Developer Concerned Ape and publisher Chucklefish teamed up a few years back to bring the world a loveably retro farming simulator, Stardew Valley.
At the time, no one could have predicted this indie take on classic Harvest Moon style gameplay would garner such a large and intensely devoted audience.
However, here we are today, knowing that it certainly did.
The game sold more than a million copies two months after its initial launch, an additional one million copies five months after launching on the Switch, and it surpassed 3.5 million total units sold as of January 2018.
Back in October, the farming simulator launched on iOS devices. While the App Store doesn’t show download numbers, the game is #1 in the store’s role-playing section and has some 3,900 ratings. Stardew Valley is currently rated a 4.5 out of 5 on the store.
But now, months after being promised, Android owners can share in the fun, too, as the award-winning indie launches on Android today. It’s available in the Google Play Store for $7.99.
In case you aren’t familiar with the game’s basic premise, here’s an overview from Chucklefish:
- Create the farm of your dreams: Turn your overgrown fields into a lively and bountiful farm!
- Learn to live off the land: Raise animals, go fishing, tend to crops, craft items, or do it all! The choice is yours…
- Become a part of the local community: Pelican Town is home to over 30 residents you can befriend!
- Meet someone special: With 12 townsfolk to date, you may even find someone to start a family with!
- Explore vast, mysterious caves: Encounter dangerous monsters & valuable treasures deep underground!
- Customize: There are hundreds of character & home decoration options to choose from!
The Android version of Stardew Valley is similar to the iOS version, with all of the single-player content of the main game, but no multiplayer modes. The only other difference between the mobile and console versions of the game is that the mobile version is optimized for touch-screen control, allegeldy making Stardew Valley even easier to play on the go.
The Secret Police, the game’s mobile developer, has also implemented a few new changes to the mobile version since it launched on iOS:
- Save at any time, even when you close the app!
- Pinch-zoom functionality, allowing players to handily zoom in to track down your Junimos or zoom out to get a full view of your farm
- New control systems including virtual joystick and invisible joystick options, ‘action/attack’ button option, improved auto-attack and Joypad adjuster tool with complete customization of your onscreen controls
Stardew Valley isn’t the newest indie farm-and-life simulator available, but the combination of gameplay styles and massive amounts of content — the main game will take 50+ hours to finish — mean many people consider it the superior choice.
Long-time Harvest Moon fans even see Stardew Valley as the series’ natural successor, since it builds on what made Natsume’s franchise so popular while fixing many of the problems fans pointed out for years.
There is certainly a lot to do, but if you’re a complete newcomer to the Valley, you can check out our extensive Stardew Valley guide content for help getting started.
