Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist

“Video games need feminism just as much as feminism needs video games.”

“As we play things, we feel things, become things, and rethink things. There is nothing more feminist than this.”

Introduction

Stardew Valley is a well-known pixel RPG often referred to as a farm-life simulator, and is a game I hold very near and dear to my heart. The game was developed by a single creator, Eric Barone, who is often referred to as “ConcernedApe”. Barone found deep affection for the Harvest Moon series, but felt that it lacked something, inspiring him to begin Stardew Valley. Despite not knowing much about making video games at the time, after 4.5 years of solo-development in C#, art, music design, and narrative fiction, Stardew Valley 1.0 was released. Since the 1.3 update, others have since been involved in the project. The game was originally launched for PC, but has since been made compatible with Mac, Linux, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and is even available as a mobile game for android and iOS. According to the Wikipedia page, as of December 2024 there are over 41 million copies of the game sold. Despite appearing to be targeted toward younger adult players, Stardew Valley is well-known to have a fairly diverse fanbase, with many older players appreciating complex world building and plot points that involve mature themes like alcoholism, infidelity, and others. Generally, the game is intended to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone (10 years +) that wants to partake in life on the farm.

Playing as a feminist

Drawing from feminist theory in rebalancing a game requires a critical rethinking of the structures the game appears to uphold. Though I have played Stardew Valley for years, replaying with the intention of doing so from a feminist lens certainly felt like a different perspective. In “Play Like a Feminist” by Shira Chess, the author states that playing like a feminist involves constructing (and reconstructing) games to provide more “ins” for feminist players so that video games may be used to build an equality of leisure and play. Then, Chess views games as a ‘playground’ for creating a space of feminist leisure, where feminists can and should overwhelm the market with new consumers who demand change from the industry. With this in my mind, I attempted to play Stardew Valley with a central question in mind: What does reconstructing this game to create a feminist playground look like, if anything?

The player begins the game introduced to the premise that they are working a draining 9-5 office job for Joja Co., and as soon as hope is lost they read a letter from their late grandfather who reveals he has left a farm to the player when they are ready to leave their mundane life. The player then enters the valley, intending to start a life away from the stagnant office life and into the beauty of honest manual labor. As an RPG, Stardew Valley offers a variety of enriching experiences ranging from farming, mining, fishing, exploring, and building relationships. Featuring complex and deep storylines for the world and all of the characters that reside in it, players are easily immersed in the narrative and community of players. Through the story told through play, it appears that Stardew Valley attempts to make commentary on modern society. However, despite well-intended attempts to critique societal norms, Stardew Valley would benefit from a rebalance centered on feminist theory that alters the way it approaches the player’s gender, the player’s experience with romance, and critiques on capitalism.

Player Gender

Selected player gender does not play a significant role in play and is, for the most part, inconsequential to the player. Mechanics and general gameplay remain mostly the same; the noticeable differences in selected player gender are the body type of the farmer character, the pronouns used to refer to the player, and certain dialogue interactions between the players romantic partners and their in-laws. There are also a number of other small gameplay differences that will not be discussed, but are influenced by selected gender. Upon beginning a new save file, the player has character customization options, one of which is to select the player sex indicated by the standard biology sex symbols (circle above a cross for female, circle with diagonal outwards arrow for male; Figure 1). Then, players who select the female sex are referred to with she/her/hers pronouns throughout gameplay, and those who select male are referred to with he/him/his pronouns. The limited binary options for player to select their preferred sex fails to be inclusive to players who may be gender non-conforming, prefer different pronouns, or simply prefer to play with a different body type. This mechanic can be rebalanced to include symbols other than the biological sex symbols, allowing players to merely choose between “body type 1” and “body type 2”. Additionally, players can be offered the opportunity to select preferred pronouns for NPC interactions, or the game can be redesigned to have all pronouns or references to be gender-neutral. A rebalance with these mechanics allows for the inclusion of players who do not abide by the societal gender binary, and creates space where all players can immerse themselves in play by controlling a representation of who they are in gameplay.

Player Experience With Romance and Marriage

Stardew Valley implements limited mechanics for a player to engage romantically with NPCs — which is not necessarily a downfall of the game since it isn’t advertised as a dating simulator, but it does not leave space for engaging in untraditional forms of romance. Relationships in Stardew Valley are almost purely transactional, as a player reaches their maximum relationship level (8 to 10 ‘hearts’) with NPCs primarily through gift-giving, and speaking once per day. Once a player reaches a maximum heart level with an NPC, they retain this relationship even if they never speak to them again — whereas prior to reaching this status, failing to interact with NPCs causes their heart level to drop. While I felt this wasn’t a huge pitfall of the gameplay, it may inadvertently perpetuate ideas about transactional relationships, a concept that seems harmful to feminist play.

Primarily, I feel that the limitations in player experiences with romance stem from dialogue changes between characters, and marriage, with the latter being most significant. In the former case, there are some changes to experienced dialogues that are dependent on player gender and who the player chooses to romance. With this in mind, Stardew Valley does allow for “romance-able” NPCs of any gender to be pursued by the player, and a player can choose to date multiple NPCs at once — making it possible for the player to hypothetically be in a relationship with all 12 bachelors and bachelorettes simultaneously. However, once you marry an NPC in-game, all of your relationships will be converted to the ‘single’ status, though you can choose to romance them while married to reach 10 hearts (Figure 2).

If the player chooses to play as a male character and pursue an NPC named Alex, Alex’s father George will make off-hand comments that can be viewed as homophobic, but upon marrying Alex George makes a comment to the player about how his ‘views have changed’ — implying he became accepting of a relationship between the player and his son. Additionally, when playing as a female character and pursuing a relationship with Abigail, the player receives a cutscene where she says, “I didn’t know I felt this way about other girls… until I met you.” (Figure 3)

These dialogue options can, arguably, add immersion to the game as same-sex relationships are explicitly acknowledged and perceived slightly differently — paralleling some players’ real-world experiences. Some players may appreciate that same-sex relationships appear to have an element of nuance and that other NPCs are able to experience some sort of character development in terms of ‘accepting’ these kinds of relationships. However, other players may find these interactions hurtful and uncomfortable, particularly interactions where George is openly against same-sex relationships with his son. A rebalance of the game with these elements in mind may consider the benefits and drawbacks of including these experiences, and whether it is important to the storyline of the game.

The primary drawback in player experience with romance is arguably the player’s experience with marriage. Upon getting married, the player’s spouse becomes a stay-at-home caretaker for the player and any children they may have, reinforcing cultural norms of post-war traditional family structures. Spouses that had dreams of leaving Pelican Town (setting of Stardew Valley) become tied down to the farmer, performing mundane tasks like watering plants or foraging for items, and for the most part stay inside the home. As the player progresses their relationship with their spouse, their spouse will eventually ask about having or adopting children. If the player is a female married to a male, the player will become pregnant for 14 in-game days (but won’t behave or appear any different), and in all other relationship types the player and their spouse will adopt a child.

Stardew Valley does offer a roommate option for players who do not wish to get married, where they reach maximum hearts with an NPC named Krobus and can invite them to move in. However, a player cannot adopt or have children with Krobus — though, Krobus will take care of any children that remain from a previous marriage if they move in after the player has had them with another NPC (Krobus is not the step-shadow monster, they are the shadow monster that stepped up).

A rebalancing of Stardew Valley might consider the roles of spouses in the games, and how to derive away from traditional views of family structures involving a working spouse and a domestic caretaking spouse. Perhaps NPCs may be able to continue with much of their pre-marriage daily schedules, engage in their old hobbies, or spending significant time out the home.

Critiques on Capitalism

As the character escapes the mundane, stagnant workplace and ventures to their new farm, the player is left with a sense of hope and freedom. However, despite the game’s introduction being a hopeful statement about leaving a 9-5 desk job in favor of life on a farm, Stardew Valley maintains a position of a game that forces the player to engage in capitalism. In reimagining the “cozy game” atmosphere to allow for economic autonomy, Stardew Valley may benefit from a rebalance that allows players to choose alternative forms of progressing through the game. 

The primary objective of the player in Stardew Valley is to restore the community center, a building in Pelican Town that has been abandoned but once served as an integral part of the community. The player then unlocks a series of objectives that will allow them to slowly restore the center, room by room. Restoring these rooms will unlock a number of “upgrades” to Pelican Town, including access to mining carts, the bus station, and parts of Pelican Town. However, if the player chooses, they may choose to have the community center be bought out by JojaMart, turning the center into a warehouse. These choices are often coined by the community as a “Standard” or “CC run”, and can be thought of as a form of player ‘agency’ as discussed in Chess’ “Play Like a Feminist” as players have the opportunity to take a stance against corporate greed by refusing Joja’s advances.

However, players and critics often fail to acknowledge that Joja is not the only model of capitalism and wealth inequality that exists within the game. The following is a list of models throughout the game that resemble the disparities that exist in modern day capitalism, and an argument for an in-game rebalance based on each model.

1. Focus on Wealth Accumulation

Stardew Valley, despite being a “cozy” farming simulator, is a game about maximizing profits and earnings. The primarily mechanics of the game itself rely on accumulating wealth (through selling crops, animal goods, fish, etc.), reinvesting in capital (upgrading tools, buildings for farm animals, etc.), and optimizing production for efficiency (fertilizers to make crops grow faster, sprinklers to avoid manual watering, “auto-petters” that improve the moods of animals without interacting with them, etc.). These characteristics heavily resemble capitalistic principles, of focusing one’s work solely on maximizing profits the most efficiently. Though this model is part of what defines Stardew Valley mechanically, it can be rebalanced by implementing features that allow NPC characters to work cooperatively with the farmer, allowing broader access to resources and avoiding the monopolization of certain products. For example, a community garden that allows residents of Pelican Town to come together to plant and harvest crops, and care for farm animals, where characters may “take resources” as needed and contribute to the larger community. Another option may be to implement a barter-like system between the farmer and NPCs that can allow the farmer to attain goods through trading services or resources, as opposed to purchasing everything from a store. 

2. Private Wealth 

The only players that receive monetary funds in the game are the farmer and store owners. The game itself appears to promote the goal of attaining millions of dollars as the farmer, primarily seen through the necessary acquisition of the “Golden Clock” to reach “perfection” in the game (complete a list of goals set by the game necessary to unlock the ‘ending’ cutscene). The Golden Clock costs the player 10 million gold, an incredibly hefty amount, even in the game currency. While the player can continue to accumulate wealth long after attaining the game’s objectives, there is no way to invest this wealth back into the community – of course with the exception of paying for the town upgrades if the player chooses the Joja Route. NPC characters continue to live their adulthood under their parents’ roofs despite big dreams of saving to move to a new city, while others struggle with financial acquisition and stability (Figure 5), and Pelican Town remains unchanged after the completion of the community center upgrades. A rebalance of the game may add in ways for the player to reinvest in the community, through providing broader access to housing or jobs, or even integrating systems within the game that allow the town to run on mutual aid as opposed to the market economy. 

3. Lack of Class Mobility

As mentioned, NPC characters are unable to escape their financial insecurities and lower socio-economic status on their own, as the only way to do so is to marry the farmer and become a stay-at-home spouse on their farm adjacent to the valley. If the game were to incorporate a rebalance that focused on mutual aid and community rebuilding, it may also provide the opportunity for NPC characters to indulge in the economic growth that the farmer experiences alone. One example of this is seen for an NPC character Pam in game. Pam is a severe alcoholic, who became increasingly more reliant on alcohol after losing her job at the bus station after it went out of business. After the farmer restores the Vault Room in the community center by paying a total of 42,500 g (the only room that requires money to fix), the bus stop is restored and Pam regains her job, which keeps her busier and less depressed and causes her to drink slightly less (Figure 6). Introducing additional opportunities for other NPC’s to gain jobs, move out of their parents home, or find broader purpose in the community may allow for a gameplay experience centered around true community building, as opposed to the farmer being the only one who may climb the socioeconomic ladder.

By implementing features that promote community effort, mutual aid, and mobility, Stardew Valley can rid itself of the capitalist undertones that dominate gameplay and take away from the cozy, community rich atmosphere the game provides. Targeting models of capitalism and exchanging them in favor of models that amplify community and cooperation may incorporate humanistic principles that distinguish the game from other like simulations, and promote a unique stance on how to work against the inequities perpetuated by modern day capitalism.

Though Stardew Valley successfully incorporates a number of storylines and mechanics that draw from feminist theory, there still remains much potential for rebalancing to make the game fun and accessible for all players to enjoy!