Mods Extend What's Already There
For players who've exhausted the base content of a farming game, mods can be the difference between putting the game down and playing for another thousand hours. The size and quality of a game's modding ecosystem is a real consideration for long-term players on PC.
This guide compares modding support across the major farming games — what's available, how easy it is to install, and whether mods meaningfully extend the experience.
S Tier: One of the Best Mod Ecosystems in All of Gaming
Stardew Valley — A Mod Library Rivaling Major AAA Games
Stardew Valley's modding ecosystem is extraordinary for an indie game. ConcernedApe built Stardew Valley without official mod tools, but the community created SMAPI (Stardew Modding API), which has become one of gaming's most capable and stable modding frameworks.
The numbers:
- Over 10,000 mods on NexusMods alone
- SMAPI has been continuously maintained since 2016
- Major content mods have hundreds of thousands of downloads
- The community has maintained compatibility through every major game update (1.0 through 1.6)
The major mod categories:
Content expansion mods:
- Stardew Valley Expanded (SVE): The most downloaded content mod. Adds 27+ new NPCs with full relationship sequences, two major new areas, hundreds of new items, and rebalances some base game systems. Many players consider this "the definitive Stardew Valley experience."
- Ridgeside Village: Another large expansion mod with 24+ new NPCs in a mountain village above Pelican Town
- East Scarp: Adds another region with 10+ new NPCs
- Boarding House and Bus Stop Extension: More new NPCs and regions
New marriage candidates: Dozens of mods add new NPCs who can be romanced and married, with full heart event sequences:
- Ginger (from Stardew Valley Expanded)
- Alec, Emily's boyfriend
- Olivia and Victor
- Dozens of standalone marriage candidate mods
Quality of life mods:
- CJB Cheats Menu: Toggleable cheats for players who want more relaxed play
- CJB Item Spawner: Spawn any item for testing or casual play
- UI Info Suite: Adds extensive information overlays (crop days remaining, animal happiness, etc.)
- Automate: Connects machines via chests — ore goes into a chest, the furnace grabs it, the bars go into another chest automatically
- Better Ranching: Removes the randomness from petting animals
Visual overhauls:
- Seasonal Cute Characters: Replaces character sprites with higher-detail versions
- Elle's New Barn Animals: Realistic animal visuals
- Many seasonal texture packs that update the world's look
How to install:
- Download SMAPI from smapi.io
- Run the SMAPI installer
- Download mods from NexusMods or other sources
- Place mod folders in
Stardew Valley/Mods/ - Launch via SMAPI (a new game icon appears)
Modding support rating: S — exceptional ecosystem, easy to install, enormous variety
A Tier: Good Modding Support With Active Communities
My Time at Portia and My Time at Sandrock — Modest But Growing
My Time at Portia and its sequel My Time at Sandrock have modding communities on NexusMods, with several hundred mods available for each:
What's available:
- Graphical mods (character skin replacements, environmental textures)
- Quality of life improvements (inventory management, time control)
- New items and crafting recipes
- Some gameplay balance changes
How to install: Sandrock uses Unity (like Portia), so mods are typically installed via the game's data files or a mod loader. The process is more technical than SMAPI but manageable.
Limitation: The modding community is much smaller than Stardew Valley's. Large content expansion mods (new areas, new NPCs) are rare. The modding ecosystem exists and is growing, but it's not at Stardew Valley's scale.
Modding rating: A- — solid foundation, smaller community
Sun Haven — Steam Workshop Support
Sun Haven has official Steam Workshop integration, making mod installation very simple:
- Browse, subscribe, and automatically install mods via Steam
- No manual file management required
- The Steam Workshop audience ensures reasonable visibility for mod creators
What's available: The modding community is still relatively young, but existing mods include new items, visual changes, and gameplay adjustments.
Modding rating: A- — easy installation, smaller ecosystem than Stardew Valley
B Tier: Limited or Unofficial Modding
Coral Island — Early Modding Scene
Coral Island has a modding scene similar to Stardew Valley's in that it uses SMAPI as its modding framework (the developers explicitly built in SMAPI compatibility):
- SMAPI-based mods can be created for Coral Island
- The community is younger and smaller than Stardew Valley's
- Quality of life mods exist but large content expansions are still early
This is notable: by using SMAPI compatibility, Coral Island is designed to eventually have a Stardew Valley-like modding ecosystem. The infrastructure is there; the community is still building.
Modding rating: B+ — strong technical foundation, ecosystem still developing
Not Modable
Animal Crossing: New Horizons — Console-Only, No Mod Support
Animal Crossing: New Horizons runs exclusively on Nintendo Switch and has no modding capability on standard hardware. Hacked consoles can be modded, but this is unsupported, voids warranties, and risks account bans.
Alternative: Nintendo regularly releases free content updates with seasonal events and item additions, which serves some of the same function as mods (new content without purchasing anything additional).
Modding rating: Not applicable — console exclusive
Palia — Live Service, No Modding
Palia is a live service online game with no modding support. As an MMO-style game, server-side content can't be modded, and client-side mods would likely violate the terms of service.
Alternative: The development team releases regular content updates, seasonal events, and new areas as the live service continues.
Modding rating: Not applicable — online live service
Hay Day — Mobile, No Modding
Hay Day is a mobile game with no modding support. Third-party tools exist to give unfair advantages (hacked diamonds, etc.) but these are against Supercell's terms of service and can result in account bans.
Modding rating: Not applicable — mobile platform
Modding Comparison
| Game | Mod Support | Platform | Scale | Ease of Install |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stardew Valley | Excellent (SMAPI) | PC only | 10,000+ mods | Easy (SMAPI installer) |
| My Time at Portia/Sandrock | Good (community) | PC | Hundreds of mods | Moderate |
| Sun Haven | Good (Steam Workshop) | PC | Growing | Very easy (Steam) |
| Coral Island | Good (SMAPI-compatible) | PC | Early | Easy (SMAPI) |
| Animal Crossing | None | Switch only | — | — |
| Palia | None | PC/Console | — | — |
| Hay Day | None | Mobile | — | — |
Should Modding Influence Your Choice?
For most players: No. Stardew Valley's base game has 150+ hours of content without any mods. Most players never install a single mod and still feel they got their money's worth many times over.
For long-term players who've "finished" the base game: Stardew Valley's modding ecosystem is genuinely transformative. Stardew Valley Expanded alone adds enough content to feel like a second game. If you're choosing between farming games specifically because you've exhausted Stardew Valley's base content, the modding ecosystem is a real reason to keep playing it.
If you play on console or mobile: Modding isn't a practical consideration for you in most cases. Focus on the base game features when choosing.
If you're a PC player who values modding: Stardew Valley's ecosystem is far ahead of any other farming game. If modding is important to your long-term enjoyment, this should factor into your recommendation.
Want to start modding Stardew Valley? Our Stardew Valley mod guide covers how to install SMAPI, the essential mods for your first modded playthrough, and how to keep mods updated when Stardew Valley releases new versions.