You can now romance Baldur’s Gate 3’s sexy vampire daddy Astarion in Stardew Valley – yes, really
Cosy gamers can now live out their domestic fantasy with everyone’s favourite vampire Twink. (Larian Studios/Stardew Valley/WhispherWillow)
Some things just go well together: sausage and mash, trans people and toy BLÅHAJ sharks from IKEA, you name it… but now, gamers are getting to enjoy a special union of their own thanks to Stardew Valley’s new 1.6 update.
The cosy farming sim is the talk of the town once again as gamers flock to enjoy the 1.6 update. The long-anticipated release includes an array of free, fresh content for the eight-year-old game.
Players have been enjoying new additions such as non-player character (NPC) dialogue, a major festival, weather events and winter clothing, in the update – currently only available to PC gamers.
You’ve also probably heard of the role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3, from Larian Studios, released last August and featuring and fan-favourite Astarion, a “high-elf rogue” who has “prowled the night as a vampire spawn for centuries”.
And it seems the Astarion love is here to stay because creator WhisperWillow has given gamers a treat in the form of a new mod that adds the sexy vampire into Stardew as a “romanceable” NPC, replacing Elliot: one of the twelve characters available to marry.
His cabin, cut scenes and heart events are mostly the same as Elliot’s but the mod adds new dialogue and gift preferences to reflect Astarion’s personality.
Fans have taken to X/ to share their wonder (and thirst) at the move.
How to install mods for Stardew Valley
Mods are downloadable files that you copy into the game folder as required. Here is a full guide on how to mod your Stardew Valley depending on what system you have.
Modding is only available on PC and Steam Deck.
There is a large selection of mods available for Stardew on Nexus mods.
Another popular mod adds inclusive pronouns options, but many players are wondering why this is a feature left to the modding community.
Atmos Fierce, a “textile artist, drag performer and content creator” from Canada, launched a petition at the end of September urging game designer Eric Barone (ConcernedApe) to add pronoun options to the 1.6 update. It has amassed more than 7,300 signatures.
It kick-started a heated discussion about the importance of representation in games, and fans have voiced their disappointment that the update didn’t bring the hoped-for inclusion.
Eric is continuing to add further updates and bug fixes before delving back into the world of new game Haunted Chocolatier, so pronoun inclusion isn’t entirely ruled out just yet.
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