Essential new Stardew Valley mod lets you recruit NPCs as companions

Stardew Valley's weird and wonderful NPCs are at the heart of its appeal, but they sure are lazy. When they're not following a strict schedule, handing out quests, or hanging out in the Stardrop Saloon, the town's residents don't lift a finger - but an essential new mod changes that.

'Stardew Squad' could be one of the best Stardew Valley mods around, as it lets you recruit Stardew Valley's NPCs as working companions. With this mod installed, you can approach any of the town's residents and press 'E' to add them to your team. Once on board, the NPC will throw their usual schedule out the window and follow you around the town as you go about your day, helping you with jobs like watering crops and chopping trees.

The life game's NPCs will also attack hostile monsters on your behalf and adventure with you into caves. Creator 'ThaliaFawnheart' has revealed a roadmap of upcoming features, and wants to add the ability for NPCs to forage, mine, fish, swim, and heal. There are even plans to allow players to recruit pets, which in turn will provide companion NPCs with their own distinct combat styles. That's sure to get Shane off his lazy behind.

You can download Stardew Squad right now from Nexus Mods. Just make sure you already have SMAPI, the Stardew Modding API installed, and be aware that you may experience some crashes and bugs.

If you're obsessed with Stardew, make sure to check out our picks of the best games like Stardew Valley. Or if you want even more chill titles, head over to our list of the best relaxing games.

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