I was a pretty dumb kid. I still am one, but I’ve definitely grown from my experiences. During Covid and quarantine, I was dealing with a lot of mental health issues. Being at home and feeling like I had nothing to do affected me a lot in a negative way. At some point in the middle, I was in a toxic relationship which destroyed my confidence and made things a lot worse for me. I became anxious and depressed. Things just kept piling on and I had nothing to distract me. While I was scrolling on Youtube in bed I saw a content creator that I enjoyed playing a game I had never heard of before, “Stardew Valley.” It intrigued me and I had nothing else to do with my time so I decided to give it a try. That was the best idea I had made. By playing the game I was able to pull myself out of my slump and have the motivation to try. Now, I know many people view gaming as a bad thing and they find these simple games a waste of time but I feel that is far from the truth. “Stardew Valley” is an amazing game for people who struggle with anxiety and depression. The factors that really support this are the gameplay, the scientific effects on mental health, and how “Stardew Valley” is differentiated from other similar games.

The gameplay and storyline are fairly simple. The character inherits their grandfather's farm in a small town called “Stardew Valley'' and the main goal is to restore the town and farm. The character can mine, farm, interact with townspeople and there are plenty of side quests to complete. There are lots of things to do in the game and there is never really a sense of being fully done. Yes, there's completing the side quests and buying every item possible but there is always something to do. The game also doesn't lack interesting events or characters, it’s not something that is forgotten and just done hastily at the end. The game has relaxing music in the background with ambient sounds that creates a lovely scene while playing. The game also has multiple aspects that turn it into something more than just a farming simulator, with the introduction to mining it adds another level of fun giving it something other games don’t have, with the townsfolk, they have different things to do with them. They aren’t just there to be pretty or add to the background. On top of all that the game has quite a bit of mod and add-ons that make the game into something completely different and add a nuance to the game, which can make things different if the base game becomes a chore.

Mental health is different for everyone but there are some things people with depression or anxiety can relate to. For a lot of people who are in a depressive state, even the simplest things can be a challenge, getting out of bed is just too hard, or taking a shower takes too much energy. It can take a lot and I mean a lot for someone to feel better about themselves. People just end up feeling lazy or that they are worthless for not accomplishing anything, but that's when “Stardew Valley” comes in. “Stardew Valley” gives the player small and bigger tasks to do and when accomplishing something it gives a good feeling, like having a productive day and not feeling lazy. This is not to say that “Stardew Valley” should replace real-life tasks or responsibilities to just feel good. If there are too many things happening and everything seems dark and dim, having something to act as support means the world. The very same tasks can be just as helpful with people who have bad anxiety. The task keeps the character set on one thing and forces them to focus on the here and now, not just the future. It’s a relaxing experience to just not worry about oh I need to do this and that otherwise, I won’t complete this task. All there is to worry about is watering plants. The benefit of having small and big tasks gives multiple things to do and helps not to worry about the big task so much. A huge plus “Stardew Valley” has is the fast-paced gameplay.

Now, there are a lot of other games similar to “Stardew Valley” yet I feel that Stardew reigns supreme over them all. The obvious game that had and still has popularity is “Animal Crossing New Horizons” or ACNH. ACNH is not a bad game, it has plenty of good aspects to it such as lots of decoration or customization options. There is a bigger catalog of crafting that “Stardew Valley '' doesn't have but there are lots of shortcomings to ACHN. The first problem is the characters/villagers. They are bland, their dialog has gotten worse over the years and there’s nothing more to them other than them being “pretty” or “cute”. With “Stardew Valley “the characters have their own background, their own story. They also have more interesting dialog and they have much more things they can do such as dating or even marrying the character. ACNH’s characters are just empty NCPs, nothing interesting to them and it feels like they have no point in being in the game other than for decoration. It leads the game to have a sandbox feel which isn’t wrong but it feels like something is missing from the story. Other games that have similarities to “Stardew Valley “are those such as “Minecraft” and “Terraria”. I personally have never played “Terraria” so I shouldn’t give my opinion on how it competes but I have played “Minecraft”. “Minecraft” is a wonderful game in its own respect and it definitely has a very strong fanbase like “Stardew Valley” but the thing that I don’t enjoy about “Minecraft” is the lack of storyline, games where there's full range are fun but after a while, it’s hard to know what to do next. The game also has only big goals, not smaller ones. The one huge plus to “Minecraft” is the fact there are online servers where people can play minigames with friends, that truly is the one thing “Stardew Valley'' is missing.

In the end, I love “Stardew Valley,” it is personally one of my favorite games with aspects I love. From the gameplay to the way it helps with anxiety, to how it is different from other mainstream games. It's just a well-crafted game. Now do I think everyone on the Earth is going to love this game with all their heart, no, this is all just my personal opinion and people are allowed to disagree or agree. I really do recommend “Stardew Valley'' if people are in a similar situation to mine. Where everything is falling in on itself and it feels like there's no escape out of the hole that's been created. I can happily say my mental health has gotten better since that embarrassing episode. I do still struggle sometimes but I have coping mechanisms that help me feel better. “Stardew Valley” will forever hold a special place in my heart but the one thing I will hate about the game is all the stupid bugs and the panic to get back home before 2 AM.