Stardew Valley, the hit indie Harvest Moon-esque game that was released on the Nintendo Switch recently, will add multiplayer features down the road — a first for the title. But how long do players have to wait?
Well, it turns out they might not have to wait too long. ConcernedApe, developer of Stardew Valley, has teased on Twitter how the multiplayer features are coming along. Good news: it's coming along quite smoothly.
Stardew Valley LAN Party
The developer actually hosted a four-player Stardew Valley LAN party at his own house, and said the experience was "really fun."
"It still needs some work, but the underlying network code is solid," he tweeted. "Being in the same room and yelling at each other about what to do next, or if anyone has any stone, is great fun. Can't wait to share this."
The addition of a LAN party in the game is quite big news. For a long time, it's been assumed that Stardew Valley's multiplayer mode will only focus on online play, but as ConcernedApe teased, local play will also be included.
However, keep in mind that the developer said he hosted a LAN party. That means if LAN-based local multiplayer is indeed on the cards, each player would have to bring their own computer and copy of Stardew Valley to be able to participate. This makes sense considering that a scenario in which four players huddle up together in one screen would probably be cumbersome and not that enjoyable.
Still, it's a pity since consoles, especially the Switch, is able to support local multiplayer on a single screen with just one console. But again, it makes quite a lot of sense. Stardew Valley isn't a fast-paced, action-packed game by any means, and part of its charm and appeal is getting to see its gorgeous pixel art in full view. Chopping sceneries to accommodate different player windows would probably truncate the fun of the game.
New Single-Player Content Coming To 'Stardew Valley'
The developer of the game is aiming for a beta release in the first quarter of 2018. The beta test was supposed to arrive last year, but it was delayed for some reason. Those who don't care much for multiplayer shouldn't frown, however: the developer is apparently also working on new single-player content, which will arrive alongside multiplayer features.
Stardew Valley is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Linux, and the Nintendo Switch. It's also coming to PlayStation Vita sometime this year.
