By EMILY PAOLICELLI
Arts Editor
The creator of farming simulator “Stardew Valley,” Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, recently announced on the game’s website that the much-anticipated Android version of the game is available for pre-registration on Google Play. As of Feb. 14, 2019, it is possible to pre-register for a notification to be delivered to you when the game is available to download onto your Android devices.
The Android version won’t be the first release of a mobile “Stardew Valley.” An iOS version of the game was published to the App Store on Oct. 24, 2018. The mobile version of the game, both iOS and Android, is said to include all features of the full game as well as some new mobile-specific features, such as auto-save, auto-select, auto-attack, and zoom capabilities to make gameplay on a smaller platform easier to navigate with what we can assume will be more casual, on-the-go play time and more limited dexterity due to a lack of a keyboard or controllers to help out. There will also be the option to transfer an existing save file from another platform to the mobile version so that players can pick up right where they left off if they so choose and don’t have to start from scratch.
The act of shrinking a full-sized game to a mobile platform while not only keeping all features, but adding some more, seems awfully ambitious. However, Barone and “Stardew Valley” publisher Chucklefish seem to have pulled it off. With a 4.4 star rating on the App Store at the time of publication, the reception of the mobile version of the game almost matches that of the full version. Many App Store reviews of the game only cite minor flaws, with nitpicky phrasing that implies that the mobile game is near-perfect. These overwhelmingly positive reviews indicate that the mobile version has been executed well, especially considering the feat of downsizing such a substantial game to fit and run well on mobile platforms.
Due to the intricacy of the desktop version, it’s difficult for me to imagine how all the features of the full version will fit on such small screens without appearing shrunken, cramped, or relying on constant zooming and scrolling for the graphics to be a comfortable size. Based on the reception of the iOS version, however, I have no doubts that the game will impress nonetheless. I’m no game designer, but I can imagine that it must be quite a feat to not only fit the full version of a game onto a much smaller platform, but to fit it well. “Stardew Valley” has previously been released on most major gaming platforms including the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Playstation 4, and runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems.
Regardless, I am excited for the opportunity to play one of my favorite games on a much more accessible platform. It will be much more convenient, although likely detrimental to my social life and academic success, to be able to visit my full-sized virtual farm on my cell phone as I please, rather than having to dedicate a chunk out of my day to play on my bulky laptop. I can only hope that the mobile experience is as spellbinding as the desktop experience; judging by current reviews, I expect that it will be.
“Stardew Valley” for Android will cost $7.99 on Google Play, priced the same as its iOS counterpart. While there is no official release date for the Android game, fans should take pre-registration as a good sign that the wait will not be much longer.
