Stardew Valley: Mermaid Island is a delightful free gameplay expansion

A free Stardew Valley expansion mod called Mermaid Island is available now and my god, it’s delightful.

It’s true that Stardew Valley is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s in that genre of game where the fun never truly ends, as there’s always something you can come back for. The best comparisons I can make are Minecraft and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, two games that can be “finished” but only when the player believes they are.

Check out Stardew Valley for yourself below.

While the fun in Stardew Valley only ends when you’re content with your farm/village, you can also extend the adventure through expansions. While the game’s developer is still adding new content to the game, modders have gone above and beyond to create entirely new areas to explore.

One such area is Mermaid Island, a new place to sail to with NPCs, partake in quests, and enjoy some more gorgeous pixelated scenery.

The prerequisite for visiting is to obviously have the mod installed, which you can find here on NexusMods created by user TrentXV, and have Willy’s boat unlocked in the game. You’ll get access to the boat by simply advancing the story so don’t worry if you haven’t got it if you’re a new player.

You’ll then unlock the ability to travel to Mermaid Island, where you’ll officially be introduced to Madam and Ice Fox, two of the inhabitants.

What you do is entirely up to you, as you can go fishing for some tropical sea specimens, wander the island, visit the markets, and more. In terms of size, it’s not a full-game expansion but it’s not really meant to be. It’s simply another option for you to choose from when considering how you’d like to spend your time in the game world.

If you fancy expanding your Stardew Valley game with this charming island addition you can download the mod for free from NexusMods.