Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone suggests to play the game post-1.6 without mods for a while. Overall, however, he notes that it’s “up to you.”
On Twitter, Barone shared a little PSA about mod use and this newest update, though, overall, it read a lot more like previous statements he’s made, like ideally starting a fresh save when the update launches, where he highly suggests it to get a better picture of the game, but overall, it’s your game and you can do what you want. He also revealed that for players who don’t want to play 1.6 for one reason or another, the creator’s implemented Steam branches, meaning you can choose to play either the latest update or go with the 1.5.6 build.
PSA for people who use mods: A ton of mods are already updated for 1.6 (check out https://t.co/RYjYIYjuk7). Also, I've added a public steam branch that will let you stay on version 1.5.6 if you choose. I recommend trying out 1.6 without mods, but it's up to you
— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) March 18, 2024
The site Barone shared offers a ton of mods from the community that wanted to tweak simple things like graphics or mechanics to entirely overhauling the game to make it a different experience. Of course, after this update, plenty of these mods are now out of date and can risk not working at best or breaking your save at worst, though, there are also plenty that have already updated to accommodate the latest update.
Considering how much effort went into the 1.6 update, we think following the suggestion of its creator is a fine idea. So, maybe for a first playthrough back in the charming world of Stardew Valley should be modless, and we’ll save mods for the next time. The update today will happen on PC only, with the consoles getting it as soon as it’s ready.
