Title now shows as "In 8 years, Stardew Valley never lost sight of its core philosophy" for me.
People don't really like to read the articles before commenting, huh.
Knowing Stardew was such a beloved game, I knew I had to get context before judging the author because it could be read both ways.
People who assume games not changing = criticism are telling us more about their own uncharitable view of others than anything else.
EDIT: That said, if I were to offer criticism, I feel like the author gives too much credit to Stardew as though it invented or pioneered the tight gameplay loop: perhaps at least some mention could have been made to Harvest Moon, the game from which Stardew borrows - and perfects - most of its major systems.
Also to be fair, it doesn't go anywhere with that thought that Stardew hasn't changed. Felt a little low-effort, like a retrospective on Stardew that just basically listed what people liked about it.
I did read it, and I did notice that the title was editorialized a bit here, and I think that's immaterial to my main point. The article is basically "sun found to rise once again after 8 years". As you mentioned yourself, it really doesn't go anywhere with the idea.
Title now shows as "In 8 years, Stardew Valley never lost sight of its core philosophy" for me.
People don't really like to read the articles before commenting, huh.
Knowing Stardew was such a beloved game, I knew I had to get context before judging the author because it could be read both ways.
People who assume games not changing = criticism are telling us more about their own uncharitable view of others than anything else.
EDIT: That said, if I were to offer criticism, I feel like the author gives too much credit to Stardew as though it invented or pioneered the tight gameplay loop: perhaps at least some mention could have been made to Harvest Moon, the game from which Stardew borrows - and perfects - most of its major systems.
Also to be fair, it doesn't go anywhere with that thought that Stardew hasn't changed. Felt a little low-effort, like a retrospective on Stardew that just basically listed what people liked about it.
I did read it, and I did notice that the title was editorialized a bit here, and I think that's immaterial to my main point. The article is basically "sun found to rise once again after 8 years". As you mentioned yourself, it really doesn't go anywhere with the idea.