ConcernedApe's Stardew Valley turned out to be a huge seller, the likes of which most people didn't expect. A lot of people actually have been craving a game that hearkened back to the days of Harvest Moon on the SNES. The game's strong sales didn't stop the developer from updating it and adding in new content, though. The farming simulator is getting a much requested update featuring the ability to play through the game with several friends via a multiplayer mode, which is set to go live this summer.
Gamespot is reporting that starting August 1st you'll be able to start a farm or continue your farm with three other players. The mode has been in development for a while on PC, but the only way to participate was to join in on the beta. There are some obvious pros and cons, given that while you can get in on the multiplayer mode early, you are at the mercy of bugs and glitches that are very common with beta testing. There's also the risk of having your saved game corrupted if anything goes wrong.
But it's thanks to those brave beta testers that the multiplayer mode for Stardew Valley has been able to develop in such as a timely manner.
The core of the experience will allow you to invite up to three other people to join in on your farm. You'll have to design rooms for the other players. More specifically you'll have to design cabins for each of the other players to live in, and this will enable you to invite them into your session.
Once you build the cabins you can save the game, head back to the main menu and start a co-op game. You'll be able to host or join a game either by inviting friends or by setting up a private room for specific players.
In a way the multiplayer makes the game a lot easier given that you can have three of your friends help you out with mining, fighting monsters in the caves, and planting and collecting the harvest.
But it's not just the standard Stardew Valley experience that has been expanded. You'll also be able to utilize new chatbox features and emojis. Certain interactive features such as marriage and divorce have been added, along with the ability to craft rings for the big engagement.
The multiplayer mode obviously poses a new problem for most Stardew Valley fans: it's going to get a bit too easy.
No worries, though. Much like Terraria and Starbound before it, you'll be able to adjust the difficulty so that the game will be able to appeal to both casual and hardcore gaming audiences when the multiplayer goes live in August.
Unfortunately, the multiplayer update will only be available for the PC version of Stardew Valley. The console versions of the game have so far not received any word yet on if the multiplayer update will arrive for them as well. Hopefully, if things go over well on the PC side, we'll see the PS4 and Xbox One versions, along with the Nintendo Switch, receiving the update, too.
