch back into my own hands. I then eagerly loaded up Stardew Valley.
And I cannot get into it. At all.
Maybe it’s the wide open nature of it, maybe it’s the laid back pace, or maybe it’s the fact that my character is apparently on dangerously low-carb diet. The dude crashes by like 10 a.m.
Whatever the reason, I’m finding it struggling to keep my attention. That’s not to say the game is bad though. I don’t think there is a gamer on the planet that could say the game sucks with a straight face. It’s incredibly simple while also having a crazy amount of depth. It’s the simplicity, I believe, that loses me. There’s a lover of The Sims inside me that wants to see my farm grow and thrive, but there’s also a Skyrim geek in me that wants to set fire to those shitty flying insects in the mines. But at the same time, it’s the simplicity that keeps casual gamers like my wife invested. Concerned Ape struck a good balance here. I just hope that my personal tastes don’t interfere with me enjoying a great game.
Honestly, if I can get to a point where I can make protein bars or get strong enough to where my character isn’t collapsing from exhaustion by early afternoon, it’s going to really help. Perhaps if I create my own story for Schitz?
Hmm.. we will see.
