Stardew Valleyis one of the most beloved cozy games of all time, hailed by the cozy community as the game that so many others strive to be like. But it’s not perfect, of course, and one of the main criticisms the title gets most often is its limited roster of romanceable characters. Like its inspiration,Harvest Moon,and many other cozy sim games,Stardew Valleyhas a selection of adozen potential marriage candidatessplit equally between male and female.
The problem is that as the 2016 game’s audience has aged, the marriageable options haven’t aged with them, resulting in an older audience faced withdating and marrying young characters. For others, putting hundreds of hours into the game means they’ve run out of marriage options they haven’t tried yet. Luckily, the modding community has stepped in to add plenty ofintriguing new romance options toStardew Valleythrough mods, and many are a must-have for players looking for new characters to form a relationship with.
10Roses In The Sand Makes Sandy Romanceable
The Mod Gives Sandy A More Fleshed-Out Background
Stardew Valleymight only have 12 marriage options, but it also has many other beloved NPCs and characters that bring Pelican Town and its surroundings to life.Roses in the Sand, a Nexus Mods addon by creatorNaturefocuses on Sandy, fleshing out one of the most mysterious characters in the game. In the base game, Sandy is the owner of the Oasis, a storelocated in the Calico Desert, which becomes accessible to players after they unlock the bus.
Unlike the other NPCs inSDV,Sandy doesn’t have her own schedule and remains at The Oasis all the time.Roses in the Sandchanges this,giving Sandy a more life-like presencein the game and turning her into a marriageable character. It does this through"hundreds of lines of dialogue," seven new heart events, and brand-new spritesmade by Poltergeister and Tangpoponoko, making this the perfect mod for anyone who’s ever wondered about the enigmatic owner of The Oasis.
9Friendable Mr.Qi Is Exactly What You Expect From The Mod’s Name
Learn The Story of The Bespectacled Stranger
TheFriendable Mr.Qimod byAngelOfStarson Nexus Mods does exactly what it says on the tin,allowing players to get to know the game’s mysterious Mr.Qi.The mod turns Mr.Qi into an NPC with gift likes and dislikes, heart events, and “much much more.” The mod’s creator admits that it should have been named an “expansion,” as it adds a huge amount of new content to the vanilla game, most of which revolves around the strange Mr.Qi.
This mod has been tested and works with a large selection of other popularStardew Valleymods.
Included in this mod areover 1000 new dialogue lines(with thanks to mod writer Jazzybees), 28 total heart events depending on the player’s relationship with Mr.Qi, as well as new locations, quests, end-game weapons, and so much more. The modder notes that the game does not make Mr.Qi “a redeemable person,” so be forewarned.
8Looking For Love Makes It Possible To Romance Older NPCs
Perfect For Fans Of The Older Characters
Before we dive into mods that add new characters to romance, it’s worth notingone final mod that works with the game’s existing characters.Looking for Lovebyfoggywizardon Nexus Mods is an adaptation of an older mod, Siv’s Marriage Mod. Foggywizard’s mod adapts the older add-on pack to be as user-friendly as possible, requiring a simple install to access.
The mod does something that fans often wish for: it allows them to romance the older characters in the game. WithLooking for Loveinstalled, love-sick farmers unlock thepotential to marry Clint, Gus, Lewis, Linus, Marnie, Pam, Sandy, Willy, and the wizard.The mod also comes with bug fixes and many dialogue updates and additions. Best of all, if you’re not interested in someone, you can simply disable their changes.
7Stardew Valley Expanded Adds Seven New Marriage Candidates
One Of The Most Famous Mods For SDV
ConcernedApe, the creator ofStardew Valley,has done his best to keep adding new, free content to his debut game. He’s just one man, though, and the community has decided togive him a well-earned restby picking up where he left off. One of the mostpopular and well-known add-on packs for the base game isStardew Valley Expanded,created byFlashShifteron Nexus Mods. The mod has a bustling community of its own, with a dedicatedSubredditboasting 110,000 members and a lively Discord community.
Of course, along with hundreds of new content and updates to existing content,Stardew Valley Expandedadds seven new marriage candidates to get to know. Among the new romance options are theshy Sophia, smart Victor, or Victor’s sophisticated mom, Olivia—giving every kind of player an option they can fall in love with. The mod alsoturns the resident wizard, Magnus, into a potential domestic partner.
6Sunberry Village Has A Varied Collection Of Characters
Not All Are Dateable (Yet!) But It’s In The Works
Sunberry Villageby Nexus Mods creatorsskellady and sophiesalaciais another popular expansion toStardew Valley.This mod invites players to the titular village, located south of Pelican Town, where they can discover new items, quests, mines to explore, and more. Most importantly, the mod addsover 15 new characters with personalities and backstories, each with their own beautiful pixel portraits and sprites—one of which is an eligible marriage option.
There are also several optional add-on characters with unique stories to explore, some of whom can be dated and married, as well. This is a relatively young mod from early 2025, withplans to make many more characters romanceable,so it’s worth keeping an eye on it.
5Ridgeside Village Turns SDV Into A Whole New Game
Romance 22 New Marriage Candidates
Unlike the previously mentioned new village addons,Ridgeside VillagebyRafseazz and mamaesh(and assisted by RSV Council) doesn’t add on to the existing game’s story and environments. Instead,Ridgeside Villagecreates brings its own expansive content to the title,turningStardew Valleyinto a brand-new gameto discover all over again.
Each marriage candidate in theRidgeside Villagemod has their own theme music, which you can select from the mod’s soundtrack.
Along with hundreds of new quests, items, environments, and more content to explore,Ridgesideadds over 50 NPCs, 22 of which are eligible marriage candidates. Of these, eight are special unlockable characters that only become romanceable after meeting certain criteria, like amassing enough hearts with them, adding even more interest to the new content.
4Daulton and Maple Feel Like They’ve Always Been In SDV
Get To Know Daulton The Dockhand
Some character mods create an addition to the base game that fills a niche or do something out of the ordinary, adding demons or purposefully breaking the code (more on those in a moment). ButDaulton and Maple,created by Nexus Mods userbigsquishy0, wasmeant to feel like the characters have always been inStardew Valley.
The titular character Daulton is a rugged, romanceable dockhand who works alongside Willy. The mod includes anincredible 2500+ unique lines of dialogue,as well as new locations (his room, a marriage room, and a private patio), and eight heart events. And as for Maple? Why, she’s his adorable bunny, of course.
3Lucikiel Is A Demonic Fan Crossover With King’s Raid
No Knowledge Of The Mobile Game Needed To Enjoy
Created by Nexus Mods modderArknir, the Lucikiel mod does things quite differently from otherStardew Valleyromance mods. While other mods have you woo characters by giving them gifts and uncovering deep conversations,theLucikielmod has you speak with your fists, quite literally. The mod includes heart events and even custom children, as well as several action-packed fight scenes.
Lucikiel is a demonic entity from the mobile gameKing’s Raid,though the mod’s creator assures players they don’t need to have any knowledge of the other game. The new character coerces Clint into a deal that gives him a place to rest and regain his strength, if the town’s farmer doesn’t get to him first and thaw his demonic heart.
2Romanceable Rasmodius Redux Revamped (RRRR) Is A Fan-Favorite Mod
Currently Being Made Into A Full Game
Romanceable Rasmodius Redux Revamped,known simply asRRRR, is a massively popular mod created byJellonipon Nexus Mods thatturns theStardew Valleywizard Rasmodius into a romanceable character.To play this beloved mod, you’ll need to have theStardew Valley Expandedmod installed, as well. Still, it’s such a noteworthy romance mod that it bears its own mention here.
The add-on turns the valley’smysterious wizard into a marriage candidatewithover 1400 new contextual dialogue lines.There are also dozens of events, new sprites and portraits, and even a hidden love interest mechanic that locks the bachelor’s eligibility until certain conditions are met.RRRRwas met with such positive responses that the creator has decided to turn it into its own game, so if you enjoy the mod, be on the lookout for that.
1Katrielle the Glitch NPC Breaks The Fourth Wall
Save The NPC Who’s Been Lurking On The Edges Of The Code
Legend has it that thereStardew Valleyonce had an additional NPC who now lives beyond the periphery of the game’s code.Katrielle the Glitch NPCis a mod byTipsSlight and ToastieVon Nexus Mods that shows what might happen if such a rumor were true. Katrielle is an NPC who’s slipped between the cracks in the game’s code and has been watching the game unfold from outside its boundaries.
As the farmer interacts with Katrielle, they uncover her story andgrow to know—and perhaps love—the purple-and-teal-haired character, inviting her to cross over into the game and live among friends in Pelican Town. The mod features a heartwarming story that breaks the fourth wall, and several cryptic description notes, such as needing to “re-break” an intentionally broken section that was accidentally fixed inStardew ValleyUpdate 1.6.
