Why Stardew Valley is Still Worth Playing in 2025

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 15, 2025 2 Views 9 Min Read
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In 2025, Stardew Valley is just one year off from becoming a decade old, but players are still drawn back to it time and again. As a game with so much to offer, it’s not surprising that players are still attached to Stardew Valley nine years after its initial release, especially when more reasons to keep playing seem to arrive often.

There was a time when it was easy to pass over Stardew Valley with its humble roots as the first game by solo indie developer ConcernedApe, but the game quickly grew to define a genre. Farming and life sim games predate Stardew Valley by a longshot, but ConcernedApe’s love of games like Harvest Moon would influence him to improve on the formula. The result has been an undeniable hit that has become a mainstay on PC, console, and mobile. The game has become so popular that Stardew Valley recently reached 41 million lifetime sales. It comes as no surprise that Stardew Valley is still worth playing in 2025, largely because of continued updates and the long wait for its successor, Haunted Chocolatier.

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Stardew Valley Update 1.6 Changed the Game

A game as successful as Stardew Valley naturally amasses plenty of die-hard fans, but for more casual players, 2025 would be the perfect time to dive back into a game they may have neglected. 2024s release of Stardew Valley update 1.6 changed the game forever, bringing the largest number of additions to the game yet. ConcernedApe has said that he feels obligated to the game’s fans to give them the best experience possible, and that he loves his creation so much, he could bring new ideas to the game forever. With new mini-festivals, NPC interactions, and more, the evidence speaks for itself that he’s no liar. For players who haven’t visited in a while, Pelican Town may seem like an entirely new location.

“I think I could keep working on Stardew Valley for the rest of my life, but I do want to make new games as well. Still trying to figure out that balance!” – ConcernedApe via Twitter

Stardew Valley Brings New Experiences to Old Players

One reason that fans have come to love Stardew Valley so much is its high replay value. While the goal of the game and its events remain the same each time around, there are many choices that can only be made once, which brings fans back to try them all out at least once. By far the most talked about choice is which NPC the player should romance, but there are other one-time choices worth exploring as well.

When beginning the game, the player is allowed to choose which type of farm they want to start out with. A common choice is to begin with the Standard Farm, but it’s always worth starting a new campaign to see how the layout of a Riverland, Hilltop, or Beach Farm might change the way players interact with their surroundings. One major addition the 1.6 update brought was the introduction of the Meadowlands Farm to Stardew Valley, which is more conducive to raising livestock than most other farm types.

For players who love animals, the Meadowlands Farm isn’t the only change to look out for. Pets have been a beloved, if underdeveloped, feature in Stardew Valley for some time, but the latest update added new features to the game’s animal companions. Not only can players now adopt additional pets, but turtles have been added for the first time alongside cats and dogs. Players who reach the max friendship level with their pets may even be rewarded, as pets now bring gifts to players who take the time to befriend them properly. These are only a few of the many overhauls that the latest update has brought, and it sounds like more may still be on the way.

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Haunted Chocolatier’s Status Might Gain Stardew Valley More Players

Many Stardew Valley fans have been excited about ConcernedApe’s announcement that he’s working on a followup game, Haunted Chocolatier. The new game promised to be similar in style, yet different in a few major ways, bringing new experiences to a familiar concept. The supernatural and business focus are elements that Stardew Valley hasn’t fully explored, and seeing ConcernedApe’s take on them will be a delight for his fans. He also stated that Haunted Chocolatier will have a more in depth combat system than Stardew Valley, perhaps appealing to a different type of player than typical life sim fans. Unfortunately, it’s also been confirmed that ConcernedApe will be taking a break from Haunted Chocolatier to continue work on Stardew Valley.

The Bad News About Haunted Chocolatier

ConcernedApe’s dedication to Stardew Valley is commendable, but it does seem to keep delaying his work on the next title. The result of Haunted Chocolatier’s lengthy development time could be good news for Stardew Valley, though. Because Haunted Chocolatier appeals to an expanded audience, it may bring players to ConcernedApe’s first game that might not have been interested in it the first time around. Especially since an early access period isn’t likely for Haunted Chocolatier, players looking for this particular type of experience are likely to continue flocking to Stardew Valley into the new year.

Because of Haunted Chocolatier’s further delay, and the frequent updates to Stardew Valley that seem to be continuing, 2025 will still be a good year for Stardew Valley. It is unfortunate that this success comes at the expense of Haunted Chocolatier’s 2025 plans, but fans of farming sims, life sims, and ConcernedApe fans in general still have reasons to return to Stardew Valley for years to come.

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