Quoting a Howard Jones song:
The old man said to me
Said, "Don't always take life so seriously
Play the flute, and dance and sing your song"
Try and enjoy the here and now
The future will take care of itself somehow
The grass is never greener over there.
Translation:
In gaming, there is often an urge to focus on getting the early stages “right”. Making the best minmax possible use of time, earning as much as you can, etc. That is entirely unnecessary in Stardew Valley.
You can still focus on that if you wish. But you do not need to. Everything can still be accomplished in game, whether you do it in 3 years or 36 years. Take Grandpa’s letter to heart, let go of the rat race.
That said, a few things are always good ideas.
- Read things in-game. Letters, TV text, tooltips text for items, etc.
- If you find something difficult, there will often be a TV episode, or an NPC conversation, or a Library book, that makes it easier.
- Carry your hoe around. If you see some small worms wiggling in the dirt, hit them with the hoe.
- Trying to do nine things in a day is a trap. At the start of each game day, choose yourself one maybe two primary goals for that day. Don’t stress over the rest.
- Enjoy the journey! The game is Extremely Replayable, but very little can match that first play when you have no idea what’s possible.
