When I started playing some Stardew Valley recently- after not having touched the game since soon after its release- I didn't much consider the modding aspect. I'd seen that a Nexus Mods portal existed for the game, but figured it would likely be confined to graphics replacers and the like. I just wanted to relax and do some farming, maybe marrying Shane in the process (I'd been so sad to learn, during my first playthrough, that he wasn't available to woo).
Soon enough, however, I found myself in the familiar state of wanting to make some changes to the game. My biggest priority was in fact the graphics, which while vibrant and cheerful can be a little weary on the eyes with how bright and saturated they are. So I set to see what was out there in terms of replacers.
In the process, I was pleasantly surprised to find a much larger and more substantial modding community than I had expected. There are a number of mods which alter or add to the game content; many of these being based on the SMAPI tool. Because I have no self-control, I ended up with a substantial modlist- and more mods hoarded away for potential future playthroughs. The list is in fact too large to detail fully here. Suffice to say that it includes without a doubt the most important mod- the one that allows me to have multiple pets, thus saving me the agony of having to choose between the equally adorable dog or cat. For my humble homestead I chose the picturesque Whitewater Farm, to be filled with Overgrown Fairy Buildings.
Mixed into this list were also a fair number of graphics replacers. Just A New Map Recolor, Classy New Interior, and A Toned Down Stardew Valley mellowed out the colors of the environment, while Vintage Interface kept a consistent tone in the menu. I really loved the look of Kal's portraits of the town's eligible singles because I am weeaboo trash, and so to keep at least some aesthetic consistency I used Variant Anime Portraits for the rest of the villagers.
The results of these and other changes were striking to me. None of it altered the core gameplay of Stardew Valley; even in the larger graphical changes I felt the game's charm and fundamental heart were preserved. But some aspects of the game that previously had been somewhat disarmed by the vibrant, cheery colors now came to the surface.
Before, Stardew Valley seemed like a pastoral paradise. When Sebastian or Abigail talked of feeling trapped in their small town, I thought it sounded absurd. But in my latest playthrough, I thought I could understand their claustrophobia a little better. The darker, more muted interiors gave the town a more run-down feeling. I saw the marks of poverty, and it seemed easier to believe the residents who talked about the struggles of living in a small, isolated community. There's a lot of pain in Stardew Valley underneath the surface, even if it never truly overtakes the relaxed, wholesome atmosphere of the game.
I should stress that this isn't something that mods injected into the game, nor do they fundamentally change the character of the experience. Yet I think it's interesting to consider how mods can enhance aspects of the original work, to complement them and present them in new ways to the player. I gained a new respect for the writing of Stardew Valley on this playthrough, an aspect which didn't at all factor in to my initial desire to revisit the game. I found a world that seemed far more compelling and fleshed-out than I remembered.
This experience has really impressed on me that mods can be more about "fixing" a game, or wholesale altering it to fit one's own preferences or fantasies. Mods can be something akin to a pinch of salt in a dish- something to enhance the natural flavor and goodness of the food, of the experience of eating the meal. I hope that analogy makes sense, anyway. I never was any good at cooking.
