# Stardew Valley

37 Hacker News commenters recommended Stardew Valley and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its cozy, varied farming gameplay, its no-ads port of the PC version, and its long-running free updates. Critics say it is derivative.

## Why people recommend it

- Cozy, calming, comforting to play (5 comments): "It really captures the same cozyness as the video game, and it's cooperative." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47031990)) "Cozy: Tiny Bookshop and Stardew Valley" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48669518)) "It's the pinnacle of cozy, I suppose." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46446079))
- Lots of variety and replayability (4 comments): "the variety of things to do and different ways to play the game kept me coming back" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48293257)) "I have gotten so much value out of that one game over the years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50056628)) "offered up countless hours of addictive gameplay" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45846740))
- Runs on many devices (3 comments): "Runs on everything, not just "viable" OSs, made by a single person" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334847)) "I love that game, I got it on my PC and handheld." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50054718)) "you can just buy them on every device you have" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48304070))
- Complete PC port with no ads (2 comments): "I don't regret it at all. It's a direct port of the PC version, meaning it's a complete experience, but also not a single ad." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46525931)) "It's a direct port of the PC version, meaning it's a complete experience, but also not a single ad." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46523219))

## What people warn about

- Did not fully scratch the itch (2 comments): "while Stardew Valley was nice, it never fully scratched that itch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48088671)) "it never fully scratched that itch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48087475))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Sims](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sims.md): 7 recommend
- [Spore by Maxis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/spore.md): 7 recommend
- [Pokémon Pokopia](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pokopia.md): 7 recommend
- [Animal Crossing](https://hackerapproved.com/p/animal-crossing.md): 5 recommend
- [Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tomodachi-life.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.stardewvalley.net/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Stardew Valley", https://hackerapproved.com/p/stardew-valley/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).