Stardew Valley is a fantastic game that players of farming sims have completely fallen in love with. The game's innovative gameplay and deep character development have drawn gamers for years, helping the game become one of the most well-known titles out there.
It's no surprise that the modding community took an interest in the game, and have developed their own expansions that flesh out their favorite characters. Below, you can take a look at story-enhancing mods that are worth trying out.
Updated March 14, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: We've added even more mods to this list, giving you plenty of story-based content. Additionally, we've removed a few entries that are no longer compatible with the most recent version of Stardew Valley.
15 Ghost Town
Ghost Town takes the cheerful world of Stardew Valley and turns in into a literal graveyard. The mod makes the town look much bleaker, and places the remains of villagers around town. You play as the only living person in town, and it seems that no one else knows that they are dead, which is strange since they should be able to see right through each other.
If you want to change the tone of the whole game and have always wanted to marry a ghost, then this is a mod you should try out.
14 Sebastian Expansion
Sebastian is one of, if not the most popular bachelor in the game. This patch is one of the most downloaded dialogue expansions on Nexus, and for a good reason. The patch gives the NPC 80 plus lines of new dialogue, along with seven post-marriage events for players to discover. As a bonus, the mod even comes with a bonus non-smoking version of Sebastian if you want him to let go of the habit.
If you have married Sebastian in your game or you are planning to romance him, then this story mod will expand on his development.
13 Part Of The Community
The story in Stardew Valley is just as much about roleplaying as it is about unfolding the underlying plot points. At its core, the game is about choosing your own path and becoming a part of the community how you see fit. Unfortunately, there are some parts of Stardew that feel a bit static, specifically in relation to how friendship is built and how characters perceive you.
The Part of the Community mod aims to give players more immersion in the overall story by making it more important to engage in community events. Attending festivals (as well as performing other actions in public) will cause friendship meters from all characters involved to climb. Using this mod, you'll definitely feel more like you belong to a community.
12 Canon-Friendly Dialogue Expansion for All Friend-able Characters
We know this mod has a long name, but it's completely worth it. This dialogue mod helps expand on the game's NPCs that you can be friends with and marry, all of them. This massive mod contains over 1,500 common dialogue lines, 600 new marriage dialogue lines, and 400 festival dialogue lines. These additional lines even include multiple-choice dialogue trees. In addition, you will find that some dialogue only appears in certain seasons.
As you raise the heart level of the villagers, more lines of dialogue will appear, allowing you to peek into their unique personalities.
11 Penny Expanded
Players seem to love Penny. According to the Nexus mod download numbers; she may even be more popular than Sebastian. The modder who create the expansion felt that Penny didn't have enough development, so they made some themselves. The mod adds hundreds of new dialogue lines for you to discover as you get to know Penny better.
The mod also installs fifteen new events that will activate as you raise the bachelorette's heart level. If you've always wanted to know just what Penny aspires to be, then this mod is for you.
10 Looking For Love
Looking For Love adds a ton of new bachelor and bachelorette options to the game. With the mod, you can marry the older villagers such as Linus and Pam. The mod adds in romance events specific for each character, and a dedicated spouse room that is added to your house after the wedding. To top it all off, children that look like your spouse are also included in the mod.
Looking For Love even adds in sprites so that the marriage and flower dance animations flow naturally with the rest of the characters.
9 DeepWoods
This mod doesn't add an overarching storyline to explore but instead gives players a new and exciting area to navigate. The Deep Woods are the closest thing Stardew Valley has to an "endgame dungeon," and are filled with immensely powerful enemies. You won't find any dialogue here, but you will find interesting items and loot.
The best part is that it's procedurally generated, giving you a new and exciting experience each time you enter. It may not offer the same story-rich experience as other mods in this collection but it enhances the overall storyline by giving you access to new and unique areas.
8 Pam's Narrative Overhaul
We can see why fans of Stardew Valley want to see Pam's life improve. There are tons of mods that help you clean up her yard, and even marry the character. This mod, however, focuses on delving into Pam's backstory through tons of new lines of dialogue. In fact, this mod adds in over 190 new lines of dialogue to unlock. Simply improve Pam's heart level and visit her every day to learn more about her story.
As a bonus, if you marry Penny, she will even act more like a mother-in-law and have more to say about your relationship.
7 Shiko
Shiko is a popular mod that adds a whole new character to the game. Shiko is a model that decided to move to Pelican Town for a quieter life. Like many other characters in the game, you can unlock her story by giving her gifts, doing quests, and stopping by to chat with her each day.
Shiko is also able to be married, and comes with her own romance events for you to uncover. If you have already romanced all the other characters in the game, then Shiko can be a breath of fresh air.
6 Stardew Valley Expanded
Stardew Valley Expanded is the biggest mod currently available for the game, and adds tons of features. The mod adds tons of new story content, twelve new characters, areas, over 160 new events, and dialogue. The mod isn't done yet, and regular updates are still being added. If you're tired of waiting for new official updates, then this is a download that you need to grab.
The new areas are fun, and the new characters make for a more diverse world and expanded romance options. There are also new farms available, as well as, an expanded Joja storyline. While we don't want to spoil too many of the details, this mod is a must-have for any Stardew Valley player.
5 Sundrop City
The Sundrop City mod adds in a whole city to the game. The mod is currently in Apha, and is set to be updated with tons of city-related story content and some new characters. If you're looking for a huge mod that is going to be updated regularly, then Sundrop City is a safe bet.
Currently, you can explore the whole city and get a glimpse at some of the new NPCs; you can also take a look at the buildings that are currently under development.
4 Ridgeside Village
Ridgeside Village is another mod that adds an entire new town for you to explore. Within the town, you can find over 50 NPCs to interact with, as well as new festivals and dialogue choices.
With Ridgeside Village comes new quests! This mod truly delivers the full package, bringing you everything a town should have. While visiting, be sure to stop by the outdoor restaurant, pastry shop, and sapling shop!
3 East Scarp
East Scarp is very similar to Ridgeside Village. In the mod, you have a new map filled with new areas, as well as a selection of new NPCs that you can interact with.
The East Scarp mod gives you access to custom NPCs as well, making each iteration of East Scarp unique. As an added bonus, East Scarp is compatible with Ridgeside Village, so you won't have to choose between the two.
2 Adventurer's Guild Expanded
The Adventurer's Guild in Stardew Valley is a unique building that gives you monster-slaying quests. Unfortunately, these quests can be a bit simplistic, and the building itself it's too important.
To combat this, you can download Adventurer's Guild Expanded. This mod will add new quests to the guild, with over 30 story events for you to complete. Additionally, there are two new NPCs that you can marry, with complete storylines. This is the perfect mod for those who like the exploration and combat portion of Stardew Valley.
1 Lunna - Astray In Stardew Valley
Lastly, we have Lunna - Astray in Stardew Valley. This mod adds several NPCs, but is focused on one, named Lunna. This is a mysterious girl who claims to be from a different world called Umuwi.
With new NPCs comes new events and dialogue options. All the content is seamlessly integrated with the vanilla version of Stardew Valley, making the mod fit right in. Additionally, the mod adds new outfits, shops, and appearances for toddlers of a certain age; yes, that means your child won't look the same forever.