Fishing in Stardew Valley is one of the most notoriously annoying parts of the game. It’s difficult and finicky and hard to master. But with a little help from a literary icon, Polygon’s Simone de Rochefort learned to love this obnoxious mechanic. In examining the fishing mechanics in other games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Dredge, and Moonglow Bay, we can see how fishing in video games mirrors the emotions and actions that Ernest Hemingway depicts in his many, many stories about fishing.
0:00 Fishing in Stardew Valley sucks
0:50 Introducing Ernest Hemingway
1:55 The taxonomy of fishing games
2:51 Fishing in Hemingway’s stories
4:47 Fishing in Moonglow Bay
6:14 Fishing in Dredge
7:03 Learning to fish in Stardew Valley
9:13 Appreciating frustrating things
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20 Comments
stardew valley's fishing minigame is terrible the same way that your first ever cup of black coffee is terrible. it sucks at first, but when you build a tolerance to it, you develop an unearned sense of superiority over the people who hate it and begin insisting that actually it's the best thing ever.
anyway, stardew valley's fishing is the best fishing minigame ever.
It took 50 seconds to bring up Hemingway…Simone's videos are like my safe space: Welcoming, reliable, vibemaxxed to the high heavens.
I liked it from the get go
I love fishing in videogames, unless the whole things of the game is fishing 😂 my friends always joke that I will play anything, if you can fish there
Idk, it's really relaxing to me and Stardew Valleys Fishing minigame is one of my favorites, because it feels like your actually doing something! I love Roots Of Patcha's minigame as well because it feels so ancient and Unique!
Just sitting there, listening to the ost, it's raining outside, going fishing in games… I simply love it
i wasnt gonna click on this video but my mouse hovered over the thumbnail and i saw simone's hair
I bought Stardew valley only for the fishing minigame, but over time I learned to enjoy the rest of the game.
this video literally made me came back to Polygon, i laughed so hard simone is amazing
Secret Hemingway video hahaha love it
I’m disabled, so no matter what happens I will always hate fishing in Stardew 🙁
Winter 2016 was also when I was completely addicted to Stardew. Good times
The real character growth is Simone trash-talking Hemingway, instead of herself for reading Hemingway.
Great video production
we have been waiting for a Hemingway video
Love Simone making Hemingway part of her brand much like he made fishing his.
I tend to live fishing in games if the mechanic is easy to succeed at with some room to do better.
But if it's too complicated and hard I'll never return to it… I really liked moonglow bay…. But i think my game bugged out near the end…. And it's not on game pass anymore…
Would like to play more games like it.
Simone's dedication to incorporating the Lost Generation into everything she does is sincere goals. I always wonder how she's going to do it and am never disappointed.
I also bounced off Hemingway the first time I read him, but later I found I had a much easier time getting into his short stories first. I guess that’s like my fishing trash!
I love stardew but i dont actually care about the farmihg. Im only there to mine and fish
I like fishing because you only need one hand🍺
Simone looks SO GOOD and this is also a fantastic video