I have been playing Harvest Moon since it's debut on Snes. I have played just about every entry to the series, and I would consider myself a snob. There have been many attempts at the genre with little to no success at reaching the high bar that was set by the franchise. With that being said, Stardew Valley is an exception to the rule.

I was very skeptical - as I am with all games in a similar genre - and had not expected much from this game. In the first week, i had clocked 20+ hours. I was hooked. I was enthralled. I couldn't believe an indie game could hold so well against the triple A title that laid the foundation. Stardew Valley took what was already great, and put a little bit of that good stank on it. An example would be the RPG and adventure aspect, as well as the crafting. These are hard elements to juggle without screwing up. The only thing I think could use some touching up would be the the adventure aspect, as having very little to explore and fight in gets stale easy.

I highly reccommend this game. Do yourself a favor and give it a shot!