The huge new 1.5 update for beloved farm town simulation Stardew Valley Surprise was launched this week. I already told you about it on Wednesday, but I’ve played quite a few hours of it now, so I want to tell you more about it, because gosh it’s so good. The new beach farm is worth starting a new storage file for, just like all the other cool new quality of life changes.
I’ve always found that Stardew Valley’s annual updates are pretty good at introducing changes that make the game better without shaking everything you know about it. I never started Stardew after a major update and felt lost and confused. This is how it is with update 1.5. The beach card is new and new, but it does not completely change the routine you are familiar with.
Here’s a look at it all, and actually keep it. I have just now seen that cave entrance in the lower left corner. I do not know if it leads anywhere, but I am adding to my list of things I need to investigate.
The beach is a nice change of scenery, but be warned that sprinklers cannot be placed in sand. This means that once you want to automate your yard, you need to hurry to unlock the greenhouse or clear the individual piece of land that is covered by large tree trunks. Otherwise, it’s you and your best friend the water jug forever.
If you do want to shake your usual Stardew formula a little more, do not miss the advanced game options under wrench when starting a new save file. Remixing the ingredients needed to complete the Community Center bundles is a valuable change. I’m sure I can not be the only person who can recite the things needed for the bottom of spring fodder and spring crops.
There are all sorts of nice little changes to be found if you look for them. Tucked away in the settings menu, for example, is the ability to change the audible alarm when a fish is caught on your hook. I’m so conditioned by standard noise that I could not stick to any of the new choices, but hey, they’ve cute.
The biggest and best part of the new update is one that ConcernedApe chose not to spoil in the 1.5 update announcement from Wednesday, which I will also be sure not to do. If you want to quickly track down the coolest (and hottest) part of update 1.5, be sure to load one of your saves, which is a few years old, and go out and see the new door in Willy’s store , who had been teased earlier in the year.
Also in the update release, ConcernedApe closed with “Next year, there will be more Stardew Valley-related announcements (and possibly beyond …) to look forward to.” He has also previously said that a Stardew Valley 2 is not out of the question and that he would not be surprised if he ends up making more updates to the Stardew itself. Whatever next year brings, there’s a lot more Stardew to chew on right now.