Stardew Valley free mini expansion adds a new romanceable NPC and events

Stardew Valley’s creator Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone remains hard at work on the cozy titan’s upcoming 1.7 Update.

It’s set to add new marriage candidates in the form of Sandy and Clint, but it’s actually new project Haunted Chocolatier that is Barone’s main focus, so Update 1.7 may take a bit of time.

If you’re a Stardew Valley player on PC, however, you might want to download and sample the fan-made mini expansion ‘Lowell and the Hidden Place’.

Created by NexusMods user AlyaLyala, this offering adds new custom events to Stardew Valley as well as a new romanceable NPC, and more.

Designed as “low stakes” and “slow paced”, ‘Lowell and the Hidden Place’ “features no cinematic drama, world-ending threats, or epic conflicts,” the mod’s creator notes.

“Instead, it centres around a bunch of little cuties and a hermit of a man willing to spend years in isolation waiting for his friends. They stay within their custom location most of the time and won't force themselves into the spotlight.”

The mod works mid playthrough, although a new playthrough is recommended

I will warn you that while ‘Lowell and the Hidden Place’ can be downloaded and enjoyed mid playthrough, it works best in a new save as the mod’s plot and progression rely on the Community Center restoration.

In total, this mini story-based mod expansion adds 40 new events, custom tea, new recipes, two new fruit trees and three new crops, two buffs, new furniture, two new buildings from Robin, a new fish type, new quests, a barter shop, a rare collection of Junimo decor, and new NPCs.

The romanceable NPC, who I’m sure you’re all itching to hear more about, is the titular Lowell, a 35-year-old male.

He’s described as a “polite craftsman who has spent years in isolation”.

“He masks his initial awkwardness with a charmingly dry, self-deprecating humor. He is an accidental bibliophile, self-taught guitarist, and a massive dark tea lover. He acts as a protective, deeply caring older brother figure to the little spirits.”

AlyaLyala via NexusMods

If you do want to speed up romancing Lowell, you can find a gifting cheat sheet on the mod’s listing.

The NPC boasts over 500 lines of dialogue that’ll adapt as your friendship grows. That means that you should get custom gift reactions, location-specific lines, and such like.

Of those 40 new events I mentioned, Lowell’s storyline takes place across eight heart events with 12 events dedicated to romance and post-marriage life, if that’s the route you go down.

For the mod’s full patch notes, you can browse its listing on NexusMods. You’ll, obviously, need to be playing Stardew Valley on PC in order to get this one working but it is totally free.

READ MORE: How to make money in Stardew Valley: Five fast and easy methods

While the mod is pretty new, it’s already drummed up plenty of excitement.

“This mod looks so good, very excited to try it out,” read one NexusMods post, while another added, “Can’t wait to add this to my new playthrough. Thanks for your work.”

“It seems that I haven’t seen a new expansion mod for a long time. I’m very glad to see this one. I noticed that there are nearly 3,000 pieces of text in the mod. I believe this is a mod with a rich enough content,” someone else remarked.

Sounds to me like the perfect way to fill the wait between now and the arrival of either Update 1.7 or Haunted Chocolatier.