What actually do you do in this game?

[Ash//Fox]

Stardew is a really different kind of game from what I normally play but looks like something I could possibly be in to. I just don't understand what the game play loop is like; just saying it has farming and mining and fishing I guess I don't understand what I do.. like press x to harvest cabbages, wait, press x harvest cabbages, go to town, sell cabbages, buy more cabbage seeds.. and a few loops later I'm looking over a field of strawberries with nothing to do but repeat?

Help me understand why some people have said they have hundreds or even thousands of hours in this game

[Cynocephaly]

Honestly for me it's because it is a pretty chill game, no pressure to do stuff. If you're like me and you like decorating and building your home from scratch, organizing and planing what to do next to achieve progress, then this game might be for you as well. Farming, mining, fishing and combat is just a way to make money and do what farmers are supposed to do. You also have lore to look forward to if you like that. This game doesn't look like much but it might be just what people need to relax and enjoy a simple gameplay. There's also a bunch of mods you can add, so yeah. Everyone has different reasons for playing this game.

[Nakos]

It's a game about stepping away from the corporate "rat race" and returning to a small town community and existence and wringing a living from the land with your hands. It's about living close to the land and being in tune with the turn of the seasons.

For many people it's a relaxing break from the pressures of real life. A return to the kind of peaceful small town life that doesn't really exist anymore.

But ... it might not be your kind of game. That sort of thing might sound boring to you. And that's okay too.

[ChrillBill]

The great replay value I would say have much to do with the thriving modding community, it is no secret that a large chunk of the player base are using mods and it has a lot to offer in that regard. Making it possible to customize the game to your own liking, essentially. Other than that, while the concept might seem simple it is also quite addictive, in a sense. You start out with a very overgrown and abandoned farm, which you can build into something either really efficient, beautiful or even a combination of the two.

The game does offer you pretty much all the time you could ask for, in terms of getting things done and achieving your goals. Still, that doesn't mean that planning isn't required because if you try to do all at once, you will just burn yourself out and possibly miss out on what otherwise is a very relaxed and harmonic experience.

The story is good, and something a lot of people can relate to. It touches on the subject of reconnecting with nature, which is something I personally feel that many of us are longing for in a way, and that we have lost somewhere towards our pursuit of a comfortbale lifestyle.

The npcs are fun to get to know as well, and makes the town feel quite fun to explore. But they are essentially half baked potatoes in terms of background and story. But that is the way it is supposed to be, given that there are many different aspects at work in the game at the same time. Together (combined) they do offer a fun journey, while also giving the player lots of freedom in terms of what kind of farm you want to build for example. There is a lot of rinse and repeat involved yes, but that is not something unusual when it comes to games within this particular genre and it doesn't mean the game is boring. But it's also not for everyone, so I hope this help you understand the "hype" a bit better ^.^

[Fyre]

Do whatever you want. Befriend villagers, find a spouse, clear debris from your field, go mining/fishing/foraging, donate to the museum, complete the community center, there's quite a bit of game even after the community center.

Decorating your farm or naming your livestock can give your farm a personal touch. Do it all, do only what appeals to you or if none of it appeals to you then maybe the game isn't for you?

[BirbNotBird]

Honestly, I find myself return to the game a lot because of modding.

That combines with many base game features & approaches like comment above and you totally have what I can say significant enjoyment time.

[Tux]

Originally posted by Fyre:

Do whatever you want. Befriend villagers, find a spouse, clear debris from your field, go mining/fishing/foraging, donate to the museum, complete the community center, there's quite a bit of game even after the community center.

Decorating your farm or naming your livestock can give your farm a personal touch. Do it all, do only what appeals to you or if none of it appeals to you then maybe the game isn't for you?

I am new to the game and I agree the game allows you to progress using multiple approaches which many games either do not allow or create the illusion of choice when really its one direction.
HOWEVER...I think simply saying 'whatever you want' is a bit exaggerated. Cant even build where ever you want for example.

[Lunacy]

When you boil a game down to a mundane loop it'll always sound boring, it's a lot more engaging when you actually play it.
There's a lot to do while you're waiting for your crops to grow, like fishing and combat in the mines, maxing friendships and working on the community bundles (one of the main game progressions that needs a bunch of random items that you collect throughout the years)
There's a lot of upgrades that make your life easier as a form of progression, like getting lv2 sprinklers is a gamechanger compared to the early game, enough of those and you'll never need to water your crops again, which gives you plenty of energy to do other things.
And yeah, managing your energy meter is very important, you can't do a whole lot early on but you can find and make food items to restore energy when it gets low, but then in the latergame you have so much energy its almost impossible to run out.

[ULTRA]

you collect stuff

there's a lot of stuff to collect