Now that Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update has dropped, there are plenty of new features for players to uncover. Those changes range from dialogue to NPC outfits to a whole new farm. Every change made affects the game in valuable ways, so here are 7 new features that bring Stardew all together.
Dialogue Improvements
One of the features that used to get old in Stardew Valley was talking to the NPCs. This isn’t to say that they’re no fun to chat with, but eventually, the responses begin to get a little predictable. The new update changes this, giving the villagers new responses to various interactions you have with them. This ranges from general daily interactions to the way they react when being given a gift.
I was thrilled and shocked when I gave Leah a salad and she made a specific comment about the salad I gave her. It makes it feel more personal and immersive to have the villagers feel like they’re responding to your actions. Many of the interactions with characters that take place via cutscenes are also extended. It fleshes the story out a little bit more, which is always a welcome improvement.
New Festivals
One of the most charming parts of Stardew Valley has to be the festivals you attend over the year. These take place throughout the seasons to break up some of the standard gameplay and allow you to interact with the villagers more intimately. While the festivals that are in the game make for a great time, there’s always been a desire for something more.
Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update added a couple of new festivals for you to attend, like the Desert Festival you can visit after the bus is repaired. This addition incentivizes players to visit the desert, with the festival going on for three days in Spring. There are also two new fishing festivals – the Trout Derby and the Squid Fest, giving you more opportunities to show off your prowess with a fishing rod.
New Items
While Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update didn’t fully revamp every item in the game, there are plenty of new items that are sure to make a difference. These are anything from River Jelly from fishing to Prize tickets for Mayor Lewis’ new prize machine. It’s nice to see fresh items to mix up some of the standard ones you’d usually get. For those who’ve already completed most or all of the objectives in Stardew, this expands the game’s potential.
Just a regular playthrough might not even be enough to see all of the new items that were added, there are that many. There’s new equipment, tackle, bait and collectibles just to name a few, but the list goes on. New seeds and crops help expand how involved your farm can get, even without getting further into the late game.
New Menu Tabs
One of the most convenient features is the addition of some new tabs in the menu. There’s an Animals tab that lets you keep track of what animals you have and have not interacted with that day. This will make taking care of some of your more busy farm buildings a breeze, as you won’t have to guess who you’ve pet that day.
The Animals tab also keeps track of your pets’ friendship levels with you. Now, you can see how many hearts they have, and they’ll be more useful than just standing in your doorways. Additionally, there’s a tab to view your Special Powers, which are attained by reading books like collectibles. Both of these features are new to Stardew in the 1.6 update, and it makes for a great experience to have some more collectibles.
New Farm Type
Of all the additions in the new update, the new farm type is one of the biggest. It marks a fundamental change from the rest of the farm types you can choose, giving you a coop and two chickens right off the bat. Generally, you’d have to wait until you can afford both the coop and the chickens separately, so now you can get a head-start on improving your farming skills.
ConcernedApe has added multiple new farms since Stardew Valley’s launch, but the Meadowlands farm is the biggest change to date. It introduces a new type of grass that grows on your farm, which your animals will eat instead of hay when they can go outside. The new farm layout makes for a couple of major shifts in the usual gameplay, which is a welcome change in the new update.
General Quality of Life Fixes
Before releasing the update, ConcernedApe has been teasing patch notes with fans on his X account. The things he teased were mainly quality-of-life updates, like attacking while facing downward in combat. He also changed the speed at which you can harvest crops, and you can eat more of your farm-grown goods.
Some of the changes are only cosmetic, but they serve to bring the game together just a bit more than it was. Now, artisan goods like Jelly and Wine reflect the color of the ingredients used to make them, and there are plenty of smaller visual changes that make the world look significantly more involved. The Meadowlands farm is one example, but waterfalls now spice up the landscape all around town in the river.
Clothing Changes
While this change applies mostly to the NPCs who have new seasonal outfits in Stardew, there’s more to the update than meets the eye. You can now give hats to your dogs and cats, making for the ultimate helicopter-pet-parent. If clothing your horse wasn’t enough (and why would it be?) now you can share the love with all your furry friends to make the farm match your style in every possible way.
The villagers having fitting seasonal attire does make a big difference in the way the game feels. It no longer feels like a cookie-cutter version of itself in the later months, but rather feels complete and thorough. ConcernedApe added plenty of ambient additions to the valley that are so well-integrated, you might not even notice them. These changes combined with the outfit redesigns bring an entirely new life to the valley. People have been making mods for this exact reason, after all.
The list of changes made in Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update goes on extensively, but those are the most notable ones that seem to make a difference while playing. As for the rest, you’ll just have to play on and see for yourself. That is, until the next update.
