There is plenty to enjoy inStardew Valleyin its present state, but even the impressive 1.6 update has failed to introduce one logical feature to the game. Every major update to the popular farming simulator has brought with it a wealth of new content, expanding the scope of the game further and further. Despite this, however, there is one small but notable exclusion that has persisted over the years.
Naturally, there are severalfeatures thatStardew Valley1.7 should arguably includeif such an update does lie in the game’s future. However, it is also worth noting that with developer ConcernedApe focusing on his new titleHaunted Chocolatier, any substantial update is likely far away. This means that the impressive range ofmods forStardew Valleywill probably be the best source of major alterations for the time being. This also only emphasizes the fact the game still lacks one simple feature despite having come so far in the last nine years.
Stardew Valley Doesn’t Let You Have A Birthday
The Feature Should Be Relatively Easy To Implement
As observed byReddituserOk-Examination9090, it is an unfair fact thatStardew Valleydoes not let the player character celebrate their birthday, despite the many NPCs in the game all having their own. Mechanically,Stardew Valleyallows people to give any NPC an extra gift on their birthday in addition to the normal limit of two per week. A birthday for the Farmer, therefore, could simply invert this interaction.
UnlikeStardew Valley’s hidden features, a birthday for the Farmer is still a clear, total omission, and very obvious among the many other birthdays in the calendar. I am far from the only person disappointed by this, and I would be very happy to see the feature implemented. NPCs would be able to reciprocate their own birthday gifts, bringing them closer together to the Farmer. As such,a birthday would further solidify the Farmer’s place among the people of Pelican Town; the resulting emotional connection would be just as, if not even more valuable than any gifts received.
How Birthdays Work In Games Like Stardew Valley
Cozy Games Can Celebrate A Provided Birthday With Letters And Presents
Other cozygames similar toStardew Valleyshow that the implementation of a birthday is perfectly achievable. For example,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsfeatures a fairly elaborate birthday party with the player character’s close friends, including a cake and gift, as well as asurprise performance from K.K. Slider. Similarly,Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Townsees the protagonist receive letters; this is especially notable because theStory of Seasonsseries was a key source of inspiration for the development ofStardew Valley.
10 Mods For Stardew Valley That Should’ve Been In The Game At Launch
Stardew Valley is one of the most popular farming sims out there, but there are still certain features missing from the base game that mods can fix.
Implementing a birthday for the Farmer would be as simple as adding a new field to the game’s character creator, and could see NPCs send letters or give presents. The precise nature of these gifts could even change depending on Friendship level and relationship status, becoming more valuable as a given relationship deepens. If any gift-giving occurred at the very beginning or end of a day, then this would also help prevent a Farmer’s birthday from clashing with Festivals, while letters would be a non-issue.
A birthday event for the Farmer would easily offer an extra opportunity to deepen relationships with NPCs through unique interactions.
The lack of a birthday event for the Farmer is a small but disappointing exclusion forStardew Valley, something that will hopefully be fixed in the future. In addition to potentially useful gifts, such an event would likely prompt some fun interactions with the other characters, especially those the Farmer is close to. Of course, mods can help remedy this, but I know that I am far from alone in hoping for an official implementation instead.
