One of the internet’s most beloved cozy games, Stardew Valley, recently got a big update with lots of new content. Stardew Valley is an indie farming sim, although it’s so much more than just that. Over the years, it has steadily gotten updated with more and more content, and the most recent update (version 1.6) dropped this past March. This update had been greatly anticipated by the fandom, and I personally have loved every bit of it. Here are just a few of my favorite additions from the 1.6 update in no particular order: (some spoilers ahead!)
- Meadowlands Farm
When starting a new file of Stardew Valley, the player is able to choose from a number of different farm types. Each has a different layout, different perks, and emphasizes a certain aspect of the game (fishing, mining, foraging, etc). ConcernedApe, the creator of the game, introduced a new farm type with this most recent update: the Meadowlands Farm, which starts the player with a coop and two baby chickens.
Normally, it takes a little bit of time in-game to get a coop and chickens, so many players were surprised by this addition. Personally, I really like it. Each set of chicks has a cute name pairing (mine were Beans and Toast), and it makes the early game a little easier to get through. I’ve found that the earliest days of the game can be a little annoying at times. You run out of the energy points that are required to do different tasks very early in the day if you’re not careful, and money is so tight that it can make it hard to play the game as desired. I found the chickens solved this problem while still keeping the game challenging. Chickens don’t produce a ton of money on their own, and you still have to upgrade the coop to get the animals that are more profitable.
- The Prize Machine
Another addition to the game that I particularly loved was the prize machine located in Mayor Lewis’s house. Previously, you could complete tasks from the community bulletin board and expect nothing more than what was listed as the reward for completing the task, oftentimes friendship points and a little bit of money. Now, every three tasks you complete will give you a prize ticket that you can redeem at a special machine in Mayor Lewis’s house. Once you get the bigger community requests’ board in Fall of Year 1, every large request completed will also give you one prize ticket.
I love this addition. Sometimes the requests themselves aren’t enough motivation to actually complete them, especially if you don’t have the item requested already on hand. The prize machine added an extra level of interest and motivation to the bulletin board, and a lot of the prize items are very helpful in early/mid game.
- The Bookseller/New Books
This might just be my favorite part of the update, but maybe that’s just me being a book nerd! Although there were books for the town’s library in the game previously, the 1.6 update brought new books in as a way to gain new powers, get extra experience points in various aspects of the game, and much, much more.
Twice a season, the Bookseller will be in town. The Bookseller is a somewhat strange man who sets up shop behind the Joja Mart. You can buy books from him, as well as some books from other vendors across the game. Books can drop when you fight monsters, cut down trees, and more. Once you “read” these books and gain whatever power they might bestow, that power is also permanent. For example, the Bookseller sells one that will permanently increase your walking speed a little bit. I haven’t found all the books in the game yet, as not all of them are sold by the Bookseller, but I am very excited to do so!
- Winter Outfits
Prior to the 1.6 update, every NPC in the game wore the exact same outfit that they always did, day in and day out. Haley always wears her pink skirt and blue shirt, Emily wears her red dress, and so on. Most of these outfits do not look nearly warm enough for any winter. This is especially true for the town they live in, Pelican Town, where it snows nearly every day in the winter.
With the new update, however, the NPCs have gotten a second outfit in their closet, and I am so here for it. All of their new looks are cute in their own ways, but I particularly like Haley, Sebastian, Sam, and Marnie’s winter looks. I think it’s also a good way to show another side of the characters and their style choices, which helps deepen the game experience and the NPCs’ personalities.
There are many more changes that have been added, but I won’t talk about them here. I don’t want to spoil them for anyone, because it truly was such a joy to experience them without any clue what I was getting into! In my opinion, the 1.6 update was a massive success, bringing great new content to the game and deepening my already passionate love for one of (in my opinion) the best indie games ever made.
