Also, no one wants a videogame to look like a cartoon, or real life, or some weird blocky animated thing! I love the simplicity of pixel art, and it adds to the simple cozy farming life aspect of the game. I also think that there's a bit of nostalgia in it. It all really makes the game feel more rural town life with a few secrets, rather than aggressive adventure game.
And thus she spoke, and it was good, and the people were pleased...
What a legend of a game. I am proud to have been part of its community, because that is also part of the game and what makes it great
Also, it harkens back to nostalgic Harvest Moon roots while still being it's own unique game with its own story, characters, lore, and most importantly, unique gameplay elements that are both easy to learn and fun to incorporate into the daily lives of your individual playthroughs.
There are plenty of young people who enjoy Stardew Valley, so I'm not sure if it's purely nostalgia. I've noticed media with nice/unique art styles tend to do better in general
It's only been within the past 10 years or so that pixel graphics have been accepted widely as "good" graphics. There was a time when many people out there were all into the 3d generated hyper cool explosive bloom flare graphics (think original halo 3 gfx) but I always knew this day would come when you yungins would grow weary of nice graphics with little story. But that's also why Final Fantasy 6 will forever be one of my top 1 favorite games of all time. Also, with its central them centered around hope, and an earth shattering plot twist, the story is top notch, and sometimes the sprites are even more expressive than they are in SDV, which is saying a lot. But anyways...where's my rocking chair?