SAN FRANCISCO — The Stardew Valley community expressed a mix of outrage, and heartbreak today after the release of a new hardcore mode that erases your save file if you open the wiki.
“I’ve never felt so betrayed in my life,” said Stardew veteran WillyWrangler. “It’s like ConcernedApe doesn’t even know his audience. The wiki is vital to maintaining an optimal farm, knowing when and where to catch each fish, and remembering what gifts Clint hates so I can ruin his birthday.”
However, despite initial reassurances that the mode was entirely optional, hundreds of players were stunned to discover that hardcore mode had been enabled by default, resulting in a combined loss of tens of thousands of hours of playtime.
“It’s all gone,” wept Stardew masochist ArgonMatrix in a heartbreaking TikTok. “All of it. My enchanted Iridium tools, my perfectly arranged farm, all because I wanted to check my wife Hayley’s favorite gemstone. Nine in-game years we’d been together, and loading up a new farm to find she didn’t even know me? It rips your soul in half.”
Many players took to messaging ConcernedApe, believing this to be some sort of bug. They would receive a response just a few hours later.
“Lmao, git gud,” tweeted ConcernedApe. “If you Sebastian stans can’t figure out how to seduce that basement nerd without the wiki, then you don’t deserve him. If you can’t handle the inferno that is this relaxing, chill farming simulator, then maybe you should get out of the furnace.”
ConcernedApe would later tweet a short video of his character consuming a Starfruit, revealing that it reminded him of the taste of player tears.
Stardew Historian Michael Williams weighed in saying this new update was part of a pattern.
“This isn’t the first time this year that a Stardew Valley update has unleashed strife among the player base. 1.7 added a subplot involving mass starvation across Pelican Town after shopkeeper Pierre jacked up his prices and poisoned the player’s crops.”
At press time, ConcernedApe managed to quell much of the dissent by revealing the update also includes seven new unique scenes involving Mayor Lewis’ shorts.
