Here's my hot take: Stardew Valley as a game is overrated (Rune Factory 4 is, I think, a more fun game — the gameplay feels better, the combat is deeper, the townspeople are more charming) but I love it for existing. I liked-but-not-loved the game enough to play through towards near-endgame (I skipped out on a lot of the collect-a-thon stuff, for instance, but felt like I had seen a lot of what the game had to offer), but I love that Some Guy cared enough about this once-dead genre to sweat over a deep, thorough love letter to it and was rewarded for his efforts by becoming an incredible, raging success and inspiring a legion of competitors and imitators.

★★★