Stardew Valley

Two character selection screens, one with a masc looking person and one with a femme looking person.
  • Developer: ConcernedApe
  • Publisher: Chucklefish Games
  • Year: 2016
  • Genre: Simulation
  • Platform/s: PC

I could talk all day about representation in Stardew Valley. In fact, I already have. This game makes some fantastic choices in terms of representation and also some not-so-perfect ones. Positives include being able to date and marry any of the non-married residents of Stardew Valley, regardless of your or their gender, as well as being able to dress in whatever clothing strikes your fancy regardless of gender. Imperfections include binary genders in the character creation screen and the heternormative pre-existing relationships in town.

One of few aspects of the game influenced by binary gender selection is the spa, which forces you to go into a men's or women's locker room. Gender selection also influences the shape of the player-character's boots and the gender language in dialogue, such as "farmer boy" or "farmer girl".

A gender ambiguous person standing in front of a door marked with a W. Another door marked with an M. Text reads 'That's the women's locker room. You can't go in there.'.
Two people standing on a beach talking. Dialogue reads 'You want to get more serious? I feel the same way.'
A gender ambiguous person rowing a boat in an ocean.
Two gender ambiguous people standing under an archway with a crowd of people gathered around. Dialogue reads 'As the mayor of pelican town and regional bearer of matrimonial soil, I now pronounce you husband and.... well, husband.'