Originally written and published for StropsE.com, written December 28th, 2020
Let me tell you, finding this tweet from @ConcernedApe made me drop what I was doing to play the game again.
The Stardew Valley 1.5 update is live for PCs! We’ve speculated about this update previously, but now it’s available on PC for people to play. I’ve only personally had the chance to play a couple hours of the new update, and as much of it seems to be endgame content, it will be a little while to unpack everything that’s new. For now, we have a spoiler-free changelog (and a spoiler-full one for the truly daring), and with the first season under my belt in a new playthrough, let’s dive in.
First things first, the initial farm setup has seen an upgrade, with the addition of the Beach Farm! This sand-laden farm setup makes sprinklers less effective, as they don’t work on the sandy soil that dominates most of the farm, but in return players can expect to find the odd supply crate washed up on its shores. In addition, this farm features coral and beach salvage that you might normally find on the pier near Willy’s shop, and some of the foraging benefits that you would get from the Forest Farm set up, adding a nice blend of fishing and foraging for long-time players. The initial farm also seems to have an abundance of hardwood stumps and logs upon starting out, which are themselves likely to grow back when chopped down. Overall, it’s an interesting twist, and I hope to see more blended farms as a result in the future!
New furniture and crafts have also made their way to the game along with new things to buy in the early game festivals. For crafts, I mainly noticed the addition of Bug Meat Steak and the Glowstone Ring in the first in-game month of play, with the Ring seemingly being an early alternative to the later game Iridium Ring, allowing both a glow effect and minor magnetism. This is a welcome addition in my view, as often players default to a Glow Ring and a Magnet Ring, forgoing all the other interesting ring options the game has in favor of utility. The Glowstone Ring should allow more flexibility by freeing up one of those two slots. For furniture items, the Egg Festival had two new items: the Pastel Banner and the Colorful Set, both of which can be placed indoors. Four additional items were added to the Flower Dance Festival, with two sets each of Ceiling Leaves and Wall Flowers, for a way to make your in-game home have more of an earthy feel. Many furniture items can now also be placed outdoors, and benches can be interacted with so players can sit and take a breather while on the go. This also includes the benches around town, so if you want to sit and chat with Maru and Penny in the evenings, now you can!
There’s of course more to discover as the game progresses and new NPCs and quests to pursue, but that’s about the extent of the very early game new content that we can unpack. There’ve been some UI updates that are much appreciated, as well as the addition of items like the telephone, which can be bought from Robin’s shop, so there’s a lot to explore for players new and old. For a full list of changes, there are the two changelogs linked at the top of the article, so pursue at your own risk! I have a far-away farm to get back to.
Edit/Update: 9/19/2023
Can confirm, almost 3 years later, that the 1.5 update is well worth your time, and adds several ‘quality of life’ fixes and tweaks that make the game more enjoyable for both new and old players. Twitter might have rebranded, but Stardew Valley is still a fun game to relax with.