The question above is one that new and potential Stardew players ask frequently. The answer is no, as the game doesn’t have an end, where the credit rolls, followed by the large bold letters saying “THE END”. However, there is an end game in Stardew Valley, and again, its definition depends from player to player.
There is a story in Stardew Valley, a beautiful and charming story about escapism from a busy rat race into a magical valley. When you start a new game and create your farmer, you escape into the game. Freedom awaits you there, the freedom to explore beautiful landscapes, the freedom to sew your future, and the freedom to make new friends.
A game over screen or official ending would strip away that freedom from you, in some way or another. Maybe the game’s creator, Concerned Ape, saw it like that, or perhaps, not so that’s why “the ending” is not included. You can always escape to Stardew Valley and pick up where you left off. You can always seek shelter in your cabin.
So today I will explain Stardew’s endgame and talk about the in-game points that can be seen as indicators for a real ending.
Game’s Quests
There is plenty of quests to fulfill in Stardew Valley. There are simple ones from the bulletin board, and there are the ones that are must-do to progress through the game’s story.
First of all, there is Pelican’s Town Community Center which players must rebuild by donating certain items to it. There are specific objectives for NPCs. For example, Leo is a stranded child who grew up with parrots on Ginger Island. If the player befriends Leo, he will return to Stardew Valley.
The game is full of objectives, from big to small ones. However, none of them leads to the game’s ending.
Does Stardew Valley Have an End?
The answer is negative, but the game has a captivating narrative centered around the player’s character as a new farmer. It can be considered a distinct chapter in one’s life that can be concluded and enjoyed over, and over again. In addition to a multitude of exciting adventures, such as exploring various locations like the valley, mines, desert, skull cavern, ginger island, and volcano dungeon, there is also a tale of the farmer’s interactions with the different in-game characters, there is also a narrative that unfolds between the farmer and the various in-game characters.
As there is no end to the game, but as you know everything comes to an end, in one way or another, the endgame exists.
The Endgame
There are several requirements that the player needs to fulfill to reach the endgame. However, the player base is divided on the endgame because they have different views of it.
For example, some of them (including myself) believe that the endgame begins once you:
- Complete Community Center
- Complete the Missing Bundle
- Unlock Junimo huts
- Obtain the fast travel Obelisk
- Complete Qi’s quest
- Find all needed Walnuts on Giger Island
- Complete all Special Request
- Clear Volcano dungeon
- Bring Leo back
Although there are additional tasks to undertake and accomplish, they are not crucial to progressing to the endgame. As a result, there are numerous other opportunities to explore and pursue after satisfying the aforementioned requirements.
The other members of the player base believe that the endgame begins once you:
- Complete all of the already mentioned things
- Donate everything to the museum
- Maximize friendship with every in-game character
- Get every fish
- Obtain every rare animal
- Build every building (including rare fish ponds))
- Obtain every item
- Get all achievements
(As you can see, I miss some of the achievements)
If you manage to accomplish all the available tasks, it means that the only activities left for you are endless farming, spending time with friends, and beautifying your farm. However, as the show goes on and your story continues.
Now, it’s up to you to decide what’s the endgame, and that’s the beauty of it. Again even if you finish everything, you can continue playing, or start a new game and do things differently.
Stardew Valley and its Replayability and Endless Possibilities
Luckily for those who love this game (as much as I do), the replayability system is really good and well thought out. Plus, if you add multiplayer, the game’s replayability potential increases because everything I’ll include in the following lines can be multiplied by two. And if you decide to use mods after the first or more playthroughs, you can replay the game even more and enjoy it every time.
The Farm Type
The first decision that will impact your game is the type of farm you’ll choose. Each one of them pushes the player in a certain direction they can follow (if they won’t). There are eight types of farms:
- The Regular Farm with its focus on farming.
- The Riverland Farm with its focus on fishing.
- The Forest Farm with a focus on foraging.
- The Hill-top Farm with a focus on mining.
- The Wilderness Farm challenges you with combat
- The Four Corners Farm is perfect for multiplayer.
- The Beach Farm (a challenging one) pushes you towards fishing and foraging and takes farming away.
However, there are a lot of mods that bring new types of farms, but that’s a separate topic.
The Cave
This choice is a small one, but you can make a decision to grow mushrooms in your cave, or make a shelter for bats that will bring you fruits of which you can make different goods.
Professions
As you progress and advance your skills, you will be presented with various “profession” choices that can significantly affect your gameplay. For instance, as your farming skill increases, you’ll have the option to specialize in either crops or animals, and as you improve your mining skill to a certain level, you can opt to focus on earning more gems or ores. In total, there are 20 professions available, with four choices available for each skill.
Conclusion
Apart from the fact that the game does not have a conventional ending but rather an endgame, there isn’t much else to say besides that game can be played and enjoyed over and over again. With a variety of farm types, caves, professions, and more, there are endless possibilities for the Stardew Valley players to explore and enjoy.