Stardew Valleytakes place in the quaint rural community of Pelican Town, and for most players, that’s enough. There are dozens of NPCs to meet and befriend, nooks and crannies to uncover and explore, and many character events and festivals. If you’ve explored everything that Pelican Town has to offer, you might be itching to expand your horizons beyond the default city.
Unfortunately,SDVcreator ConcernedApe hasn’t added any new towns; fortunately,the modding community has stepped in to extendStardew Valleybeyond what the vanilla game has to offer.For a change of scenery, new stories and characters to get to know, and even thepotential for a budding romance, step into one of the many amazing town mods forStardew Valley.
10Downtown Zuzu Is A Trip To The Big City
Visit The City Alluded To By Many Pelican City Villagers
Created by theZuzu Development Teamon Nexus Mods, this mod switches out the quiet farming life for the very excitement the game’s farmer was seeking to escape. This add-on allows players tovisit the famed Zuzu Cityalluded to by many of the residents of Pelican Town, full of glitz and glam.
This mod is still in development, so it’s unfinished and has a less polished feel than the rest of the mods in this list. It’s stillworth checking out for a change of paceto explore the city, meet the new NPCs, and solve the puzzles.
9Lumisteria Visit Mount Vapius And Uncover New Content
The Hamlet Of Glimsap Welcomes Outsiders
Mount Vapius is one of the newest mods on this list, first uploaded to Nexus Mods byLumisteriain 2024, but it’s already gained plenty of fans. The mod invites the farmer to visit themountainous terrain of Glimsap Hamlet and its surroundings.
There are over 15 new NPCs to meet (including one new marriage candidate), as well as new crops, locations, monsters, and crafting recipes and tools. Whether you visit Mount Vapius toattend the bi-weekly farmer’s marketor to battle through thesurrounding dense forest, there’s something for everyone in this mod.
8Return to Mineral Town Is Homage To Harvest Moon
Take A Trip Down Memory Lane, In The Style Of SDV
It’s no secretStardew Valleywasoriginally inspired byHarvest Moon,with ConcernedApe making the cozy farming sim he wished existed in 2016. TheReturn to Mineral Townexpansion byRexstrife20 and the Mineral Town Architectspays homage to the beloved game’s originsby recreating the town and characters from the game it was based on, withinStardew Valley.
With this mod installed, players can check out Mineral Town and all the areas around it—a faithful recreation ofHarvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town,but with all the quality-of-life updates thatStardew Valleyintroduced into the genre. Meet (and potentially marry!) all the characters from theHarvest Moongame, and collect new items in thisnostalgic remaking of a classic.
7Axolotl Village Lets You Meet And Befriend Axolotls
It’s Every Bit As Delightful As You Imagine
Travel to awonderful island inhabited by adorable axolotlsin this mod byotohimexoxoon Nexus Mods. The expansion features abrighter and more vibrant color palettewith 13 new axolotl NPCs, and more than 60 events, 75 food and recipes, 40 pieces of furniture, crops, quests, and much more.
Although you don’t need to play throughKin the Axolotl NPCto enjoyAxolotl Village,some of the events in the village mod may spoil the NPC’s story. So, if you’re planning to enjoy both, the creator recommends playing throughKin, first.
To get the most of this mod, it’s recommended that you first play through the story of another one ofotohimexoxo’smods,Kin the Axolotl NPC. This smaller mod adds a new resident to the Secret Woods, whosestory directly ties in to theAxolotl Villageexpansion.
6Baldur’s Village Features A Baldur’s Gate Crossover
A Fan-Made Mashup Of Two Beloved Games
Fans ofBaldur’s Gate 3can nowcombine their love for the RPG with their love for cozy farmingthanks to this mod by Nexus Mods creatorbaldursvillage. The expansion introduces Baldur’s Village to the world ofStardew Valley,where the farmer can get to know over 20 characters fromBaldur’s Gate, each with their own new pixel art portraits and sprites.
The mod continues the story after the ending ofBG3,so fans should beware some spoilers (which the creator helpfully lists). Discover the beautiful new location andlearn about its residents, including Astarion, who has a fully fleshed-out personal story, and yes,you can marry him.
5Garden Village Shops Creates A Central Shopping Area
A Must-Have For Mod Lovers
Mods like these town expansions canmakeStardew Valleyfeel even more alive, giving you plenty of locations to visit beyond Pelican Town. Unfortunately, these same mods can make the shop and crafting menus difficult to navigate due to all the new items that community content adds.
Thankfully, Nexus Mods userTarniyarhas stepped in withGarden Village Shops,whichcreates a central shopping areafor those who want to make their mod content a bit more manageable. The market town features separate shops for various content, including modded crops, recipes, and other items, presented in a charming array of shops, including a florist, baker, clothier, machine shop, and more.
4Sunberry Village Is A Cozy Town With A Secret
Uncover The Legends That Lie Buried In Its Mines
Sunberry Village byskellady and sophiesalaciaon Nexus Mods ismost like Pelican Town out of all the main town expansions. This makes it perfect for players who want more like the base game, but have already explored every corner of the included town.
Sunberry is a town much like Pelican Town, with over 15 new characters, plus items, crops, special orders, and more. The NPCs have in-depth stories and personalities and, like Pelican Town, the Village hasseveral secrets to uncover.Explore Sunberry’s mines and you might just discover the legends that lurk beneath the idyllic village.
3Ridgeside Village Is A Massive Expansion To The Base Game
“The Village At The Side Of The Ridge”
Ridgeside Villageis a massive expansion toStardew Valleythat’s a perfect next step for players who have already uncovered everything Pelican Town has to offer them. The popular expansion byRafseazz and mamaeshon Nexus Modslets players visit “the village at the side of the ridge.”
This new village has everything Pelican Town has to offer and even more: 50 NPCs, a new location with shops and festivals, new items, quests, music, hundreds of new events, and more. If that weren’t enough, there’s acollection of NPCs and additional modsspecifically made to work withRidgeside Village,making it possible to continue adding content even after you’ve played through the whole mod.
2East Scarp Is A Beautiful Seaside Resort
New Content Created In Collaboration With The Community
This self-described “community project from the community, for the community” is a labor of love byLemurKat et alon Nexus Mods. The expansionadds the picturesque seaside town of East Scarp toStardew Valley,along with all its residents, new items, and many other additions.
Beyond its included content, this modcreates a space for other custom NPCs to live, without needing to add more space to the vanilla map. Use East Scarp as your jumping off point to discover mods that are linked with it, from a friendly beekeeper to high fantasy adventure, shadow people, and even Fievel fromAn American Tail,written to fit withStardew Valleylore.
1Stardew Valley Expanded Is One Of The Most Popular Add-Ons
A Huge Mod With Many Years Of Experience And Expansions
Stardew Valley Expandedwas created in 2019 byFlashShifteron Nexus Mods, and has been growing ever since. The add-on is one of the most popular mods forStardew Valley, withover 16 million downloadssince its upload to the mod-sharing website.
SDVE’spopularity is well-earned, as it adds ahuge amount of new contentto the base game. Installing it currently gets you access to 28 new NPCs, 58 locations, 278 character-related events, 43 new fish, and tons of other updates across the game, like new questlines, music, maps, crops, festivals, and so much more. With this mod,Stardew Valleycan continue to surprise and delight players, long after Pelican Town has given up all its secrets.
