The entirety of Pelican Town in LEGO bricks?! This wild idea is a reality thanks to Steve Jenson, a fan of the 2D farming simulation game, Stardew Valley. The 75,000-piece LEGO recreation debut at BrickCon 2024 in Bellevue, Washington. The sole developer and creator of Stardew Valley, Eric Barone, known professionally as “ConcernedApe,” also took notice of the large model. Barone praised Jenson in person, as seen in an Instagram photo posted by Jenson.

Jenson’s LEGO build of Stardew Valley included iconic locations from the game, including JojaMart and the Wizard’s Tower. Jenson built a sign that mimicked the game’s title card to tie the entire map together. The build took over two years, and Jenson had to take some creative liberties with it to accomplish the model to the scale he did. To make the game into LEGO, Jenson imagined what the sides and backs of buildings only shown from the front looked like. Additionally, Jenson converged separate pieces of Pelican Town’s map to create a cohesive build. The video below offers a closer look at all the impressive details in the model.

When asked about his favorite part Jenson told PC Gamer, “the Hat Shop, because I was able to make [it] almost entirely hollow, so you can look through the cracks and broken parts, and see through to more such openings on the other side. Just as a rundown, abandoned structure would be.”

The Nintendo Switch version of Stardew Valley largely influences the color and style of the LEGO Model’s design. Jenson combined different game progress levels and seasons to show elements within their respective stages. All of Jenson’s efforts paid off at BrickCon, where his LEGO build won the People’s Choice award.

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If you’ve played Stardew Valley, you know how big an element food plays in the game. You grow it on your farm, you forage for it, you fish for it. Then you craft meals and use them to win the hearts of your fellow Pelican Town villagers. Or maybe you keep those meals for yourselves to provide plenty of energy for long expeditions in the mines. Whatever your motivation for learning recipes in the game, you don’t need any reason to prepare them in real life besides the fact that you want to. The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook by game creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone and Ryan Novak gives you all the reasons you need to pretend to be The Queen of Sauce. You can get started now because we have your exclusive look at recipes for the Strange Bun and Void Mayonnaise.

The Stardew Valley cookbook follows the seasonal vibes of the popular video game. Recipes are divided by the time of year and taken from the in-game meals and food. This cookbook is more than only recipes, though. You get photographs, original illustrations, and lots of little character notes. For this Stardew Valley enthusiast who has put hundreds of hours into different farms, it’s delightful.

You can get a taste of the illustrations and photographs in The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook in these Strange Bun and Void Mayonnaise recipe pages. We know almost no characters like these items in the game, but out of the game? Both recipes sound delicious.

Click To View Gallery

And here are the recipes:

Strange Bun and Void Mayonnaise

LOBSTER IN A SOFT BUN WITH A GARLIC MAYONNAISE DIP

From the Kitchen of: Shane

Yield: Makes 6 Buns

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (120 ml) WHOLE MILK

1 2/3 cups (230 g) plus 3 tablespoons BREAD FLOUR

3 tablespoons UNSALTED BUTTER, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

3 tablespoons MALTED MILK POWDER

2 tablespoons packed DARK BROWN SUGAR

KOSHER SALT

1 (1/4-oz; 7 g) packet INSTANT YEAST

1/2 cup (120 ml) BUTTERMILK, at room temperature

2 LARGE EGGS, at room temperature

1 cup (140 g) ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

2 whole LOBSTERS (about 1 1/2 lb; 680 g each)

1/2 cup (l stick; 110 g) SALTED BUTTER

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER

6 large SAGE LEAVES, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons finely grated LEMON ZEST

2 GARLIC CLOVES, finely grated

VOID MAYONNAISE, for serving (recipe follows)

Special Equipment:

6-cup JUMBO MUFFIN TIN and 6 (6-inch; 15 cm) WOODEN SKEWERS

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the whole milk and 3 tablespoons of the bread flour until smooth. Place the saucepan over low heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thick and like cake batter, 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer the milk mixture to a small bowl and let cool until just barely warm to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.

Lightly grease a large bowl with a little butter.

In another large bowl, whisk together the malted milk powder, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, the yeast, buttermilk, and 1 egg until well combined. Add the remaining 1 2/3 cups (230 g) bread flour, the all-purpose flour, and the milk mixture. Use a rubber spatula to stir the ingredients together until mostly combined and resembling a very shaggy dough. (There will still be a good amount of flour at the bottom of the bowl, and that is okay as long as the mixture is no longer wet.) Using your hands, continue to mix until you have a fairly smooth dough. Add the 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, using your hands to work the butter into the dough before adding more. Every time you add more butter, the dough will start to feel greasier, but that is okay. Use one hand to knead the dough while you use your other hand to hold down the bowl. Use the rubber spatula to scrape down the sticky side of the bowl as needed. Continue kneading the dough in the bowl until it is no longer wet and sticky, 3 to 5 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a clean flat surface and continue kneading (now with both hands) until smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in the greased bowl, and turn to coat with the grease. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature until puffed to almost double its size, about 2 hours.

Lightly grease the cups of a 6-cup large-cup muffin tin.

Deflate the dough and gently press it into a rectangle (the size really doesn’t matter). Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Use your hands to roll each piece into a 16-inch (40 cm) rope about 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) thick.

Starting at one end, roll each rope into a semi-conical spiral shape with a larger base and 2 coils that get slightly smaller as you work upward. The second coil will be almost the same size as the base, but the third coil on the top will be much smaller than the first two. Tuck the second end of the dough into the top of the bun and place the buns into the muffin cups as you form them. Nudge a 6-inch (15 cm) wooden skewer pointed side up into the very center of each bun.

Let the buns rest, uncovered, at room temperature until puffy and squishy like jumbo marshmallows, about 1 hour. The fully puffed buns should fill most of the muffin cups. After they puff up, the buns might end up leaning over. Use the wooden skewers to gently lift the buns and coax them so they sit straight again. Don’t be concerned if they are not perfect; the imperfection will add to the “strangeness” of the buns.

About 40 minutes into the buns’ second proof, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg and a splash of water. Brush the egg wash lightly onto the risen buns. Bake the buns until golden brown all over and the dough is cooked through, about 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once after 20 minutes. Transfer the buns from the muffin cups to a wire rack to cool completely.

Remove the wooden skewers and use a small paring knife to make a roughly 2-inch (5 cm) opening at the top of each bun, then use your fingers to carefully hollow out the buns, leaving a 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) wall on the sides and bottom. (Save the bun tops and any extra pieces to make fresh bread crumbs, if desired.) Loosely cover the buns.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Fill an extra-large bowl with ice water and season it generously with salt.

Add the lobsters to the pot, cover with a lid, and boil until the shells are bright red and the meat is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the lobsters directly to the ice bath to cool.

Pat the lobsters dry with a kitchen towel. Remove the meat from the claws, tails, and legs and roughly chop into bite-size chunks; you should have about 2 1/2 cups (340 g). Chill the lobster meat.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the salted butter. Add several large grinds of black pepper and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until light brown specks start to form and the butter smells nutty, 7 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the sage, lemon zest, and grated garlic, and warm for 1 minute in the residual heat. (Be careful during this step because the mixture will get quite foamy and might sputter.) Add the lobster and stir to combine in the warm butter sauce. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Divide the lobster mixture among the 6 hollowed-out buns. Drizzle any extra butter sauce over the lobster and serve immediately, accompanied by the mayonnaise.

VOID MAYONNAISE

Makes 1 scant cup (190 g)

5 black garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon food-grade finely ground activated charcoal powder

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt

3/4 cup (175 ml) neutral oil, such as light olive oil

Use the back of a large kitchen knife to smash the garlic until it forms a paste (about 2 teaspoons). Transfer to a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, combine the activated charcoal and 2 teaspoons of the lemon juice. Whisk until the charcoal is dissolved. Add the egg yolk, Dijon mustard, and a large pinch of salt, and whisk again until smooth.

Very slowly, begin to drizzle the oil into the bowl with the egg mixture, whisking constantly and vigorously. At the beginning, you want to add the oil nearly drop by drop to form an emulsion. Make sure any oil you add is incorporated into the egg mixture before adding more.

When you have added nearly half the oil, increase the speed at which you add the oil but still add it slowly and continue to whisk constantly and vigorously. At this point, your arm will be tired, but muster your strength and persevere (or ask a friend to help out).

When the mixture is thick and creamy, add the remaining 1 teaspoon lemon juice, a small splash of water, and the black garlic paste. Whisk until smooth. If the mayonnaise is super thick, whisk in additional water, a small splash at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Season to taste with additional salt, if needed.

Reprinted from The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook by ConcernedApe and Ryan Novak. © 2024 by ConcernedApe LLC. Published by Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

The Official Stardew Valley Cookbook arrives on May 14. You can place a pre-order now.

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Scientists and tidepool visitors have known for decades that sea urchins like to cover themselves up. They have tube feet in addition to their spines and each one ends in a suction cup. They pick up objects like shells and algae and hold onto them. Once 3D printing came along, people started making sea urchin hats and, sure enough, the urchins pick them up and wear them. YouTube channel SciShow shared some fun photos but also delves into how this benefits sea urchins in the video below.

Before we look at the science, let’s look at the adorable photos. Thankfully, there’s a Bored Panda thread that includes top hats, cowboy hats (both the 10 gallon and Clint Eastwood styles), and even Viking horns. Since then, it seems that the good folks at Disney’s EPCOT joined the fun. The sea urchins in their tanks now don their own small Mickey ears. Sea urchins with hats have also made it into the video game Stardew Valley.

Ok, now for why sea urchins cover themselves and can thus be tricked into wearing little hats for our amusement. SciShow explains that scientists are still researching this and it may be that different species use the same behavior for different reasons. For example, urchins that live in tumultuous tidepools may be trying to weigh themselves down so they don’t get crashed about in the waves. Other species are using it as camouflage to hide from predators. And still others may just be carrying around extra food.

Other cool things we’ve learned from SciShow include why it sometimes rains iguanas in Florida and how flamingos sleep on one foot. Keep those fun animal facts coming! 

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She did a science project about urchin coverings as a teenager, but never thought to offer them hats. Melissa also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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It doesn’t matter how many farms I’ve started in Stardew Valley; I’m always game for choosing a new plot of land and settling into my routine. It’s soothing to me and endlessly playable in a way no other video game has been. And now I can enjoy my beloved farming sim in a new fashion: as a board game! Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone shared on Tuesday afternoon that he’s been working on this version of his game for over two and a half years with board game designer Cole Medeiros.

The Stardew Valley board game is cooperative, so all the players work together. Your goal: to protect the Valley from the evil Joja Corporation. One to four players will work together through a full year in the game. Barone stated they brought all the elements from the video game they could to this tabletop version: villagers, crops, fishing, mining, etc.

There is a way to build relationships, but as it’s a board game, you won’t get any of the terrific and often random-as-hell cut scenes that the video game brings. However, I think all the game’s resources will work wonderfully for this iteration. And the goals for each play through are randomized so you won’t get bored of multiple games.

Stardew Valley Shop

The brightness and playfulness of Stardew Valley‘s design definitely comes through in the game board and all the tiles. As you might guess from all the pieces visible in the image and the trailer, it’s not a simple game. But Stardew Valley is more complex than many people give it credit for, so that fits.

And the best part of this news is that the game’s available right now. You don’t have to mess around with a pre-order. You can buy your copy from the Stardew Valley shop.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of The Jedi Mind, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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We told you about the magical school themed RPG currently in development by the publisher of Stardew Valley a couple of years ago. You can bet we’ve had our eyes on the project ever since. Witchbrook is a magical school and town life simulator. It takes place in a world that looks both warm and inviting. Chucklefish recently released a few new screenshots of the game in development, and it looks simply enchanting (via IGN).

Chucklefish

Witchbrook has all the makings of a charming, casual game experience for witches-in-training. “Build relationships with fellow students and townsfolk, develop your magical abilities by attending classes and completing assignments,” says the promising game description. “Participate in extracurricular activities such as fishing, growing magical crops, and foraging strange mushrooms. Master secret spells, make friends for life and unravel the mysteries of the school…”

They had us at “develop your magical abilities by attending classes.” What can we say, we’re Hermione Granger at heart.

Chucklefish

While other details about gameplay are scarce—understandable since not even a release year or platform is known at the moment—we can’t help but fall in love with the magical world depicted in the new screenshots. Bright and colorful with the tiniest delightful details, Witchbrook looks like a world players could happily get lost in. From tiny potion bottles to a cat napping on the warm hood of a car, it seems like every little part of the game world is being thoughtfully added to give players the magical school experience they’ve always dreamed of.

Describing the role-playing game as a mashup of Stardew Valley and Harry Potter is an easy comparison to make based on just the screenshot below.

Chucklefish

Just look at that teeny squirrel peeking out of the leaves of the tree!

Follow Chucklefish on social media for more previews of Witchbrook in development.

Featured Image: Chucklefish

Kelly Knox is a freelance writer who also contributes to StarWars.com, DCComics.com, IGN, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @kelly_knox.

The post Magic School RPG WITCHBROOK Looks Charming in New Screenshots appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s times like these that we’re all thankful to have video games. Whether it’s self-isolation because of COVID-19 or a long day at the office, sometimes the only thing that can set your mind at ease is a low-key retro classic. Maybe a quiet simulator. Luckily, we have some games that might just do the trick. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Stardew Valley

Chucklefish

Let’s just say, in a completely unrealistic reality, that you were working a corporate job that you despised; every day was a chore, and you sit in anticipation for pages of your “word-a-day” calendar to be torn off. Of course this would never be you, as corporate life is surely the pinnacle of self-fulfillment. But if it was you, then Stardew Valley would be the breath of fresh air you’re looking for.

In adorable, pixelated fashion, Stardew Valley gives the gift of seeing what greener pastures await as you leave city life behind to start anew at your grandfather’s old farm. Designed by the one-man team of Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone over four years, Stardew Valley plays like a spiritual successor to fellow farming RPG Harvest Moon, with activities like growing crops, raising cattle, and nurturing relationships with the townsfolk. If you put in enough time, you may even get married in Stardew. This game may be the closest thing to a digital hug outside of that one “sending virtual hug” gif.

Islanders

Grizzly Games Co

If your happy place is an island in the sun, then Islanders is a must-play. Unlike other city builders that might be closer to a course in economics than a video game, Islanders strips itself of all resource limitations to create a truly minimalist strategy game.

You start by simply placing structures onto a small island. Each placement earns you points depending on the nearby landscape and adjacent buildings. If you reach the target number of points, you then move to a bigger island to start the process over. That’s it! No depletion of lumber, no economy, and no existential threat to your island—just strategic placement of adorable little buildings set to lo fi music. And in case you were wondering, yes that was an intentional Weezer reference at the beginning. Happy building!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Nintendo

Animal friends. Your own island. That cute gibberish language that only Nintendo NPCs speak. This series delivers on the cute and combines the best attributes of the previous two games on this list: Stardew Valley and Islanders. And while the hype around video games can often be misleading, Animal Crossing deserves it.

These social simulation games welcome you into its world like nothing else and offers you simple, yet fun gameplay that keeps you busy without being challenging. If you’ve never played an Animal Crossing game you might ask, “what’s the objective?” The objective is to have fun, live your life, and build your dream island. This game is like a massage on a cloud, in a martini glass made of more, tinier clouds.

RollerCoaster Tycoon

Hasbro

A true classic, RollerCoaster Tycoon brought an unprecedented level of coaster customization and charm to theme park sims by asking the question, “what if you inherited a small castle and decided to start a theme park?” Not to mention, it ran pretty well for a ’90s PC game. But what if you don’t want to struggle with your start-up theme park in 1999? What if you just want to build a roller coaster that takes 135 years to ride? Luckily, there’s a solution.

OpenRCT2 is an open-source reimplantation of Rollercoaster Tycoon 2’s original game files, offering cheat options, fast-forward gameplay, fixes for lingering bugs, and even multiplayer support. You’ll still need to purchase the original game of course, but the add-on OpenRCT2 is free to download thanks to years of contributions from modders going all the way back to 2014. And if that’s not relaxing enough, you can always build a little moat around the guests that don’t like your park… not that I’ve done that.

Forza Horizon 4

Playground Games/Xbox

The latest installment in the Forza racing franchise offers the most relaxing experience of any racing game—not racing. As with the previous three Horizon games, Forza Horizon 4 features an expansive open world where players can race to be the fastest and most furious driver… or you can tour your Mini Cooper around a quaint manor at a reasonable speed.

Set in the idyllic British countryside, this 2018 game scored a 92 on Metacritic thanks to its realistic physics and introduction of in-game seasons, where players earn “influence” to progress the landscape from a breezy spring to a colorful fall, and on to a hot cocoa winter. Combined with a selection of cars from modern machines and British classics, this game is as close to a Sunday drive as you can get from the comfort of your own sofa.

House Flipper

Frozen District/Empyrean

The literal HGTV of video games, House Flipper tells you everything you need to know in the name. You just bought a dilapidated house, and you need to turn this house into a home for a profit. It’s going to take a lot of grueling work, but luckily it’s a video game.

Believe it or not, that oddly satisfying sense of working with your hands and completing a project translates beautifully in this game as you take on tasks like cleaning, demolition, electrical work, and interior design. Want an open-floor plan kitchen? You got it. Want to put that red race car bed your parents never let you have in the master suite? You are the master of your domain. And just in case you actually do want to work with your hands, House Flipper VR is in development right now.

What games do you play to relax? Share your favorites in the comments after you finish brewing that chamomile tea.

Featured Image: Nintendo

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Since its initial release in February 2016, Stardew Valley has become one of the most beloved indie games in recent memory.

In fact, it was so well loved developer ConcernedApe created a multiplayer expansion. The beta began a few months back, so some of us have already experienced farming, fishing, and mining with the squad. However, we now have an official release date for the full multiplayer: August 1.

That’s when the game drops on PC, which means you can grab the expansion on Steam, GOG.com, and WeGame. Sadly, we don’t have a release date yet for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or the Nintendo Switch.

The co-op mode allows you to play with up to three other players. You share a farm, money, and world updates, but the skills, the resources you gather, and the NPC relationships are your own. Players can even marry or divorce each other if they want. Although, if you ask me, the best feature that comes along with the update is that you can put hats on horses. Look how adorable!

I’ve been playing the multiplayer for the past few weeks with a friend, and it puts a fun spin on a game I already love but have been playing a long time. It’s amazing how much more you can get done with two people, so I can’t imagine what it must be like with four! I’m definitely down to try it.

What do you think? Is multiplayer for Stardew Valley something you’d like to pick up? Let us know in the comments below!

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Video games can make us really, really hungry. From the rustic stews cooked up in the wilds of Hyrule to the drool-worthy dishes served up at Galdin Quay, food is an important staple in video games and is often the subject of side quests and mini-games.  If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to make some of those amazing looking dishes from games, there are plenty of adventurous chefs looking to give the megabite-sized recipes a go. Check out these five video game gastronomes and learn how to make some of their favorite dishes!

Improv Chef Link – Legend of Zelda

Link will throw just about anything into a cook pot to see if it is edible and, more often than not, his concoctions come out as dubiously edible plates of mush, but when he gets things right, his open fire and wok cooking can produce some delicious-looking food. Link can whip up everything from entrées like Veggie Rice Balls and Prime Meat Curry to Breakfast Omelettes and he can even bake amazing looking desserts. How he does this in a wok is beyond me (it must be Hylian magic at work), but if you want to try out a few of these recipes, Andrew Rea, of the YouTube channel Binging with Babish, has a fantastic video that includes Link’s Mushroom Risotto, baked apples, and extremely-fragrant monster cake.

Master Baker Toriel – Undertale

Undertale tells the story of a young child who falls into the underground world of monsters and must find a way home. One of the first monsters you meet is a  kindly, mother-figure named Toriel who does her best to encourage you to stay forever and to make you feel more at home, Toriel bakes you a Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie that sounds absolutely heavenly. Sugary-sweet Rosanna Pansino, of Nerdy Nummies, is well known for her interpretations of geek culture foods and in the video below, she describes how you can make the delightful pudding pie at home.

Chauffeur/Chef Ignis – Final Fantasy XV

When Ignis Scientia isn’t driving around Eos or defending his future king from rampaging behemoths and mechanics in booty shorts, he is an accomplished chef who can recreate and improve on any dish he tastes. His menu trends towards Japanese comfort food and diner-style fare, but you can catch him making some strange delights like Moist Tomato Cake and Moogle Mousse with Kupoberry Sauce. RPG Cooking’s video not only provides a detailed recipe on how to recreate Ignis’s Fried Rookie on Rice, but also gives you a little background on Ignis’s friendship with Prince Noctis over the years.

Chef [Insert name Here] – Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley offers you a million different things to do from making friends to farming to mining to (of course) cooking.  Many of the recipes you can learn will come from the friends you make in town, so every time you cook a dish you can be reminded of the person who taught it to you. The Maple Bars featured on Chiodini’s Kitchen come from The Queen of Sauce television show that airs on Sundays in-game. These bars give you a big boost to health and energy and can sell for 300 gold (an exorbitant amount of money for such a simple dish, but who am I to judge the fine folks of Stardew Valley for their addiction to the nutrition bars). Follow along with  Chiodini’s video to whip up some delicious and lucrative treats!

Chef Mama – Cooking Mama

Ok, we can’t make a list of fun video game chefs without mentioning one of the mother of all cooking games: Cooking Mama! This adorable game was first released in 2006 and has since seen several more titles added to the series. Each challenge in the game was a different recipe and would take you through the steps of preparing a dish. Curious to see how accurate Mama’s instructions were, GameTim decided to try making her Omurice (Omelette with Rice) dish. This is basically an omelette filled with rice and topped with ketchup (which sound like the perfect breakfast after a long night out). You can learn how the to make Omurice by watching GameTim ‘s video below!

What are some of your favorite in-game snacks? Which would you love to know how to make? Let us know in the comments below! And be sure to tune into Game Engine on Twitch and Alpha for more video game goodness every Tuesday starting at 4PM PT.

WANT MORE VIDEO GAME GOODNESS?

• 3 Final Fantasy Recipes You Can Make in Real Life
• Feed Your Horde With the official World of Warcraft Cookbook
• 4 Farming Games We’re Totally Addicted To

Hailing from New York, Jessica Fisher is a writer, artist, and all around geek. In addition to Geek & Sundry, she writes for Gameosity.com and produces the Gameosity Reviews Youtube Channel. Find her talking about all things geeky on Twitter as @miniktty.

Image Credits: Nintendo, Toby Fox, SQUARE ENIX, Chucklefish

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The world is a dark place. And as much as we love our violent first-person shooters and blood-pumping video horror games, sometimes it’s just a bit too much. When things seem bleak, we’ve had a rough day, or we just need to get out of a funk, we want to have a wholesome, uplifting experience while still enjoying our favorite pastime. To help you get through a rainy day, controller in hand, here’s a list of some of our favorite pixelated pick-me-ups.

Stardew Valley

A spiritual successor to Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley is an endlessly lovable farm and community simulator. Grow crops, raise animals, mine, fish, explore, romance, and more, all while enjoying the soothing music and an adorable 32-bit art style. With no win state, the game can go on for as long as you want, which for me will be a very, very long time.

Animal Crossing

Keeping with the theme, Animal Crossing is Nintendo’s famous community simulator. Although similar to Stardew in format, Animal Crossing offers a different but equally mellow vibe. Friendships and the town are at the forefront of the game’s focus, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep, DS in hand, catching bugs and listening to that relaxing soundtrack. Good times.

Overcooked

Overcooked is a wild, fast-paced cooking simulator that you can play with friends. With all kinds of obstacles and crazy game modes, you’ll soon find yourself dissolving into laughter as hilarious kitchen shenanigans ensue.

Journey

Known for its fluid movement, gorgeous visuals, and beautiful use of anonymous multiplayer, Journey is one of the best indie games to come out in recent years. It’s only about two hours long, so if you need a short burst of self-contained quasi-narrative that will leave you wonderstruck, this game is a must-play.

Flower

Flower was made by the same studio as Journey, so it maintains the smooth movement and stunning visuals, albeit with a very different aesthetic. You play as flower petals riding on the wind, which is much more magical in practice than it sounds.

Goat Simulator

Taking a turn for the ridiculous, Goat Simulator is a game where you—wait for it—play as a goat. Sounds simple, but the game is also full of crazy physics, explosions, and even a ritual that can turn you into a demon goat. It’s a hilarious, crazy, and never fails to make us laugh.

Proteus

Proteus is a great option if you want to just zone out for a while. The only real goal of the game is to explore the mysterious, procedurally generated environment. The graphics are simple and the music is minimal, but it’s a cool, atmospheric experience that’s a great way to wind down.

Katamari Damacy

There’s something really cathartic about just rolling everything around you up into a giant ball, and that’s exactly what this game gives us. Add in the campy characters and upbeat music, and it’s hard not to walk away from this game with a smile on your face.

Octodad

It seems like everyone forgot Octodad shortly after came out, which is such a bummer. You play as an octopus who is also a dad (go figure), and the whole goal is to make sure no one finds out that you’re actually a cephalopod. It’s as wonderfully absurd as it sounds, and actually has a surprising amount of heart.

Images: Chucklefish, Nintendo, Thatgamecompany, Curve Digital, Namco, Young Horses

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Yes, it’s true. I am a shameless farming game addict.

Around 18 years ago I got my hands on a copy of Nintendo’s Harvest Moon 64 and it was all downhill from there. I started off with a little light farming, nothing big, but then I built a barn and started buying livestock. It was near on 4AM when I realized I had just spent several hours playing a game where the majority of action came from doing chores.  Sure I had a thriving farm, several cows named after fruits, and a local girl was really warming up to me, but how could repetitive manual labor be so darned fun? I wasn’t a big fan of doing housework and yet I was glued to the TV spending hours watering my crops and gathering wild berries from the nearby forests. What had I become?

One existential crisis later, I came to accept that there is something alluring and satisfying about farming games. Their simple worlds are often bright and beautiful (unless you’re looking for a dark, gothy game. We’ve got that too) and offer goals achievable through a little bit of effort and patience. Fulfilling your neighbors orders for food and home-made crafts itches that quest-completion need and somewhere along they way you find yourself getting really involved in the social-politics of these tiny towns.

One of the unique things about farming games is that hours advance while you play, giving you a limited window to get all of your chores done before the day ends and your character needs to sleep. Every day you’ll need to water your crops, feed your animals, visit friends, and fulfill orders, so learning how to manage your time efficiently is super important. Yes, I know that may not sound thrilling, but like I said, these games are surprisingly fun. What titles exemplify farming games? Check out this list of games that got me hooked on the genre.

Harvest Moon

As I mentioned before, the Harvest Moon games are where this all began for me and Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town and it’s sister title Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town are great examples of the series. You play as a disgruntled city-dweller looking for a simpler life, who moves to Mineral Town to revive an abandoned farm. Working hard to maintain a balance between farming and making friends with the locals, you’ll be able to upgrade your home, raise animals and crops, get married, have kids, and eventually retire to a mountaintop retreat. It’s serene and rewarding and I can’t get over how cute the dog is. Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town is a fantastic title to check out if you are just getting into farming games.

Stardew Valley

If you’re looking for something with more modern sensibilities, but with that classic retro-look Stardew Valley, is like a modern-day love letter to Harvest Moon. You’ve got a similar premise: a character fed up with their unsatisfying life in the city, moving to a small town to build up a farm, but Stardew Valley adds some interesting depth through more complex characters and relationships, the addition of monsters you can fight, and some quality of life upgrades. (How did I ever farm before sprinklers?)

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Oh Animal Crossing, how many hours did I wile away in your quaint little games? I love the seemingly endless amount of content to explore and the cute and quirky animal characters. (Except that loan shark Tom Nook. I hate you Tom, I truly do.) There are a ton of Animal Crossing games, but New Leaf offers a lot of different options that make it one of the most expansive title in the series. In it you not only are a newcomer moving into town, but now you’ve been made mayor! While upgrading your own home, you’ll have the responsibility of working on public works projects and ordinances to help grow the town. You can add new buildings and pass laws, making the town feel personalized and you can show off all your awesome work by inviting other players to visit your town using the Nintendo 3DS’s online and local play features.

My Time at Portia

My Time at Portia is a newer game (having only been released this year) and has all the heart of Harvest Moon, but with an added twist: Instead of focusing on farming, My Time at Portia is all about crafting. Your character inherits their father’s workshop and is tasked with making it the best in the land. You’ll be building everything from tools to clothing to vehicles.

Inspired by the art of Studio Ghibli and themes from games like Dark Cloud 2 and Animal Crossing, My Time at Portia is stunning and delightful to play. While it starts out light-hearted, Portia has a slightly ominous post-apocalyptic history where mankind seems to have almost destroyed itself with technology and thus there are a bunch of ruins to explore and lost technology to discover. The game is still in early access so the developers are still adding new content, but so far the game is a blast to play.

These games have eaten countless hours of my life because there is something special about them that makes me come back for more. What farming or crafting games do you enjoy? Let us know in the comments below!

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Hailing from New York, Jessica Fisher is a writer, artist, and all around geek. In addition to Geek & Sundry, she writes for Gameosity.com and produces the Gameosity Reviews Youtube Channel. Find her talking about all things geeky on Twitter as @miniktty.

Image Credits: Natsume, Nintendo, Pathea Games, Chucklefish

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Chucklefish, the publisher of the incredibly popular Stardew Valley and the upcoming title Witchbrook, recently announced a new partnership with the Shanghai-based company Pixpil to release Eastward.

The pixelated, single player RPG adventure is inspired by Japanese animation from the 1990s, said Chucklefish in the partnership announcement.It’s practically impossible to look at the announcement trailer and not be reminded of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo—not just because of the gorgeous pixel art in the backgrounds, but also the familiar-looking font used in the game’s dialogue bubbles. (It’s not just me, right?)

In addition to the striking pixel art, the chiptune soundtrack harkens back to retro-style titles and promises to be just as memorable as the game itself. Composer Joel Corelitz even shared a preview of the music that will accompany your shopping trips. As anyone who has put hundreds of hours into Final Fantasy games will tell you, shopping is a necessary part of any RPG, so it’s a a good thing you’ll have some jaunty music to listen to while you browse for equipment.

Here's a little music to shop by in @eastwardgame @pixpilgames. #eastward #chiptune #soundtrack #OST pic.twitter.com/TqtY2OGVzz

— Joel Corelitz (@joelcorelitz) November 17, 2017

Eastward is a science fiction role-playing game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. Most of the human population is gone (sorry, people, but you never fare well in these kinds of stories) and the world is falling apart. You are John, a digger who discovers a mysterious girl in a secret facility while he’s on the job.

Take the strange girl on an adventure? Check. Meet some kooky characters? Check. Fight monsters? Of course, this is an RPG. Eastward looks like it will have everything RPG players love in a gorgeously retro world.

While no date has been revealed for release yet, the game has been in development since 2015, so keep your eyes out for announcement soon. Eastward will be available for PC and Mac.

Does “post-apocalyptic pixel design” sound like everything you love in life? Tell us about it in the comments.

All Images: Chucklefish / Pixpil

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Imagine combining the ideas of Stardew Valley and Harry Potter. That’s a comparison Chucklefish CEO Finn Brice has made when talking about the developer’s new magic school RPG. Previously known as Project Spellbound, Brice confirmed on Twitter, via PC Gamer, the game’s official name is Witchbrook. It has a 2D aesthetic like Stardew Valley and is built upon the idea that of course we all want to go to magic school.

https://twitter.com/Tiyuri/status/973966377445920775Witchbrook won’t have a Hogwarts-like experience though. Brice recently told Red Bull the magic in Witchbrook is practical, “taking inspiration from Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series, Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom Series, Studio Ghibli animations, and even the cartoon show Steven Universe at times.”

Uhh, yes please.

The narrative of the game follows the player as they complete tasks, advance through school, and build relationships–including some awkward teenage dating. Activities will include potion making, magical farming, and crafting. Don’t get overly excited yet though, because Brice cautions the release “is still quite a way off.”

https://twitter.com/Tiyuri/status/974040693013471232

But given the rest of his tweet, here’s hoping we see more screens and learn about gameplay details as they continue developing. I don’t know about you, but I’m crossing everything that they release Witchbrook on some consoles, specifically the Switch. Stardew Valley has been quite successful on Nintendo’s latest system, so hopefully those numbers will encourage Chucklefish.

Are you looking forward to playing Witchbrook? On a scale of one to Stardew Valley, how addictive do you think it will be?

Images: Chucklefish

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.

Play more games!

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Get the first backpack upgrade as soon as possible

You’ll be moving around a lot of stuff in this game–rocks, seeds, books, logs, sea urchins. All of the odds and ends you collect are stashed in your backpack, which starts off with a meager 12 slots. Pierre offers a sizable upgrade to 24 slots for 2000g. Make this your first goal. Once you upgrade your satchel you’ll have a lot more freedom, and you’ll be able to spend more time exploring instead of running back and forth to your house to unload items.

Forage

Take advantage of Stardew Valley’s bountiful nature. You’ll find fruits, seashells, and all sorts of useful or valuable things lying on the ground just waiting to be taken. Be sure to shake the trees to gather sap and fruit. It’s also worth repairing the bridge to the tidal pools at the southern part of the map. Checking the tide pools every day will net you sea urchins and coral which you can sell to Willy for easy earnings.

Dig up the worms

On your daily wanderings, you’ll stumble across little worms dancing in the dirt. They’re easy to miss, so watch out! If you use your hoe to dig them up, you might unearth books and other rare items. Books, artifacts, and rare minerals can all be donated to the museum’s collection. While donating your findings doesn’t offer immediate satisfaction, it will pay off in the long run.

Off to the mines

In the northeastern corner of the map, you’ll find the mines. You’ll gain access to them after the fourth day of Spring, making them an early source of some sweet, sweet money. Bring your pickaxe and some food that can replenish health and energy. Other than that, leave all of your other items at home in your chest. You’ll find all kinds of ore, and the deeper you go, the more valuable the findings. Your progress through the mines is saved every five levels, making it easy to pick up where you stopped on your next visit. Just make sure you don’t die—blacking out means you also forget your progress, and you’ll be forced to start from an earlier point.

Buy the silo first

One of your first quests tasks you with building a chicken coop. Resist the temptation, though. It’s better to save up for the silo, which stores any tall grass you reap. This grass is invaluable when it comes time to feed your hungry beasties. It’s hard to keep your feathered friends happy if you can’t feed them, so it’s best to plan ahead.

Take advantage of bundles

A few days into spring, Lewis will introduce you to the Community Center. In one of the center’s rooms you’ll find a golden sign–examine it! This will set you on the path to unravelling the center’s mysteries. With some help from the Wizard, you can now prepare bundles for special rewards. These little challenges typically ask you to gather a certain number of seasonal goodies. It’s a great way to learn the lay of the land while earning some rare items or events.

Learn how to fish

Fishing can be a tricky skill to master, but it’s worth the practice. It can be hard to figure out just exactly what the game expects you to do when casting your line, but the video above should give some good pointers to folks who are struggling. Villagers will post requests for fish on the notice board outside of Pierre’s shop, offering up gold and other nice goods as reward. Once you get to a certain level in fishing, you can also start using crab pots, which will catch fish for you. It’s a good source of gold, and fish can also be used to craft premium fertilizer and energy boosting foods.

Use fertilizer

Crafting is big in Stardew Valley–there’s no way around it. Fertilizer is one of the first recipes you unlock in the game, and it’s an important one to boot. All you’ll need is two sap to make your own standard grade fertilizer. Make sure you add this to your soil before planting your crops–doing so increases the chances of your crops reaching silver quality or better. Once you use it, your soil will stay fertilized all season long.

Get a good night’s sleep

Country life requires a lot of hard work, so pay careful attention to your energy meter. This little bar will deplete over time as you water crops, clear out trees and rocks, and fish. It may be tempting to stay out late finishing up chores if you have extra energy remaining, but make sure you get to bed before midnight. Much like real life, staying up past your bedtime means you’ll wake up with less oomph set aside for the day ahead.

Following these tips early on will establish a strong foundation for your farm in the first year of the game. With flourishing crops and a steady stream of gold, you’ll be ready to really start expanding your farm and befriending your neighbors.

Image Credits: Chucklefish LTD. 

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I have something difficult to confess. I… am addicted to Stardew Valley. It’s a “country life simulator” in the vein of Harvest Moon. But somehow, that doesn’t quite capture everything that makes it so appealing and special. And with over a million copies sold on Steam in a little over a month, it’s obvious that I’m not the only one who’s invested in this game.

I know you were dying and all, Grandpa, but would it have hurt to bust out the lawnmower once in a while?

After you create a character, you get thrown right into the story. As a child, your beloved grandfather died and left you a mysterious envelope. An envelope that you weren’t supposed to open until you were an adult; until you were so positively sick of modern life that you needed to get back to basics. Some decades later, your character opens that envelope and finds Grandpa’s present was the deed to his old farm! So off you go to Stardew Valley, where a simpler life awaits you.

Or perhaps, not so simple after all, as the farm is absolutely overrun with plants and debris, many of nearby Pelican Town’s amenities have broken down, and your old employer, Joja Corporation, is threatening to ruin the rustic peace of your new home. An uphill battle that awaits you, especially with your initially limited set of tools and funds. But that’s part of what makes the game so exciting. Every day, you have a chance to make a new impact on Stardew Valley. Every day is a small step towards a big accomplishment, and when you finally make it there, you can’t help but happily gloat at how far you’ve come.

Abigail has the kind of wit you can cut yourself on, so of course she’s my favorite bachelorette.

And believe me, there’s an incredible variety of accomplishments to pursue. You can go mining for precious gems and battle the monsters deep in Stardew Valley’s underground caverns. You can become a master fisher, catching legendary sea creatures and pulling in hauls from massive amounts of crab pots. You can build a beautiful relationship with one of the town’s residents and start a family. Even your farm has many possible avenues of profit–from ranching and farming to artisanal crafting and raising slime monsters (that counts as ranching, right?), each requires a different type of investment and yields unique products.

Honestly, I’m trying to do it all, because that’s just part of the fun. And if you still crave variety, the diverse seasons, festivals, and natural developments in Pelican Town shake things up every once in a while. There’s also a secret pursuit that I won’t spoil, but once you come across it, you’ll be able to unlock completely new areas and amenities. I know I’m biased as a hopeless junkie, but I’m continually struck by the game’s low price considering its size and depth.

You know you’re playing a fantasy life game when the music in the bar is quiet enough to hear other people.

If you want to join me in my endless quest for the perfect farm, I do have a few tips that can help the Stardew Valley newcomer land on their feet:

• You have to spend money to make money. This is a familiar platitude to longtime Harvest Moon players, but it’s absolutely true. If you want to expand your cashflow quickly, the best way is to clear out a sizeable part of your farm and then plant as many seeds as you can afford. While I personally don’t think min-maxing your crops is fun or necessary, you’ll definitely have more options to upgrade your farm if you start farming from day one.
• Friday is the best day to socialize. Every Friday night at the Stardrop Saloon, a huge portion of the townsfolk show up to chat and hang out. Chances are, your favorite villager will filter in at some point, and if they don’t, they actually never come to the Saloon. So at least you learned where they don’t like to hang out!
• There’s an early festival where you can ask your crush to dance. They will say no (because Friendship Math). Prepare your tear ducts. And prepare a good chunk of cash too, because that same festival has unique decorations for sale that day only.
• There will come a time when you badly want to upgrade your watering can, so be aware it takes 2 game days. Do it as close to the 27th of the season as possible, since you don’t have to water on the 28th anyway.

It takes skill to make a game where dangerous manual labor becomes fun.

It’s comforting to know I can blame my horrible Stardew Valley dependency on one man: the developer known as ConcernedApe. He took care of virtually every aspect of Stardew Valley entirely on his own, from the programming to the music to the art, while balancing it with just enough part-time work to stay afloat. It’s an inspirational story for any artist; to know that with time and hard work you can create something truly memorable (not to mention hugely successful!). He’s even been committed to making the game even better, staying hard at work on patches and planning major content updates like more marriage candidates and multiplayer! The guy has earned a vacation, and put some AAA development teams to shame.

For those who want a simpler streak to their life, for those who like to build, and for those that like to beautify, Stardew Valley is a big breath of fresh air. I wholly recommend buying it. Just make sure you quit your job, first.

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