Can you truly beat Stardew Valley?

[ShaneLover]

I've played a lot of games that have some sort of end goal, like any Final Fantasy game or any sort of story-based game, and while there is some kind of story in Stardew Valley, there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. Can you really beat it and get credits or will there always be something to do?

 

[Lew Zealand]

I don't know about 'beat'... Generally I finish games though some games have a boss at the end that you need to beat. There's no final boss in this game other than designing your Farm and Tailoring all the best outfits buuuut maybe that's just a me goal.

The closest thing to an endgame Stardew has is 100% Perfection and you can track your progress in Qi's Walnut Room. I've almost made it to 50% in some saves!

 

[VampireCake]

Both! Achieving 'Perfection' - 100% completion - Unlocks some special stuff, including a sort of credits/cutscene, but you're free to keep playing afterwards, there's no maximum time or number of years. Currently I'm in year 79.

 

[ShaneLover]

Both! Achieving 'Perfection' - 100% completion - Unlocks some special stuff, including a sort of credits/cutscene, but you're free to keep playing afterwards, there's no maximum time or number of years. Currently I'm in year 79.

God dang, that's a loooooottt of years. I'm only on year 1; I haven't played very much

 

[VampireCake]

God dang, that's a loooooottt of years. I'm only on year 1; I haven't played very much

Ooh then you have so much to discover!

 

[Maher]

SDV strikes me as low-stakes by design. This anodyne quality is one of the things that makes it attractive to me.

Although, a cut scene where the PC gets to treat Mr. Qi as Pierre treats Morris in the CC ceremony would have no small amount of satisfaction for me.

 

[FilthyGorilla]

Well there is a sort of final barrier or goal that you can beat that unlocks the final locked content but really you can play infinitely beyond that. It’s quite similar to terraria in that regard, there is locked content you unlock throughout the game but a definite end - beating moonlord. However once you do you still get some extra content and then you’re left on your own to make your own goals.

I personally love playing stardew just to collect stuff and make lots of cash later in the game. I just like playing the game in general, sometimes even when I don’t have a set goal.

 

[imnvs]

You can get what amounts to a credits sort of scene by attaining 100% perfection, but that isn't the end of the game. There is no real end. SDV is kinda sandbox-like in that regard.

 

[Rhiannon]

I've played a lot of games that have some sort of end goal, like any Final Fantasy game or any sort of story-based game, and while there is some kind of story in Stardew Valley, there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. Can you really beat it and get credits or will there always be something to do?

Think of it like The Sims games. Welcome to your life in Stardew Valley!

 

[ArtifactSpot]

SDV strikes me as low-stakes by design. This anodyne quality is one of the things that makes it attractive to me.

Although, a cut scene where the PC gets to treat Mr. Qi as Pierre treats Morris in the CC ceremony would have no small amount of satisfaction for me.

That would crack me up. That guy is the creepiest absolute worst NPC in the game. So condescending, even after perfection he sees you as beneath his level of perceived greatness, and is always watching you and has a giant spyware setup to do just that in his secret room. He’s probably the one who made disappear the original bus that brought you to this land of no return just so he had someone new to spy on day in and day out.