Like in many farming simulators, including ones that inspired Stardew Valley such as the old Harvest Moon games, players much take over a farm passed down to them by an old relative, all while working toward a set of goals. In Stardew Valley, this comes in the form of the Community Center as well as Grandpa’s evaluation. Grandpa’s Shrine will have a note left behind asking the player to visit at the beginning of their third year. At this time, Grandpa will evaluate the player’s success, and the candles around the shrine will light to signify how many points they’ve earned, which correlate with milestones reached.
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Grandpa’s Scoring System
At the end of two years in Stardew Valley, it’s expected that the player will have reached several milestones, and is likely quite successful. This includes their total earnings, levels in various skills, friendship levels and marriage, and completing the Community Center.
Total earnings grow over a single playthrough of Stardew Valley by shipping items in the shipping box, and cumulative points are earned based on how high the total earnings are at the time of evaluation. For example, a total of 50,000 gold will earn the player one point, while one million gold will earn the player a total of seven points. As far as skills go, having 30 levels (with unspecific assignments) in any skills will grant the player one point, and having level 10 in all skills will grant the player another point.
Marriage in farming simulators like Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon is a big draw for the games. Likewise, marriage with both house upgrades will grant a point toward Grandpa’s evaluation. Friendship levels with various villagers and the player’s pet will also grant points.
A perfect score from Grandpa’s evaluation means having a total of 12 points or higher, and results in all four candles lit outside of Grandpa’s Shrine. In return, players can get the Statue of Perfection, which grants two to eight iridium ore per day by interacting with it.
Visiting Grandpa’s Shrine at a Later Date
Don’t fret if these milestones haven’t been reached by the end of Year 2; part of Eric Barone’s design for Stardew Valley was to let the player continue raising their farm after the first two years, unlike some old Harvest Moon games. Players can have Grandpa re-evaluate their farm later on and receive a higher score by placing a diamond in front of it.
Stardew Valley is available on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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