“Turns out, planting parsnips is harder than portal physics.”

Stardew Valley has crushed out Portal 2 as Steam’s highest-rated sport, practically a decade after its preliminary launch.

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Eric Barone, higher recognized by his on-line alias ConcernedApe, created Stardew Valley solely on his personal as an indie sport. From code to artwork to music, each aspect got here from his palms. When the comfortable farming simulator launched in 2016, it received over followers with its charming visuals, heartfelt characters, and unexpectedly deep gameplay techniques.

Since then, Stardew Valley has turn out to be a contemporary basic. With constant updates, Barone added multiplayer, new crops, NPCs, and areas, all whereas holding the spirit of the unique sport intact. The title has maintained a particularly lively group, which probably helped push it previous a significant milestone this month.

As of July 2025, Stardew Valley now holds the highest spot on Steam’s user-rated charts, surpassing Valve’s beloved Portal 2. According to Steam250, which aggregates scores from consumer opinions, Stardew boasts a score of 8.87 throughout over 900K votes. Portal 2, by comparability, has a still-impressive 8.85 score from simply over 437K opinions.

That 0.02 distinction could sound small, however it’s sufficient to mark a shift in Steam’s historical past. Portal 2 had remained the top-rated sport on the platform for 14 years, ever since its 2011 launch.

Other video games rounding out the highest 10 embrace group darlings like Terraria, People Playground, and Left 4 Dead 2. The presence of Stardew Valley on the prime on Steam is especially spectacular provided that the Steam250 rating depends solely on participant opinions, making it a direct reflection of group sentiment.

A devoted fanbase, and what’s subsequent

Online, the response has been celebratory as social media and gaming boards are buzzing with appreciation. The Stardew Valley fandom continues to thrive, from an actively maintained Wiki to world live performance excursions celebrating its soundtrack.

“Stardew Valley just outscored Portal 2 on Steam. Farmers > Aperture Science engineers,” tweeted @CritHitCrusader. “Turns out, planting parsnips is harder than portal physics.🧑‍🌾🧑‍🌾”

Of course, not all online game gamers are proud of the information.

Meanwhile, gamers are nonetheless discovering new issues within the sport practically a decade after launch. That endurance speaks volumes about its high quality and emotional resonance.

Looking forward, followers looking forward to extra from ConcernedApe don’t have to attend too lengthy… form of. His subsequent sport, Haunted Chocolatier, was introduced in 2021 and remains to be in improvement. Described as extra combat-focused however equally uplifting, it guarantees to supply one thing new whereas preserving the magic of Stardew. However, since Barone is once more growing your complete sport solo, no launch date has been confirmed.

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