For those who aren’t already 100 hours deep into your farm, Stardew Valley is simulation RPG by ConcernedApe where players take over a farm. Since their initial release in 2016, this update (1.5) is their most ambitious and the community has been anticipating it for some time. This update allows fellow farmers to bring their friends with the new multiplayer component as well as explore a whole new region. This update is currently only for PC users but should be coming to mobile soon after.
This update includes new character creation options for those who are just starting the game or if players want to restart their island. The new farm, called the “Beach Farm”, is a big area with opportunities for fishing and foraging. Though ConcernedApe makes sure to warn players that the farm will be covered with a lot of sand thus making certain actions harder to use such as the sprinklers. The update also includes a new “Advanced Game Options” that allows players to tailor their playthrough to how they’d like.
The biggest news from this update is the ability to do a co-op split screen with your friends and family. This mode allows up to three players be added once you build a specific cabin (Robin’s cabin) and this can be done from the Advanced Game Options if players are be starting a new game. It’s important to note that this multiplayer is limited to local online.
To play splitscreen, build a cabin (from Robin’s) for up to 3 other players who will be joining (if you’re starting a new game, you can also select to have cabins already placed at the beginning in the advanced game options menu). Once the cabins are there, open your game menu, scroll down to multiplayer, and select “Start local co-op”. The other players can now join by pressing start on a controller connected to the PC. Please see the options tab in the game menu to adjust the zoom level and UI zoom level to a setting that works well for you. Otherwise, split screen works exactly the same as online multiplayer.
ConcernedApe also includes a list of random updates that players might enjoy such as ducks being able to swim, new type of quest, new people, new music, fish tanks, new hairstyles, and more changes to be looked here. The update went live December 21 and ConcernedApe has tweeted out a new issue with the update for players to be aware.
Stardew Valley is available on Steam, Humble Store, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. ConcernedApe has not given a specific date for when the update will be available on mobile.