Your Favorite Cozy Game Just Merged With The Best RPG Of All Time
A divine crossover.
Did you fall so head over heels with the debonair vampire Astarion that you wish you could romance him all over again? Well, if you’re a steady farm hand in the greatest farm sim of all time (like the 41 million other people who are), you may be in luck.
A newly released mod called Baldur’s Village injects a substantial dose of Larian Studios’ award-winning RPG into Concerned Apes’ 2012 hit Stardew Valley. The fan-made mod isn’t a total conversion that turns the cozy rural paradise into Faerûn. Rather, it adds the cast of Baldur’s Gate 3 to Pelican Town, alongside a handful of new places, features, and Dungeons and Dragons-inspired storylines. And yes, that includes a romancable Astarion looking for love in this quaint little village.
“A new village has recently been built north of Pelican Town, and its new residents seem...rather unusual,” reads the set up for the crossover. The game will take place after the events of Baldur’s Gate 3, letting players see how these legendary heroes are getting on after their adventure fending off the Dead Three.
Baldur’s Village adds the beloved cast of Baldur’s Gate 3 to the classic farm sim game.
There are a total of 20 new characters waiting for players in Baldur’s Village, including your old party members Wyll, Karlach, Shadowheart, Lae’zel, Gale, and Halsin. You’ll find these characters across six new explorable regions themed after Baldur’s Gate 3, new dialogue and timely events to attend, new shops with new themed-in-game items, and tons of easter eggs for fans of both series to enjoy.
The star (for now) seems to be Astarion, who players can not only talk to, but has his own set of questlines and can even be married with enough time investment. Best of all, the mod doesn’t require a fresh save or have a point of no return. The Baldur’s Village coexists with your town in the main game.
According to Nexus Mods, Baldur’s Village has been downloaded more than 11,400 times in two days, and has even received a glowing stamp of approval from Baldur’s Gate 3 director Sven Vincke.
“So much love went into this,” Vincke tweeted the mod creator team known as Xun. “Amazing work!”
Astarion is romancable once more in the fan-made mod.
Combining the best farm sim of all time with the best RPG of the decade makes for a pretty snug fit. While Baldur’s Gate 3’s dramatic epic is full of unforgettable moments and set pieces, some of its biggest highlights are the subtler character moments that happen away from the frontlines. A way to hang out with these characters once more without the world at stake sounds like a pretty comforting way to spend a few hours. Seeing the iconic cast of characters converted into the 16-bit style of Stardew Valley is worth jumping into alone.
The mod’s release isn’t the end of this crossover either. Xun has promised that more free content is on the way for Baldur’s Village. This includes expanding the mod’s world-building, background stories, and new gameplay features. Perhaps the most exciting update coming is a new romance storyline for Halsin. Here’s to hoping my main squeeze Karlach is next up for a romance subplot.
