The windswept farming sim "Stardew Valley" is laid-back in nature. Running a farm and making a profit is relatively easy, further fulfilling the fantasy of escaping from responsibilities for a more laid-back life. Modder Juanpa98ar, however, wanted to make the farming life a "more challenging and realistic experience," and created a mod called Hardew Valley.

While it may seem counterintuitive given the core of the game, Stardew Valley fans have always found ways to make the game more challenging; like Wafflebro's "5th Candle Challenge," players can create their own rules and even hardcore mods that increase enemy damage by 200%.

However, Juanpa98ar's Hardew Valley mod raises the difficulty of Stardew Valley in other ways, especially by focusing on the production mode. Crops are sold more cheaply, crafting requires more materials, and the amount of resources to build community centers is increased.

Specifically, the mod introduces a decrease in the monetary value of goods, with items obtained from animals, gathering, and produce being worth more than three times less. Materials required to craft items have increased and rare item drops have become even rarer. Robin buildings are now twice as expensive as their original price, and the bundle required to rebuild the community center contains more objects. On top of that, enemy strength has been doubled and the range of random damage dealt to enemies has been increased, making fights more unpredictable.

This is definitely a challenging mod and adds a bit more structure for those who follow their own predetermined rules. Check out the Hardew Valley page on Nexus mods for download instructions.

If you want to play Stardew Valley more easily, check out these handy tips. There's how to find secret notes, the best layout for sprinklers, a comprehensive guide to becoming a formidable farmer, and more.