Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar taught me that farming simulators don't need to comply with the identical routine to be simply as enjoyable as Stardew Valley this yr
Private Decide
Along with our essential Recreation of the Yr Awards 2025, every member of the PC Gamer group is shining a highlight on a sport they cherished this yr. We’ll put up new private picks every day all through the remainder of the month. Yow will discover all of them right here.
It takes so much for a farming simulator to essentially impress me nowadays—I am positive most avid cozy avid gamers will sympathise with me once I say that. Stardew Valley has had an enduring influence on me, not to mention the comfortable gaming area normally, and discovering one thing that actually lives as much as the thrill of venturing into Pelican City for the primary time is turning into increasingly more difficult.
I’ve all the time preferred Story of Seasons video games, particularly once I was youthful. However the remakes from the previous couple of years, like Associates of Mineral City and Pioneers of Olive City, have a slight jank to their look and I can not lie, they really feel somewhat clunky to sit down and play by means of.
Because of this, I have not managed to discover a dwelling in them like I did in Stardew Valley, which compelled my hand into casting them apart and heading again into the acquainted, easy expertise I already knew fairly than sticking it out. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar strays from the pack nevertheless, and would not current any of those clunky mechanics I’ve seen in earlier remakes.
Though it is acquired the identical aesthetic as earlier video games, it is visually extra spectacular, too. Characters really feel developed and fleshed out, with participating dialogue that will help you really feel related to the city. Additionally they have completely completely different preferences and items, which sure, does make pursuing any marriage candidates barely more difficult, nevertheless it actually helps to make the sport really feel contemporary fairly than simply regurgitating the data I had already memorised from the primary launch in 2008.
The truth is, it is the primary farming simulator I’ve performed since Stardew Valley the place I’ve turn into obsessive about realizing the on-goings within the city, particularly all of the small-town gossip that Zephyr City thrives on. The way in which Grand Bazaar sinks its hooks into you and pulls you into its world is what made it such a memorable expertise this yr.
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These interactions are inspired by the fixed stream of in-game occasions the sport hosts, too. Every season you will get to take part in issues similar to a pet present, Honey Day, and a competition, tasking you with gifting as many flowers as you’ll be able to.
It is principally a method to get you extra aware of the townsfolk and develop your relationships, nevertheless it’s additionally a unbelievable alternative to let your aggressive aspect present. In any case, who would not love bringing dwelling a gold trophy? Every award you earn will get displayed in your farmhouse too, so that you form of need to gun for gold.
However even the hours you spend doing your personal factor by no means get tedious. It is laborious to get tired of farming as you’ve got acquired a lot to do, whether or not that is taking your supplies to windmills all through Zephyr City, tending to your livestock, or these basic farming sim options like fishing, mining, or foraging.
Specifically, with the ability to run round and catch bugs with my naked fingers was a spotlight, solely as a result of it scratches the Animal Crossing itch and is not one thing even a farming simulator as fashionable as Stardew Valley options. Actually, extra video games must allow you to exit and turn into feral whereas looking down cicadas.
Having the purpose of a profitable bazaar on the finish of the week actually helps to maintain you in your toes too, and I fully underestimated the facility of getting one single process to information you in a farming simulator the place you are normally so unbiased. I took a lot pleasure in ensuring I made essentially the most cash as I presumably might every week it was virtually embarrassing.
It was effectively well worth the effort although, as levelling up your bazaar rank feels genuinely rewarding alongside the cash you usher in. Plus, it is a extra participating method to earn cash in comparison with the normal routine of shoving no matter you’ve got harvested right into a field, just for it to be mysteriously exchanged for gold cash in a single day.
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar actually confirmed me that farming simulators nonetheless have a number of life in them but, particularly after enjoying and being so disillusioned by so many. After having such a historical past with Story of Seasons remakes and never feeling significantly strongly about them, I am thrilled that one has lastly come alongside and blown me away. I’ve acquired a whole bunch of hours to place into Grand Bazaar earlier than it begins to really feel stale but, and I can not wait to spend 2026 convincing all my fellow farming lovers to do the identical.