Quality of life is the reason people play Stardew Valley alone. The relaxation and ease of stress you feel when farming away is second to none. But there is always room for upgrades and nothing stops the modding community from trying. With the right set up in your files, you can have every Stardew Valley mod you want.
These mods are universally used by all Stardew Valley players so that each day and each season you know exactly what you need to do and where you need to go. Without certain information or quality of life upgrades, you can find yourself wasting whole days or even whole seasons trying to find out where villagers are or by using up all your energy on one task.
A Map Recolor
The pixelated graphics of Stardew Valley are part of its charm, but the color palette really screams in your face. It can appear way too yellow and vibrant when you may want calmer colors for a calmer time. There are many different map recolors to either adhere to specific aesthetics or to just make everything look more realistic in shade.
Below are a few recolors that make the grass and dirt more brown than yellow, with the last one being more pastel based. With enough searching, you can also find map recolors that make the town look gothic as well, if that's your cup of tea.
NPC Information
One of the most annoying little parts of playing this game is not knowing where anyone is. If you want to marry someone or at least become good friends, you have to gift them every week and it can be hard to gift them at all when you have no clue where they are. Most players have learned to remember everyone's schedules and where to find them, but why do that when you can get a mod to do it for you?
The top mods that will give you crucial information about NPCs are listed below. With these, you can see the icons of everyone at all times on the map and what each villager wants as a gift. Consequently, you won't waste time running around town and you won't make anyone upset by giving them the wrong gift.
Villager Outfits
This mod makes the game more immersive. Each NPC has a set outfit that won't change much or match the weather at all. With these mods, the villagers all have specialized seasonal and event outfits for rainy days and weddings alike. You can also find outfit mods to change the aesthetic of characters, like making them gothic or more stylish in general.
Grass Re-textures
Weeds are annoying no matter what game you are playing. They overgrow and make everything look ugly, even in real life. But like in real life, some natural weeds have petals and cute flowers that aren't so bad to look at. In fact, they can add a lot of character to your unique little farm.
These mods make grass paths and weeds look more magical and pleasing to the eye. They can turn your farm into a fairy wonderland or into a more natural state of affairs where the petals change per season and don't put a damper on anything. With these grass mods you'll never want to feed hay to your animals again, 'less you ruin the beautiful foliage.
Tractor Mod
Once you are past the initial beginner stages of owning a farm and have all the time in the world to knock down every bean stock and rock, you'll wish you had a machine to do it for you. This is a great quality of life mod that installs a tractor.
The tractor harvests crops for you and removes twigs and stones in your path. All you have to do is drive over it! The materials and coin it takes to buy and build the tractor garage are very down-the-line in your farm and game progress, so you won't be able to use it until you're farm and mining is more experienced. The good thing about this is that's when you'll want the tractor the most.
UI Re-color
Just like the rest of the textures and map in Stardew Valley, the UI is also bright and yellow. Whether you want to change everything to an aesthetic that fits you or just prefer a less ugly color than bright yellow-orange, there's a mod out there for you.
There are various UI mods that change the color and saturation of your menu and inventory screens. It's a small change, but it's a change that adds to the personalization of your Stardew Valley experience.
- Vintage Interface V2
- Dark Interface
- Starry Sky Interface (Cute Pastel Magical Girl Palette)
- Fabric Interface
Building Re-textures
Most recolor mods won't actually touch the buildings. And the buildings are a bit too saturated as well. Apart from color, you may also want your farm buildings to match a theme or look more realistic to a farm life you have in mind. There are mods to give your farm buildings a Japanese touch, a fairy garden touch, or just a more modern touch.
Each Stardew Valley farm is different in its own way because players get to name their farms and choose a biome type. Mods like these take that to another level, ensuring your farm is your very own getaway that is unlike any other.
- Overgrown Fairy Buildings
- Seasonal Japanese Buildings
- Seasonal Witchy-Gothic Buildings
- Elle's Seasonal Buildings