Stardew Valley is now available on Nintendo Switch

Get excited Switch owners, because Stardew Valley is now live on the Nintendo eShop. Of course, a bunch of different indie games go live on the Switch eShop each and every week – what makes Stardew Valley so special? Well, for starters, it was one of SlashGear's best games of 2016.

Nintendo fans are right to be excited for Stardew Valley, as it took the Steam charts by storm when it released last year. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Stardew Valley can perhaps best be described as a spiritual successor to the first Harvest Moon game. On the surface, Stardew Valley might seem like another farming simulator, but spend some time with it and it becomes clear that it's a lot more than that.

Don't misunderstand – farming is a huge aspect of the game, but so is building relationships with the residents of Stardew Valley. Each resident has their own likes and dislikes, along with their own desires and goals. Getting to know them on a deeper level than that of an acquaintance takes time, and it's just one of the things that makes Stardew Valley so compelling.

Though many who will buy Stardew Valley today have likely already played it on other platforms, the Switch version will have a couple advantages over the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions. This will be the first time Stardew Valley is available on a portable platform, which will probably be its biggest draw. The Switch version will also be the first console to get Stardew Valley's incoming multiplayer mode, which is scheduled to launch on PC first sometime next year.

If you haven't played Stardew Valley yet and you own a Switch, this is a great opportunity to see what all of the fuss is about. The game is appearing on the eShop for me, so if you're in the US, it should be available for you as well. At $15, it's priced perfectly as an impulse buy, and believe me when I say it's worth every penny of its asking price.