Stardew Valley 1.5 is out now, and it's the biggest content addition since launch

(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

Earlier today, Stardew Valley developer Eric Barone tweeted about some new features coming in the Stardew Valley 1.5 update. Shortly after, he surprised us by tweeting that the free update is out now on PC. And just like that, you can read the patch notes here.

The most obvious addition in 1.5 is a new farm type, the beach farm. "Good foraging and fishing, and tons of open space," the farm's description reads. "Sometimes, supply crates wash up on shore. However, sprinklers don't work in the sandy soil."

Here's some of the additions, directly from Barone:

New people to meet
New goals
Many new items
A new type of quest
A new farm layout
New character events
A new Community Upgrade
Home renovations (after you’ve fully upgraded your house)
Ducks can now swim
You can sit in chairs
You can move your bed
Fish Tanks
A bunch of new furniture items as well as new furniture types like wall sconces
New secrets
9 new music tracks
And so much more… you’ll just have to see, I can’t bear to spoil it

If you're a seasoned player thinking of starting a new farm when 1.5 comes out, I'd like to highlight a couple of new features. There will be a new farm type, "Beach Farm", and a new "Advanced Game Options" menu, from which you can adjust some aspects of the game: pic.twitter.com/iMnw2uGLEODecember 20, 2020

However, sun-soaked sands are far from the only addition in what Barone calls "the biggest solid chunk of new content that's been added to the game since launch." The update adds new gameplay options (you can adjust mine rewards, for instance), split-screen co-op, and a big list of new "late game" stuff to encounter and craft.

If you want to see everything that's been added, a complete changelog is available, but if you want to avoid spoilers, you may not want to read such a detailed list. To summarize, there's something new in just about every category: crops, food items, people, monsters, craftable items, clothing, furniture, and so on. There's even a new TV channel (though you have to unlock it somehow).

If you haven't played our favorite farming game, Stardew Valley is 33% off on Steam right now, brining it down to $10/£7.36. Our review from 2016 still captures what we like so much about it, but it's grown a lot since then, as this update suggests.