And same-sex romance - much less same-sex domesticity - is already scarce in media of all kinds. Players take on straight male personas by rote in blowout franchises like Halo, Zelda, Grand Theft Auto and Mario. Though inclusive romance has increasingly become an option in open-ended, role-playing games like Stardew Valley, it is rarely the default in video games. These people all seem to live in a universe sans Gmail, Zoom or masks, their rents paid by birdsong and dried lavender. I cope with stir craziness by watching TikToks of mushroom foragers, expert hikers and cottagecore lesbians. On Thursdays, I wake up excited to water my houseplants. My most productive days involve a move from Office A (the desk in my bedroom) to Office B (my coffee table). In real life, I’m a single lesbian in Brooklyn trudging through my second year working from home. Now I’m pretty sure I can only get it from a computer game. I grew up thinking any adult could easily have access to the simple life. The game’s wholesomeness is universally appealing, but its particular blend of same-sex romance options, anti-corporate sentiment and pastoral Zen makes it even more tailored to escapists like me - gay millennial urbanites stuck in an endless pandemic slog. There, they manage their farms while honing skills, completing quests and, if the player desires, romancing an eligible villager. Players create their own farmer avatars, who then leave the city for Stardew Valley. Since its debut, Stardew Valley has been lauded for its relaxing, immersive gameplay, a Harvest Moon-inspired simulator sure to delight lovers of Animal Crossing. Thanks to the popularity of the Nintendo Switch and a massive game update released in December, it recently sold its 10 millionth copy. In the pandemic, Stardew Valley fever is back with a vengeance. The simulation role-playing game quickly became a hit. In February 2016, Eric Barone, known online by his alias ConcernedApe, released Stardew Valley for PC. That’s not the plot of a new gay Hallmark movie - it’s the story of my pixelated alter ego in the video game Stardew Valley.

Fed up with his soulless corporate job, a young man moves to the farm he inherited from his grandfather, where he joins a quaint community and meets his future husband.

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