Who Is The Best Spouse in Stardew Valley?

[@Leapalot]

How did your favorite stack up? 🤔

[@MrThelemonrose]

Pretty much as expected, good to see the Seb Simps and Shane Shunners are in agreement 😂 If I could, I would marry Abigail, Elliot and Sebastian at the same time. Though I'd feel bad for sam then... though I feel like he should marry Penny

[@Rina_69]

both are in first place and people hate my least fav still salty sandy and the wizard didn't win the marriage candidate poll CA made lol

[@ftwilwin]

@@MrThelemonrose I married Penny, Sebastian, and Sam in one of my saves. With the free love mod. LOL

[@ftwilwin]

Not sure if I'm surprised because I love Sebastian. Glad to see most people do like him and don't hate him.

[@pup00o38]

THEY DID MY BOY SAM BAD!!! SAME WITH EMILY AND PENNY!!!!! cant we appreciate genuinely nice people 😭

[@loubailing1999]

I married Elliot because in my game he could move when time was paused and I thought that was a Giga Chad move.

[@yourehereforthatarentyou]

sigma grindset rule #331 never stop the grind for any reason, even time itself

[@noobatgames3321]

Have to go with the dio clone I guess

[@jimjimson6208]

jojos fans on their way to the replies of this comment:

[@dao_of_potato4957]

@@jimjimson6208 *Golden Requiem starts playing*

[@wolflithay6380]

So its the same as star platinum

[@marioruiz5758]

I bet half of Leah's fans mistook her with Robin and after finding out Robin is already married went along with it

[@juanjuri6127]

Look,

[@amandarockhold8390]

i liked her because she was an artist tbh

[@hail_karMa]

Don't call me out

[@jufriol8733]

You’re absolutely correct

[@EconoSpagetti]

You’re right!

[@PharmDACR]

As a data nerd, I absolutely love this. I’m 51, and would love a couple of older marriage candidates. I married Harvey, as I’m a pharmacist and so get where he’s coming from when it comes to job stress, but also because he’s the closest in age to me. The thing is, I see him as early 40s at most, so still ten years my junior. Give me some middle-aged candidates, CA! Heck, let me marry Willy or Gus. Either one is husband material. Then again, I could just embrace the role of SV’s resident cougar.

[@Leapalot]

I do think Gus or Willy would be prime candidates! Marnie, Lewis, Gunther, Pam and Marlon could even be options! It would take a lot of work to expand the dating pool to the entire town, but it sure would be nice for folks to have someone who fits their image of a partner!

[@Dafmelo10]

I'm currently playing as a fisherman and would love to marry Willy!!

[@Possumbreath]

I had this problem too, most of the marriage options read like they're barely 20 at best. They aren't in the same life stage/maturity stage as me. Abigail mentioned having to do homework and I was like well I can never marry you now without feeling weird about it. Let me marry Marlon 2k22

[@hopeforescape884]

100% agree

[@ellenwiig3243]

Have you tried the expansion mod...? Just saying 😊

[@TumblinWeeds]

Shane’s marriage story is actually so sad. So many people marry him after feeling they’ve made a real difference in his life, only to realize he’s no different at all.

[@nesser52]

A lesson for people who are used to "save others", pretty toxic idea from the media and our parents ofc 😔

[@anonymouslucario285]

@@nesser52 so basically what your saying is Shane will always be a horrible person no matter what

[@anonymouslucario285]

I wouldn't say that, he loves you doesn't he?

[@shipper-of-heart8898]

I mean he does try to cut back on his drinking (at least he claims in the 14 heart event), but i think it also shows its not automatic that someone gets better after being in a relationship. He's got a lot to work on, and he seems to try. He's got some trauma he needs worked through (lost what we can assume to be his best friend, then was tasked to raise his very young goddaughter.) He is around his 30s i think? (Haley's journal entry says he's one of the 'older men' in the valley). And to be fair, I dont think any of the candidates change much after marrying them. If their heart level is high they'll be more affectionate iirc, but if it lowers, they get cold and distant.

[@TH3H3LLR41S3R]

@@shipper-of-heart8898 it's heavily implied that he regularly goes through waves of spiraling and rise out of his depression and marrying the PC finally gave him the change and support he's mind was missing to stick to it.

[@Occhii_Docchii]

If Sebastian and Leah saw how much they’re dominating Leah would make an art piece of appreciation and Seb would straight up ugly cry

[@Leapalot]

And Shane would drink a beer. 🍻

[@GuiSmith]

@@Leapalot Because everyone let his hearts slip and he started drinking again

[@theendofthestart8179]

they are not real people ash, cmon.

[@athena1491]

@@theendofthestart8179 .....why does that matter? like, theyre saying it would be an in character action for them in a hypothetical situation, not like, something that is actually really gonna be happening.

[@theendofthestart8179]

@@athena1491 asking why something "matters" is one of the most pointless questions ever, for infact, nothing matters.

[@bragny]

I think one issue with marrying Shane, that goes beyond the room, is that he has such an interesting character arc, but marrying seems to almost destroy it and push him back into his old ways 😅 He drinks again, is a slob etc. So even if you do care about Shane you are better of not marrying him.

[@mitsua2411]

That's exactly me. I really like Shane and his events, though at first I didn't like him but somehow I often met him, so he grew on me. I did date Shane, but after looking at what people said about Shane after marriage, I was a bit upset. I thought he would be a little bit better than that. I broke it off with Shane, but I still really like his character.

[@lucienfortner841]

Hard agree. I actually like befriending him and seeing him make some progress in his life, but I would never ever marry him.

[@dariakazakova2138]

WASTED potential, am I right? 🤡

[@vincentgraymore]

Yea he has the best arc in the game in my opinion. I never married him though, seems like he more need a friend.

[@marshall3581]

Eh, I still married him out of being able to deeply understand him. He's drinking joja cola instead and his depression isn't gone, it's just better. He's making progress, not perfect. :)

[@jbullforg]

I chose my first spouse by looking on the wiki at their attached room. Turns out Penny's was the nicest, so I married her.

[@Leapalot]

I would almost guarantee that the Shane regretting survey takers did not do this! 😅

[@jbullforg]

@@Leapalot I looked at the wiki for this before I got any heart events from any of the villagers, so there was zero personality bias from it.

[@dangerravioli3980]

I did something similar. I looked at their rooms, but also on whether they hated cheese or not. If they hate cheese then they're out.

[@dream_walker9726]

@@dangerravioli3980 this is the only way to do it

[@leshooty2772]

@@dangerravioli3980 Leah is the only good option simply for the fact one of her favorite gifts is goat cheese

[@Microondah]

I don't know how other people felt about Alex' story, but as a gay man, his whole transition from "no homo bro" to "okay maybe a bit homo" to "you're the love of my life" is that 5-star fanfic levels of content that makes me thrive. I couldn't be happier that I went for the hot jock for my first marriage and wasn't disappointed.

[@athernaut7939]

It's different when you play as a female character tho, he comes off as a misogynist which is why a lot of people dont like him

[@Microondah]

@@athernaut7939 okay, now I can totally see why he ranked that low. Damn Alex, you really need to move out of George's house

[@lordarthur2165]

Same, that's why I love him!

[@emblight4077]

I feel like his character arc is best when the player is a guy. As a woman I didn’t like him for the longest time due to his misogynistic remarks but I learned more about him and totally get liking him. Later on he stops making such remarks but also doesn’t really address it unlike how Shane apologizes for being rude at first. Hope you have a lovely day/night!!

[@maddie4572]

also overtime you slowly get to learn about the trauma he has from his dad and what happened with his mom and I felt like he was pretty well developed

[@pennynifiachra6308]

Leah was my first marriage candidate, not only because she's super down-to-earth, but because I thought I would get her house. Imagine my disappointment when she moved into mine instead 😅

[@Leapalot]

This comment made me think it would be really cool to move your farmhouse around like in Harvest Moon: Magical Melody

[@l0remipsum991]

Same. Her house is placed strategically imo. Having easy access to Cindersap and Pelican Town at the same time is nice. More so if Robin made the shortcut to the beach.

[@Kizaco]

“Sebastian is absolutely loved” As he should be

[@shipper-of-heart8898]

He deserves it

[@callmefox630]

SEBBY

[@ellap6828]

Can you explain the seb love? I don't really want to date an emo smoker?

[@Kizaco]

@@ellap6828 Cute emo boy like chocolate egg, hard on the outside soft and kind on the inside.

[@ladydovedove2240]

@@ellap6828 he like phrogs

[@funnymonk2432]

What I found somewhat interesting was that despite Shane not being romanceable at launch, he was still a consistant first marriage.

[@Leapalot]

True! But the game's been out long enough that many, many players have never played a game without a romanceable Shane or Emily. 🤔

[@DeveusBelkan]

I feel like people must gravitate towards Shane because he is the most "plain/everyday" bachelor. The others play to specific tastes, which is perhaps why Sebastian dominated -- you absolutely knew what you were getting with Seb. But Shane seemed like an ordinary guy and then you realize he's a problem drunk.

[@zephyrias]

That actually makes sense through the events he originally wasn’t a romance option.

[@shipper-of-heart8898]

He got the biggest glow up from his alpha portrait, so people were just like "huh..."

[@shipper-of-heart8898]

@@DeveusBelkan Sebastian also seems to check a bunch of boxes for people He's a little gothic/emo He smokes (also implied he prob smokes pot too) and has a motorcycle He's kinda shy and quiet You see his home life and realize "jeez...I need to get him out of here." He's kinda nerdy (plays DnD-esque game and also does freelance programming) He's really sweet/bit of a romantic, esp after marriage

[@HEATHERS-]

Wholesome fact: I romanced shane with pizza instead of beer to “help” with his alcohol issues Edit: wow thanks for all the- YOU THOUGHT I WAS GONNA SAY THANKS FOR ALL THE LIKES JK. IMA SAY IT LIKE AN OLD ENGLISHMAN thankest youth forth alth thee favors.

[@Leapalot]

Good for you!

[@ZeeNastee]

Meanwhile other players "I give Pam a beer before she drives the bus" 😆

[@smittyblu5396]

Same! I also gave him all my hot peppers

[@aikaameya3930]

I could never bring myself to give him any beers 😔 I'll admit I've given pam a few though

[@HEATHERS-]

@@aikaameya3930 hey we all have faults be proud

[@rude_prunes]

I will always be proud of marrying Haley and I will stand by the fact that she's the best marriage candidate. No one gives her a chance because she is pretty stuck-up when you first meet her, which I can understand, but sometimes just showing others kindness, even if they don't deserve it, is worth it. Haley becomes one of the sweetest, caring, and most wonderful spouses that I genuinely love interacting with every day, even though we've been married for years. In conclusion, people need to give Haley a chance

[@kit_chen_ben]

YES EXACTLY! I also adore the cow heart event. It was just adorable and seeing her smile after what one would presume to be an embarrassing event. She also seems to be the most mature of the candidates which i do like

[@ratinacage8393]

And her heart events are the best, like the cow one and the dark room one. I love her, she isn't as flat as other characters, and her character development stays (unlike Shane's).

[@stupidron7108]

I agree. I see her as a city girl who's having a hard time adjusting to her new life in the countryside, with all her talks about malls and shopping seeming like she misses it. Her heart events and eventually marriage will have her experience and appreciate a farmer's life (understanding the player's decision), and I think that's a very interesting character arc. Could say that she has the best character arc/development. I can kinda relate to her as well, so that kinda draws me to her. I temporarily moved to my dad's hometown, which was a rural area with lots of farms (the house had a garden and chicken coop as well), for a year before moving back. Not like Haley who permanently moved, but I can still understand how hard it is to have that kind of transition.

[@Incirion_Gaming]

Her favorite gifts say a lot about her as well. She loves food and flowers. No gems, and she even hates the prismatic shard.

[@aaronka1285]

In my first playthrough my friend and I picked marriage candidates for each other and we both picked who we thought would be the most annoying. I picked Shane for her and she gave me Haley. Probably because the first thing she does is insult your outfit. We both ended up really liking our characters, though. Sad to see Haley and Shane both placed so low.

[@irmaostervall8413]

I like the fact that the marriage candidates’ sexualities aren’t hard coded, though I totally get where people who would like them to be are coming from. I think one thing that could help is to have more representation of other sexualities amongst the couples that already exist in Pelican Town, because then we would get more deliberate and explicit representation but not at the cost of limiting the marriage candidates available to the player.

[@catsonbrooms]

this is such a good solution!! that way we feel like there's actually a queer community in pelican town aside from the candidates if you happen to be the same sex as them (which, because of its relativity to the player, doesn't always feel like it "counts")

[@stinegregersen6553]

Was gonna comment this exact thing!!!

[@hinasakukimi]

give gus a husband 😤👏 (inB4 people think i'm demanding this. i just think it'd be a cute idea)

[@victory8928]

@@hinasakukimi same it is a really cute idea, heck maybe the Wizard has a certain new someone they are rather not willing to talk about to the player. Like he moved on with his life, so said person is why his ex-wife broke up with him. Heck, I love the idea of Willy being Gus’s husband/ BF given how Gus cares about Willy and especially in the omelet scene really really cared about if Willy enjoyed the omelet.

[@hinasakukimi]

@@victory8928 omg willy/gus is so galaxy brained. i support it 😌🏳‍🌈

[@auroraborealis8602]

I'm a big Elliott fan, so it was gratifying to see his graph. So, so many people think he's very hated or just a really average marriage candidate in regards to his likeability, but the truth is that he's polarizing. And by stereotyping Elliott as fairly disliked, Elliott fans get forgotten. So it was nice to see the data presented this way.

[@lucienfortner841]

Honestly, I don't understand why he isn't more loved. Who doesn't want a romance option to actually be romantic? He's more romantic than all the rest put together. And that fantastic mane is a great bonus.

[@skullchimes]

@@lucienfortner841 TRUUUUUE i wanna swim in that hair

[@Dark-Blue-Diamond]

I also really love Elliott. He is so sweet

[@kateb6699]

Never married Elliot b/c im gay but he's a rlly sweet character :] hard not to like him

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

Elliot is the typical artist/writer-who-gets-away-from-it-all-type. So meh to me. I feel like his fans would be the mostly notlikeothergirls.

[@halfatrex4555]

It would be interesting to have a "why do you love/hate x marriage canidate" fill in the blank. Because the hated/loved canidates have very strong reactions and it would just be interesting to see if there’s a common theme with them.

[@Leapalot]

That would be neat! Much harder to sort though... 😅

[@countrye3013]

@@Leapalot you could look at the word cloud and the biggest word is the most common, that way you could at least see what people have in common about hating that character

[@unstable7505]

I'm really surprised with how many people hate Alex. He has one of the most engaging stories, and you get to see him change for the better While I do understand that he might not be your favorite, his story makes him in my top 3 best spouses easily.

[@Leapalot]

Who else would you put up there in top 3?

[@cottonflowers849]

i hate him because of how sexist he is if you play as a woman, i have seen his story and its very sweet and i would probably like him if i went through the effort of befriending him but but everytime i talk to him i want to rip my hair out lol /lh

[@danicaperkinson1960]

@@cottonflowers849 he definitely improves as you become friends with him, just like Haley

[@expiredcheese9047]

@@cottonflowers849 Same!! Which is why I'm leaving his events last

[@Jinjetica]

He's a pompous jerk... Even if I wanted to become friends with him...I always choose the option that makes him mad, bc he's such a stereotypical high school jock, and again, self absorbed and kinda sexist... Similar to Haley being a stereotypical preppy high schooler, imo, but I actually like Haley on the other hand.

[@morgann2938]

I've never been all that interested in Maru, and recently I came to the conclusion that it's because she's like 16 in my mind. Every time I talk to her, I kinda feel like I shouldn't be lol. I know she's an adult, I hope this doesn't make anyone who loves Maru think I'm judging them. It's because I initially assumed Sebastian was ~20 and that when his mom remarried and had Maru, he was old enough to remember it, making her significantly younger than him. Absolutely none of that us canon as far as I'm aware, that's just how I interpreted things and in doing so accidentally ruined a marriage candidate for myself. Oops.

[@Leapalot]

Honestly I kind of get that. I'm not sure why, but I always had Sebastian at like 21/22 and Maru at like 17/18. There's no support for that at all in game, so I don't know where it came from.

[@giantenemycrab1192]

I first played the game when i was 15 and Maru was actually the first of the candidates that I liked. But yeah as I got older I've never romanced her again.

[@amberbydreamsart5467]

I always feel like Abigail is like 16 myself.. I know she's supposed to be college age but the way she fights with her parents and the way she deals with it just reminds me of that time in my life and i'm like.... nah i'm too old for this

[@Amity-park]

It’s the way the characters dress/act coupled with living with their parents I think. I assumed they were older than they looked and the fact that they’re stuck with parents can be explained by there not being any other housing in the valley and moving out to be very difficult or expensive. I think the appearance of them seeming younger than they are doesn’t bother me because 1) I’m 30 but so small I still get mistaken for a teen. 2) I often play the farmer as a character that isn’t supposed to be me. So I can imagine the Original Character Farmer to be around the same age as whoever I end up marrying on that file.

[@pandemonicpixie]

I felt that way about Abigail. She's interesting at first, but over time more and more I thought she seemed really young in the writing.

[@eimajunknown]

i definitely do agree that we should have more POC. at the very beginning, i was interested in demetrius lol.

[@RegstarRogstar]

MAN DEMETRIUS WAS SO HOT AT FIRST a calm smiley intellectual man who likes strawberries and icecreams?! Wow!! But he acted so damn annoying about maru and seb he irked me

[@ystacalden]

if you play on PC you can use the Diverse Stardew Valley mod, it gives the option of making Elliot black, he shifted from 4th to 2nd for me with just that portrait/sprite swap. Also lets you make Hayley and Emily black, but I have them Romani instead.

[@renaldoawesomesauce1654]

Maybe you should value people beyond their skin color? Fucking racists.

[@ap2222]

I absolutely love Haley and it annoys me that both her and Shane were very mean to the farmer, yet so many people married Shane but not Haley. Which is such a shame cause she becomes such a kind individual while he goes back to his negative tendencies

[@cowmeatius7151]

I think the problem with Haley is her heart events, they just aren't as hard hitting as Shane's, and there is much less emotional weight (Haley is my fav btw, but that 2 heart scene is so awful)

[@ZomigNasal]

Totally agree! I love Haley and tbh I think a lot of the hate she gets is bc our society hates women. Haley is unapologetically feminine and likes typically feminine thing (clothes, make-up) so of course people gotta hate on her... 😒

[@D4llast]

@@ZomigNasal ehhhhh I heavily disagree. I think what cowMeatius said makes more sense... Shane heart events hurt, Haley ? Nope it doesn't. At the end it's just "ah so she hated me but now she likes me, why did she hate me ? I have no idea but she likes me now" Shane.... Come on...

[@yoonzino7433]

@@D4llast you may disagree but they bring up a solid point. A lot of hyper feminine women in games and real life are hated for the sole fact that they don’t hate (and go so far as to love) their femininity.

[@D4llast]

@@yoonzino7433 that's something I've never witnessed in the communities I have been in

[@blueblank8287]

I’m honestly not shocked to see Shane is a lot of people’s first married characters but least-liked *as* a marriage candidate - he’s easy to get drawn to as an *interesting* and sympathetic character, but is also the definition of “this is someone whose problems you’re not going to fix through romance/aren’t just going to go away because he has a romantic partner”. Signed, someone who likes Shane a lot and doesn’t regret having married him in my first playthrough even though I probably ultimately like Abigail a *little* more… but is also aro and easily ends up thinking “I’ll marry a character I want to be best friends with. And that’s what Shane could use - a good friend.”

[@lightningmcqueen6057]

I actually love that the NPC's sexualities aren't hard coded. I'm bisexual, and SDV was one of the first pieces of media I encountered that I felt really seen by in that way. Especially because I'm in a committed (straight-passing) relationship irl, the game felt like a safe way for me to explore my sexuality without breaking the terms of my real life relationship. I think if certain candidates weren't available to date it would've taken away from that a bit - although I understand why other people would want characters who are explicitly of a certain sexuality. Also, my (straight man) fiancé and my (bi woman) fav candidate is both Leah, so we had to fight over her on the save file we have together lmao

[@lemnlyme]

wait omg we have so much in common, im a bi woman in a relationship with a straight man who also love sdv for allowing me to express my sexuality

[@lightningmcqueen6057]

@@lemnlyme HAHAHA twinning 😵‍💫😵‍💫 I think sdv is really good for that though!! Every time I marry a woman in game I’m like :) nice lol

[@jackeroni216]

who won

[@lightningmcqueen6057]

@@jackeroni216 he did tragically :( I married Maru instead which I’m also enjoying, and I’m married to Leah in my personal save file so I can’t be too mad lol

[@mojigreen6461]

Omg same... I finally can realize my crush on pretty mean girls like Haley!!!

[@finchblue7322]

I find it fascinating that Elliott is so controversial (meaning the fanbase is so split on him) compared to the other hated villagers. What I mean by this is that the hated villagers (Haley and Shane) are actively rude to you until higher heart levels, so them being disliked is understandable. But Elliott is polite and kind to you the first time you meet him, and is consistent in his friendliness. Yet he is so hated for some reason. You can't really say he is pretentious because he is quite humble, but just uses some big words at times. He doesn't look down on you or is no way trying to puff himself up to seem better than he is. He is just a guy with dreams, just like anyone else. I don't get the Elliott hate, and I don't think I ever will. Though, I may be biased seeing as he is my favorite marriage candidate and villager period, and that I am basically him (evidence, my creative writing professor calling my language melodramatic)

[@finchblue7322]

Also, maybe its because more of the participants in the survey are women and not men, so therefor more are lesbians and not gay men, but I was surprised by how many homosexuals hated Elliott. I am a raging homosexual man, and (as stated earlier) I absolutely love Elliott

[@GiornoGiovannaGangstar]

I'm a bi woman (leaning more towards gay) and I love Elliott to bits! He's nice, gentle, patient, caring, and actually helpful around the farm. Plus, he doesn't give up on his dream of becoming an author when he moves in with you. He's the otome man of my dreams!!! I just wish people would give him a chance and see how dorky he really is underneath the refined guise of his author status ^^;

[@rowboatcop4451]

Yes, my girl Leah reigns supreme! When it comes to romance in the game, i wish characters that im not romancing would pair off with each other. I feel bad that they dont get character development just because im not marrying them. And there are some clear pairs Cool data, thanks for sharing 😊

[@Leapalot]

I would love to see candidates eventually pairing up, or even moving out of town! 😬

[@methernet0]

@@Leapalot *cough cough* shane

[@steffurness]

Yes! There are more than a few I have no interest in courting once I see the way their schedules are set up to be paired off w each other.

[@SnapsDee28]

theres mods for this! i feel the same, havnt played w them yet but its called 'life cycle' on nexus - i know not everyone can play with them but its a good option for pc

[@jilliangeisel2585]

Yeah, I never romance Elliot or Leah so I kinda wish they could have relationship development with each other

[@Sweet.peach21]

As a staunch Haley fan, I had no clue who she was when I first decided I’d marry her. I just saw blonde girl snd went “yeah, she’s gonna be my wife”. Little did I know she was one of the hardest bachelorette to woo but I still got her in my first year 😅

[@ratinacage8393]

Same. Love her. She also reminds me a lot of my partner

[@Sweet.peach21]

@Edward Red Mendoza idk I thought she was pretty and I’m love women so 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@muffin2986]

Actually she’s one of the only character you can get enough hearts to dance with at the first flower dance

[@worldsbiggestholdthegirlfan]

I feel like she’s easy to befriend. Especially since her birthday is super early on in the game, just give her a daffodil on her bday year one and you’re golden

[@Rina_69]

i wish i could make krobus move in as a roommate while being married to someone else

[@Leapalot]

This would be cool! Roommates+marriage. Or expand it out to hiring farmhands!

[@CyberDucke]

@@Leapalotor take care of krobus

[@Sailor_S]

As an Ace, Elliot stan, I am happy to be in a majority for once.

[@namimori8256]

He is a very good spouse!!! Super sweet and always fixes the fences right when you need him to. I have like five pomegranate trees on the farm I’m married to him so that he has pomegranates year round! I feel like a lot of people hate him just because this or that popular KZbinr does :(

[@nobodyishere9903]

his entire personality is his chin *peace*

[@Sailor_S]

@@nobodyishere9903 not sure why you feel the need to tell me that, but you do sound like a dog person whose only personality is shouting that they hate cats with it.

[@beccamann7535]

I’m ace too and he’s always my favorite. I always love the sweet, devoted, and romantic characters

[@bloomenvogel]

Elliott stans unite

[@AuraOfANobody]

I actually don't mind the candidates all being available to players regardless of player character gender - While I totally get the wish for gender-locked romanceable characters, I also look at, for instance, the old Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons games where everyone was straight, and I think about how if my favorite candidate wasn't of the compatible gender, that would necessitate playing as a gender which I'm not, and how, while I don't mind that personally, I know some people might not be comfortable doing that. Like, I wouldn't want my trans friends who have more dysphoria than I do to have to play as their assigned gender to romance someone, yknow? Even if in real life there are people who aren't attracted to all genders, I feel like in the context of a game where romance is a fairly big mechanic, it's okay to ignore that a bit for the sake of player agency. It would be cool if there were some non-romanceable npcs who were explicitly gay, though - Maybe add some same gender couples, or have a plot and events with an npc focusing on their love life and attraction to another character of the same gender who's *not* the player? When it comes to the romanceable characters, I just wish the game was more... explicit, I guess, about their being bi/pan/etc.? Like, some of the characters have comments about not realizing they were attracted to people of the same gender until you came around, and that's fine and good! But some situations feel a little weird in the meta context of the game, like Leah's ex changing genders to be the same gender as the player, when Leah is mechanically bi - I almost wish it was the other way around, where if you played as a woman Kel would be a man, and vice versa, to establish in-story that Leah being dateable by any gender player character isn't just playersexuality as a mechanic, but her *actually* being a bi/pan/etc. *character.* Does that make sense?

[@Leapalot]

I think that makes sense. Shutting the door on parts of an already small dating pool could turn off a ton of players. And it would be nice if there were fewer... gotcha moments? when the NPC realizes that they care for the player. The idea of having more villagers who are explicitly gay etc. though, I like that a lot!

[@Normal_Panda]

When I was little i would play Harvest moon and I remember this one memory- I was playing as a girl and when I ran around I saw a girl ( I think her name was Nina) anyways, I really wanted to marry Nina because she was pretty but the game wouldnt let me and I didnt play as a boy because I didnt want to look like a boy through my whole time playing and It made me really upset, even though I was so young at the time-

[@bazspencer1360]

That’s why I really hate the opinion of gender locking for marrying certain characters because 1. It would give me incredible amounts of dysphoria to say, play a female to marry Sebastian or something. Like I would probably just stop playing idk and 2. ,,,,, it’s a video game

[@Eve.v]

big agree with your comment and want to second the kel thing !! i misread / misremembered what i had read on the wiki, so i thought it *was* the case that kel would be whatever gender the player wasn't, as like, an explicit acknowledgement of leah's bisexuality, and i was SO BUMMED when it turned out it wasn't.

[@thisismychannel4535]

This game isn’t for everyone. Just don’t let your trans friend play it. Tf?

[@teripen]

Thanks for this survey and the detailed analysis! While I don’t hate Shane and Haley as characters (they get the best arcs!), as candidates they stay in my friendzone🙂

[@Leapalot]

They do both have the most interesting growth in my opinion. Also total jerks to start though. 😤

[@meabhmurphy9090]

One thing I'd like to see is LGBT+ characters who are not bachelors or bachelorettes. All the available characters are effectively bi, but all the non-romanceable characters in relationships are in straight-appearing relationships.

[@twinbruisesonmyshins]

yeah thats perfect. personally i think social rpgs where u CAN marry somebody should be playersexual. if i date them theyre a lesbian now lol

[@Karoljuas]

Ew

[@dolly_milk]

I figured Alex wouldn't be that popular with the poll results but my heart is still stomped on because I love him so much 😭 I think overall people are quick to overlook Alex in the dating phase because of his earlier dialogue. I kind of picked up quick that it was a superiority-inferiority complex he was dealing with before it was revealed with his later heart events. Even then, I'm surprised that people still don't like Alex as much if they're a long-term sdv player after getting to understand his backstory and his heart events. The little music box one on the beach is one of my fav heart events of all the bachelors/bachelorettes too. When I first played SDV he was my first pick and after 600 hours of playing different files I always keep getting drawn back to courting Alex again, I just feel he's a very loving partner, especially in the married life. While I'm not surprised Seb is the fandom fav, in my experience, I feel he lacks as a partner in the married life similar to Shane and even Sam. I guess while Sebastian is a popular fav he's fun as boyfriend material but kind of inconsiderate as husband material. I think what continues to draw me towards Alex is just that nuance between coming off as jerkish to other people but letting his walls down with you and growing a lot as a person. His marriage dialogue is SO sweet and he really does feel like he belongs on the farm with you to help raise those little pixely kids; as opposed to marrying partners like Shane, Sam or Sebastian I feel you hold them back from their dreams and I don't think those three are father-material either. Anyways this was a really fun vid to see everyone's poll results! My job focuses with data analytics but I love when you can apply this stuff to hobbies or anything for fun!

[@Leapalot]

Glad you enjoyed it! Some big Alex fans are coming to support him in the comments!

[@clubpenguin1212100]

I'm off to marry Alex in a fresh file because of this comment! Great insight I totally overlooked even after playing since 2016. He seems like a huge sweetheart :')

[@dolly_milk]

@@clubpenguin1212100 Hey thats great to hear! I hope you enjoy your playthrough with Alex!! When you marry him he often makes hashbrowns or scrambled eggs which is a nice perk

[@kayvonnavi2294]

did you romance Alex as a guy? It gets even cuter in the topic of nuanced jerkiness

[@dolly_milk]

@@kayvonnavi2294 Not on my own file but I have watched a handful of gameplays with the dialogue differences! I like how there's also a change of heart for George eventually accepting Alex being with his husband

[@Ventiwings]

I like the romance able candidates not being hard coded with their sexualities tbh. Some of them even have special dialogue like with Abigail and Alex being surprised that they'd like someone of the same gender. It's a nice touch that adds more nuances. Like they all don't know what they like but they're open to the idea! As for the perception of being 'farmer sexual' I like thinking of it as them not experiencing life outside the valley a lot so you, the player, entering their lives gives them a new perspective and, please don't take this the wrong way, option. All of the npcs basically grew up together so thinking of anyone differently in their town is difficult to process. But you? A new person joining the small community? You're an enigma. And just like how they're learning about you, they're learning more about themselves. You can tell I have a lot of sentimentality towards stardew ahaha it felt nice not being judged in game about questioning sexuality and all that

[@DarkCT]

I agree with you on this one. for me, it was more that if someone is interested in a character on a blind first playthrough, they have that option to see that characters full route without being stopped by some choice they made at the starting screen. I'm not the type, but it seems a LOT of people in the respondents at the least were asking for hardcoding, but possibly also asking about more player options. I get the feeling a lot of people make characters that are as close to themselves as possible, so asking for both to have been a thing would likely have altered these favorite results due to people unwilling to change their character to see the full routes due to playing a character a way they aren't. moreover if the hardcoding affected initial meetings or something i imagine these results would be even more different. instead, these results we see stem from how different people perceive the characters personalities and progressions or lack thereof based on their own interests and interactions with them. You as the Farmer come in and shake up everyone's lives. Romantically too!

[@mAximalist0103]

I love Shane so much. I admittedly do use a small mod to clean up his room but I can look past it. I think Shane represents me as someone who has struggled with depression and alcoholism. I love the way he turns around. I don't like the misconception that Shane isn't sober. His 14 heart event it's confirmed he is sober and drinking Joja-Cola instead. (These are the cans that are found in his room) But also, he probably does fall back some days. That's okay, sobriety isn't easy. I do cringe at the "You smell like pepperoni" comments but I think that's just bad writing that needs to be updated. I'd love to see ConceredApe rewrite some of the characters a little. I also hate his room. But I love Shane's character as an idea, I also LOVE that he's flawed. Sometimes I find these characters are too perfect and way too stereotypical which is why I think Maru and Sam fall off a bit. I don't see why people turn him away because he spilled some soda 😔 Sorry for the rant, I'd love to hear what others think !

[@Leapalot]

The, “*smooch*... Mmm, it tastes like someone's been nibbling on pizza rolls.” line absolutely slays me. 😂

[@Mylenapony]

Fair lol

[@charlesbwilliams]

Crazy to see how so many people made the wrong choice and didn’t pick my boy big Harvey. All I’m saying is I’d kill for another balloon ride with the goat

[@xdrago1051]

I was interested in hailey eversince my first interaction where I think she insulted my shoes lmao. From that exact moment I saw the potential in her to change and become a more down to earth and nicer person. I wanted to see her grow, and she felt like one of the few characters that would actually change as I got to know them. And by far she was the one with the most character development. I adore her growth and her ability to not only change herself for the better but still feel like herself. She doesnt become a new character once romanced, she still loves fashion and photography, and I like that she sticks to her guns instead of doing a 180 for the sake of "redemption" I think everyone hates her because of the first impression people get when they try to talk to her early on. Bc of the constant insults and belittlement people just leave her at 0 hearts and ignore her. Or atleast that's what I think why people hate her so much. Heavily underappreciated

[@konpulsiv]

Very interesting video! I remember wanting to marry Shane so badly when the game first came out. His story seemed so interesting and his journey rewarding, so I was happy when CA announced that Shane would be eligible. But the marriage was a total desaster - all the progress he had made so far in the game vanished after he moved to my farm. I guess it's pretty realistic, after all, you can't simply cure depression and addiction through love alone. And relapses are very common. So, I think CA did a good job here, but on my next playthrough, I opted for someone who'd make my digital farmer self a bit happier in the long run 😅

[@Leapalot]

I do think it's a really solid representation. Like his struggles don't just end because he got a sweet home and a loving partner. But the room.... It's brutal.

[@MC-yt1uv]

I really appreciate the way Shane's story played out. I don't think it is a healthy message to say that people can be saved through romantic relationships. People can be trapped in toxic and unhappy relationships because they want to "fix" the person. Shane should definitely have support and friendship but marriage isn't a salve for every problem.

[@teddy1642]

The first candidate I married was Sebastian because he was recommended by my sister but as I got to know him I started relating to him more and more my second fav is Elliot :) also unrelated but leap if you were to take college lectures I’d 100% attend every time I love how soothing your voice is and the way you talk makes things easy to understand

[@Leapalot]

Thank you! That's so sweet! I wonder how long it would take me to compare people's first ranked candidates to their second. There might be patterns there... 🤔

[@teddy1642]

@@Leapalot for me Elliot and Sebastian are like the complete opposites Elliot is more verbal with his affections while Sebastian stays independent and his own way of showing love, ig I just wanted to try something else in the game since the course of both of their relationships is so vastly different.

[@steffurness]

@@teddy1642 but... they're both emo af. If I'm gaming for escapism, I don't want to indulge *more* of that mindset.

[@gildedmothroot]

although elliott can be a little pretentious at first, ive come to realise that thats just how writers are. as a writer, i talk like him all the time. everything is (usually) somewhat well articulated and almost sing-songy at times. ngl, it makes for good dialogue with others and it gives you more freedom and fun in tearing apart the english language! like referring to chickens exclusively as chimkins, intentionally mispronouncing thing for the fun of it, and also misspelling is a lot more satisfying when you (kinda) know how the language works! and also the constant romanticizing of life that both him and i do is a common trait amongst us writer peoples, which i suppose makes sense :'))

[@SnorboSockfish]

I think any hard coded representation would have to come in the form of non marriage candidates because I don’t think blocking player choice with story fits stardew. However I would love for the marriage candidates to be less rigidly heterosexual. I can’t think of any instance of any queer references outside of what the player causes (although you did mention something with Leah’s ex) but there’s plenty of casual straight moments with them. Just really anything that is/hints at queerness instead of it being relegated to player interactions

[@Dark-Blue-Diamond]

why do so many people not like Elliott? He is so sweet!

[@qwerty3793]

He's a polarizing character that some people find pretentious/stuck-up because of his flowery language. Some younger players also seem to think he's too old/unrelatable/uncool. To be fair, though, even when you're at low hearts with him, he's pretty kind to the farmer, unlike some other characters. Also he's easily my favorite marriage candidate, and the only one I've married, ha.

[@l0remipsum991]

Calling Gus as 'barman' in one of his hearts cutscenes is off-putting to some people

[@8rosesofthemoon8]

​@@l0remipsum991To be fair, isn't that a normal thing to do? Most people don't know the name of their server, the chef that cooks their food or the barman they order cocktails from, it's a small town but not everyone is close friends to each other, so he probably doesn't know Gus's name or is just more formal about it. I don't get it.

[@GuiSmith]

First, I want to mention how hysterical it is that the classic Pretty Girl x Brash Jock couple are most sought after by the gays. I just find that funny. Second, since I’m on a mod-making journey with this game already, I might need to try making a marriage candidate altering mod now, too. Oh how fun.

[@kat416]

I'm someone who took the survey and I'm so glad this vid popped up on my KZbin recommended to I could see the results!! I find the results super interesting as someone who is aro ace and it took me 4 in game years to get married because I wasn't bothered to. I only got married in the end to get the spouse stardrop 😅 and the other perks. I chose Sam in the end because he was always sweet to me, had nice heart events, easy to acquire loved gifts, I liked his family and his room was cool. Why I didn't choose Krobus was because I didn't like his room that much and a spouse had more benefits like gifting me stuff, cooking for me and farm chores plus I wanted to experience a 14 heart event. Shane was someone I never liked and his story was actually really interesting but he's not marriage material at all to me. Leah being so popular surprised me, I didn't like how much her story revolved around an ex. Also a lot of the marriage candidates seem kinda paired up already or just not in a position open to romance (Shane). Leah and Elliot are very close, Abigail and Sebastian and Haley and Alex which made me feel a bit left out especially at the flower dance and I feel bad taking someone else's place and leaving them out 😞 Something I looked into myself was marriage candidate dialogue and how it differed based on the farmers gender. For Harvey, Shane, Sam, Haley, Maru and Emily there is no gender specific dialogue. I think all the marriage candidates are cool people and I wish I could see all their heart events without having to give bouquets and the romance. I find it funny how a lot of people really focus on the romance aspect when that was barely on my radar 😂 just shows how aro I am I suppose. Thanks for doing this survey!

[@Leapalot]

Thanks for filling it out! I would love to see the candidates pair off! Or.... Move away? 😬

[@josephgaming9920]

Honestly this sounds like a fun yearly project you could do. You could see how the game and player base grows and expands and how that effects the data.

[@beccisharp]

I got so happy and surprised when you did a whole asexual section! Being ace we tend to get overlooked so super fascinating

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

I think it's very telling how many people think they have sympathy, but in reality, they just want to be saviors with the Shane storyline/marriage. They pretend to be selfless but when they see that someone with depression and alcoholism have relapses and aren't perfect, they inmediately hate him and dump him.

[@bubbles2215]

Shane is one of my favorite characters in the game, but I married him in my first play and after like 3 in game days, I was very unsure of my decision. His room is gross, he says kind of off putting things sometimes (eg: he gave me some food as a gift but only because it was about to expire and he wasn’t going to eat it), and he literally started talking about “beer or cider” at 6 in the morning. But I could never hurt him so I just started a new save file and married Penny instead. So I don’t hate him at all lol, I just don’t think he’s a great marriage candidate. I did go back and play my original file eventually to see what it’s like to be married to him, and I will say he does have a lot of dialogue lines compared to Penny, which was nice🤷‍♀️

[@Leapalot]

Maybe Shane just needs a friend more than a romantic partner? But I get it. Also when he tells you that you smell like pizza or whatever...

[@eyelessbun5785]

You can always divorce and wipe their memories. Its something I did not to preserve the friendship, but because I felt bad for hurting them like that.

[@Lu_c_]

I love both, but poor penny, the fandom doesn't like her cuz they Said that she Is boring

[@Lu_c_]

@@bubbles2215 same, when the shane train hit

[@santiagoacosta3372]

it's interesting how the Stardew valley community is so diverse

[@Leapalot]

I agree. The community is one of my favorite parts of Stardew Valley.

[@jpearce956]

I'm getting so defensive of Hayley! She has the most character growth! ❤

[@Leapalot]

She does have the most interesting change in character, but her initial chilliness means a lot of players won't see that. (I think)

[@Rikrobat]

Learning to not be superficial and stuck-up to new people doesn’t really vibe with me? Haha. I think it’s great that Haley grows as a person and I absolutely agree that she goes through a very clear arc of improvement. However, that doesn’t necessarily make me want to marry her, if that makes sense. I like Haley well enough as a friend, but I never have that feeling of “I want our relationship to be more serious” the way I do with other characters in the game.

[@evelynn1173]

@@Rikrobat for me I like the fact that Haley is kinda mean. Like it's always fun to have a character like that in there. That's kinda why I liked her cause I always like a girl who can bully me.

[@Rikrobat]

@@evelynn1173 - That’s absolutely solid in terms of liking Haley! As I’ve said before, it’s not so much that I don’t like Haley at all, but compared to the other marry-able women in SDV, she falls to the bottom of my list because of how she talks to me when we first meet. ❤️

[@evelynn1173]

@@Rikrobat oh yeah completely. For me I guess Abigail falls to the bottom of my list because she feels like an e-girl and one of those people who are like I'm not like other girls. Also after marriage she is so boring. Like her life doesn't feel fulfilled which makes me feel meh.

[@thefairybug40]

I still like Shane best. He's got a compelling personal story, and the fact that his own life goals actually align with farm life is why I like him best. Like, I'd feel bad marrying Maru or Harvey and making them water crops and feed chickens when they've got other stuff that they'd prefer to be doing. But this is what Shane actually wants and enjoys in life. He's a great partner for the main character -- arguably the best of the lot out of the bachelors. I guess Penny would be the best of the bachelorettes, just because she seems like she'd be genuinely happy as a mom and housewife.

[@athena1491]

I'm a poly lesbian, I married all the women. I was just interested in Abi, Penny, and Leah at first, and I absolutely loathed Haley because of her first line to the player... but, character progression happened and turns out all of them are pretty great. I also ended up making a room in the house dedicated to each of them, tho some are still a work in progress. -An occult themed sword training yard for Abi. -A big library and museum for Penny, with space for her to teach the kids if shed like to. -A plant FILLED art studio for Leah. -A cozy sewing room for Emily. -A little photo developing room for Haley. -Finally, a little spot for Maru to tinker with her inventions. I do like the massive top energy of rolling into town with 500 gold to my name, then successfully becoming a beloved member of the community, fixing all the communities issues, making millions from my farm, and marrying up all the eligible women within the span of 3 years. Also, id marry caroline as well, just because pierre is a dick to women and she deserves better. Or at least pay for her divorce lawyers. My plan now is to make my own shop in the lot by pierres, selling farm fresh produce, clothing, art, books, doodads, and occult items, for minimal profit, because stardew valley deserves better prices and service than Mr. "1000% markup". Stealing credit for my goods, trying to ruin my name, bribing to win the grange, being a dick to women, using my accomplishments and generosity to run your competitor out of town and bring back your monopoly, not on my watch buddy, youre getting the axe too.

[@havana6020]

great video!!! to test your theory on shane, maybe next time you can ask who people have divorced before. i also want to see non-romance related data, like fav season, crops, farm type, festival... etc

[@Leapalot]

I do think there are a ton of insights we could pull from the community, and I like the divorce question! I'm a little leery of boring people with endless quizzes though! 😅

[@Amity-park]

@@Leapalot I think the quizzes are fun and engaging!

[@joannezzy]

this survey shows that people should talk to maru more

[@Leapalot]

Definitely true. I do find that she ends up underrepresented in most conversations I have. She's just kind of there for most people.

[@lillion9134]

Definitely! She was my least favourite until my girlfriend married her in her game and started gushing about how sweet she was, I'm dating her in my game now and she's honestly one of the best candidates to feel like you're actually dating &c

[@colleen4097]

The stats nerd in me absolutely loves this, and also has lots of thoughts which I will now share. The first one is that you could derive an additional variable that describes which gender/s the respondent is attracted to! Thinking about the NPCs that have differing dialogue depending on the gender of the player (is Alex more popular with MLM than straight women?) That first idea is sorta predicated on the assumption that people would even play a character with the same preferences as them, so I would also be interested to see how many players prefer to give their character the same gender/sexuality as their IRL identity. Obviously this is not even an option for everyone, and I wonder how many people would do this when given the choice.

[@princefado]

as someone who loves elliott, shane, haley, and alex, it does make me a bit sad how disliked they are )': i think they've all got some really good writing, especially alex when you date him as a male character. most of the characters don't make *too* much of a big deal about the gender of the player, but i thought the little references to it that come up when you date alex were really important to his character development, moving away from his macho persona and allowing himself to open up about his insecurities. shane and haley also have some of my favorite character development in any game. i also think this kind of answers my feelings about characters with specific sexualities; i like that everyone is bisexual, because stardew valley is ultimately a fantasy about building a nice farm with people around you who love you. if it were a more story-intensive game, i would say gender-restricted dating options would be fine, but relationships are a pretty important part of the game. i think the best way to do it is how some of it is already done with candidates like alex; if it's appropriate to the character's story, i think it makes sense for them to talk about any reservations they might have had with entering into a same-gender relationship. but i also understand if people dont want to think too much about that, and just want to live out a fantasy without any queerphobia. anyway, elliott is very cute and i love him very dearly, so i can't account for everyone having bad taste!! ;) he doesn't have any hangups about his sexuality, but i really like his married dialogue when you're a male character. i hope you do another survey in the future!!

[@Leapalot]

Thanks for chiming in! I think those first three do have some solid growth arcs and good stories. Elliott though... well I'm glad you like him! 😅

[@princefado]

​@@Leapalot I actually did have one suggestion for a future survey; I'm not sure if it's even really possible to obtain this information, but I'm curious what impact content creators have on what candidates people like. Like, if a creator really dislikes/likes a certain character, does that seem to influence the overall opinion?

[@twobats]

I think I like the fact that all of the marriage candidates have ambiguous sexualities. I was figuring myself out in terms of sexuality and gender identity alongside playing my first farm (started out as a 16yo pan ace girl, am currently a 22yo queer enby) and it gave me comfort to imagine that my spouse of choice, Sam, would love me regardless of where I was at in life. As I realized that I was nonbinary, I stepped back from sdv because I couldn't figure out how to change my farmer's name, but the fact that my spouse still loved my farmer post-transition and, because of how they're coded, loves my farmer regardless of how they present themselves, is very comforting. It gets scary being trans, sometimes, so having the option of 12 people who are into you no matter your gender identity, and zero chance of transphobia, feels like a pipedream.

[@Leapalot]

Hello! All good points, but I also wanted to let you know it's pretty easy to change your name in game now. If you want to do it, but have questions or need help shoot me a message in discord and I'll walk you through it. It's just getting to a certain heart level with the wizard.

[@twobats]

@@Leapalot I changed my name ingame as soon as I could, but thank you for the offer! it means a lot :)

[@EFO841]

I do think giving the romanceable characters a hard set sexuality would give them more depth and make them feel more fleshed out, but at the same time I think it would make the game less appealing! making enough characters that are fit to every demographic is an impossible task, and honestly i think all of them being available is probably for the best.

[@darrellmalory5418]

I'd love to see how neurodivergency plays into this, I know that my ND friends Adore Abigail, Maru, AND Elliot.

[@naomilawson2752]

Hard agree! To me, Abigail and Maru were the most relatable characters (I have ADHD and ASD), and Elliot is my fav marriage candidate - would love to see how true that is for everyone else.

[@kirobane]

Oh wow, that's something I never actually considered! I'm both ND and ace and Elliott has always been my favourite.

[@andromeda6408]

ND and lesbian, I had a hard time picking between Abigail and Maru! I eventually went for Maru, but it's a shame she isn't more liked by the community.

[@ratinacage8393]

Being autistic, I kind of loved Haley? Probably biased because she looks too much like my partner, but she also was fun from the beginning and has a special interest

[@Moonkin444]

I have ADHD and Elliot was the first one I wanted to befriend and marry

[@Pirokh]

Haley is my favorite girl and has the most character development. And she doesn't change back into being a horrible person after you marry her (Like Shane).

[@crimsoncardinal208]

Starts game first time. Sees pretty blonde girl. Decides that she will be his future wife. Approaches. Gets insulted. LET'S GO! THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS! Proceeds to marry that pretty blonde girl every game, without exception.

[@rhiwright]

It was nice how hard Leap clearly worked to include everyone. But tbh, I'm not surprised. He's always shown himself to be a good bloke who tries to do the right thing by everyone Also, I hope CA watched this, for feedback he can use in Haunted Chocolatier

[@Leapalot]

Thanks Rhi! 😁 The sample size is pretty small to take to CA, but it still provided me some interesting findings!

[@darknesswave100]

This was a fun video to watch. Wasn't really expecting the outcome but regardless Haley is my go to waifu ever since I married her for the first time. Yeah she's a complete and total mean girl type at first but once you get to know her she completely changes. She starts wanting to know about farm life and wants to read more books and stuff like that too. Plus she actually comes to enjoy cleaning and she's a great mom. The other female candidates are fine but to me Haley is the best one

[@samvalencic]

I was not expecting to see this much Sebastian love here but I am absolutely here for it, Sebby deserves all the love

[@Leapalot]

Really? I was not at all surprised by sebastian running away with it! Glad it turned out happy for you!

[@gaymer2574]

I looked at the wiki to see who was the easiest bachelor to marry because i'm lonely as hell, then once I got farther into Shane's story I actually really like him as a character since I'm able to relate to his depression and feelings of worthlessness, and now he's my favorite bachelor in the game and I love him dearly. His room is still ugly as hell though.

[@Leapalot]

That's it, isn't it? He's got a great story. But dang dude. Clean up a little.

[@heath6802]

Very sad people don’t like Haley, her event at the beach with her bracelet absolutely stole my heart when I was on my first playthrough, and it was so nice to see her embrace farm life in her later events actually having fun while playing with the cows, and starting to get along with Emily the more you influence her life for the better. Haley as a wife is an entirely different and more refreshing person than the narcissistic “Haley is ignoring you” from where you first meet her.

[@namimori8256]

Damn, seeing how bad Shane did makes me want to marry him again but i just started playing on the computer and don’t have a mod to make his room better yet. I do genuinely like him as a character and i love the tiny chicken coop he brings the most out of any of the spouses outdoor areas (a good question for next quiz maybe?) but that room feels like 2 heart Shane when you’re at 10.

[@Leapalot]

Shane's story arc definitely falls off after marriage. I said this in another comment, but I think his struggles are also reflective of the struggles people in real life have in his situation. Things don't immediately get better, and he's going to have bad days. But... can we clean up his room a little? 😅

[@countrye3013]

I want to marry him in a platonic way (is this the ace talking???) just so he can get out of Marnie's place XD I really like him. I wish all of the marriagable characters had a 'roommate' option

[@Silentgrace11]

I think Shane in particular may be a top choice for first marriage candidate particularly because he’s so easily accessible in the early game and has the most consistent schedule. Heads into town at like <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="490">8:10</a>am, is at the Joja Mart for most of the day on most days of the week, spends his evenings in the bar every day of the week. Plus his gifts are really accessible - just buy a keg’s worth of beer from Gus and you’re good to go (albeit I prefer giving him pizza and pepper poppers). He’s definitely my first friend in most of my playthroughs because of that. Something I’d love to see isn’t specific to specific marriage candidates or sexualities per se, is just see them not revert nearly so much, or at least have more dialogue for pursuing their interests. My first choice was Sam - he’s a goof ball and made me laugh and that was that (found out this year I’m Demisexual and, frankly, it makes sense in retrospect haha), but I immediately regretted it when I realized he basically gives up his dream of being in a band for it. Shane starts drinking again, Alex gives up his football dreams, Sebastian and Haley decide they’re fine staying in the country forever, etc etc. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially as someone who grew up in a small town where everyone’s big dreams start and end there, and before they know it they’re a housewife with three kids while their husband works at a factory to make ends meet. The update that gives them an extra event sequence after marriage helps alleviate that a bit, but then the dialogue remains the same. I think it’d be cool if there were more events in that same vein that occur, or at least that their character dialogue updates to reflect it - like Sam talking about a new song he’s writing for that kid show or Haley discussing her new photography projects. Just some small touches to make it less like they gave up their lives and aspirations to marry the weird farmer that moved into town three years ago.

[@Dafmelo10]

I loved this survey and video! Great idea! Maybe you could make a video investigating on why Leah and Sebastian are the most popular!

[@a_peridox]

Seb was my first marriage candidate, as I played as my Dungeons and Dragons character. And as I got farther down his path I just loved him so much he's just my go to. I have a weakness for nerdy boys.

[@Gremblebemble]

I’m one of those Haley extremists, her arc is fun but the main takeaway from everything is that she loves coconuts as much as I do, anyone who loves coconuts even a fraction as much as I do has earned my heart virtual or otherwise. I really love coconuts and sharing that interest even with a virtual character made her stick out more than the others. Also she doesn’t revert back to her peevish ways if you marry her. In conclusion I’m really not that difficult to please.

[@evelynn1173]

Haley is genuinely the best. Also she enjoys being a stay at home wife which is good for my cottagecore heart.

[@aeckk]

i personally like how the marriage candidates don't have a sexuality. although it'd be cool to have a gay/not straight character, id be pretty upset if my favorite marriage candidate got a hard coded sexuality that doesn't match my character's gender. and the fact all the marriage candidates have no coded sexuality made me feel really included and happy, especially the dialogue you'd get in certain relationships with characters expressing how previously they never suspected they'd be attracted to the same gender. it just made the game feel so real. as a bisexual guy the majority of my life i never considered dating guys an option. the dialogue with sebastian specifically mentioning he's not usually attracted to guys just really resonated with me the first time i romanced him since i remember feeling that exact same way the first time i realized i was into another guy lol. made me feel understood. idk, i dig the general bi/pansexuality of all the marriage candidates. makes the game a lot more fun for fellow queer people imo.

[@spaceyale]

I love how only the gay men like Alex, since that's the only way for him to be *actually* likeable, his 10-heart scene still makes me flutter a little.

[@abigailos5210]

Maybe some other people have said this but I think the reason why people marry Shane first is because he's the easiest bachelor to romance quickly and while you're still figuring out the game. Beer and Pizza are affordable in early game, his birthday is in Spring, you can have four hearts with him quite easily for your first flower dance. And then summer and endless supply of peppers. If new players want to explore relationship building and romance, then Shane is the easiest option.

[@Leapalot]

I think that has a lot to do with it! And then they see his spouse room and go... Yikes.

[@marioruiz5758]

When I introduced my sister to Statdew Valley (she's 12) she was just trying the game and kinda liked it. Then, she asked me "why does it say "single" here?" "Oh, you can marry people" "😯" and she became obsessed with Sebastian and also the game itself

[@percedurza]

shane will always be my favorite. a lot of people gripe about how he seems to regress after marrying him, but id argue that this is actually realistic for him. addictions are hard to break out of, and even though he does still drink you can definitely see he does it way less. all in all i think hes a great character and they handled his alcoholism well. love my chicken man

[@artemisthecatfish5142]

I literally only started playing yesterday and as an Ace person Elliot was the one who caught my eye 🐧

[@Ray_Tam]

As someone who is absolutly in love with sebastian this puts a smile in my face

[@Gemini-Lion]

I chose Emily as my first spouse and was surprised that she wasn’t very high up on the list. I honestly chose her arbitrarily; She seemed nice, and I liked her. The quartz and amethyst gifts were also pretty easy.

[@barragebarrage8089]

I think Shane would've been at least slightly more favorable as a marriage candidate if his room in your house wasn't so trashed. Since his room on your farm looks filthier than his room at Marnie's, it almost feels like a middle finger to all of the progression he had throughout his heart events. Also aesthetically it just makes your house look bad.

[@mentalquorum3116]

I like Shane as a friend, and I wish that he could get the character development that he gets if you marry him. I Also wish that we had more roommate options... Krobus is fine but I kinda want maybe the wizard/witch, Marlon, even Morris 👀 (post cc completion only?)

[@Leapalot]

Morris?! 🤔 I'd try it. Once.

[@MrThelemonrose]

I agree so much here, it would be cool to even have different paths with the candidates. For example you could roommate with them and then develop feelings, or just be good rookies or you could straight up marry them! I think it would be cool to explore different paths with them

[@Luipaard005]

I did rank Alex as one because I considered him the best....so yeah, I think a follow up survey is warranted because I didn't know I was putting Alex at the bottom and that distresses me

[@Leapalot]

If you gave Alex a "1" because he's your favorite, then you did things exactly correctly.

[@TheTeamAwsomness]

I think why so many people didn't like Shane but still married him was because he has an interesting arc, but not really a romantic one. I'm Ace and I have to say he's one of my least favorite marriage candidates bit one of my favorite characters and so I have to say that the poll read that one correctly for sure

[@Leapalot]

He does have a great arc..... that falls apart post marriage. But that also makes sense! People struggle in his situation, and it's not instantly better when life changes. But yeah, messy story for Shane for sure.

[@monovailable442]

Yeah, mans my best friend in my save but i refuse to marry him

[@queenkatara7861]

Really loved hearing the data. Other questions I’d be curious to find out for the next survey (even though these would definitely make the survey too long): 1. How many candidates have you currently married? 2. Do you tend to marry new candidates in every new save file or do you go back to your favorites? 3. Why do you like your favorite candidate? Why don’t you like your least favorite candidate? 4. Do you only consider candidates that match your real life gender preference? 5. Which spouses have you divorced? 6. Would you marry your first candidate again? 7. If concerned ape were to run the marriage candidate poll again which made Emily and Shane dateable, which ones would you vote for now? 8. Which marriage candidate would you want as a roommate or best friend and NOT a spouse? 9. Which current NPC do want as a roommate option? 10. If they were to make a new bachelor and or bachelorette, what would you want them to be like? Not a question but I think Krobus should be included in a separate set of questions. (This is my second comment btw because I had so much to say lol).

[@ZeeNastee]

Also, I LOVE playersexuality in games because people can romance and be happy with the people who they want instead of not being able to romance the person they really like or be forced to play a gender they're not comfortable playing. It's all-inclusive and overall the best option for everyone.

[@thewafflrman5326]

Honest. Haley is my favorite of the bunch. When I started, I thought that Abigail would be the one I’d eventually marry. She was pretty and had a similar personality to mine. Somewhere along the way, she just was unlikable anymore. Around this time, my relationship with Haley picked up and I started to see more in her. (Not to mention, I liked when she technically called me cute as the second thing she ever said to me.)

[@mikaylajennel6170]

Its sad to me that people dont like shane, hes such a well developed character and i personally love his journey.

[@nappygrimm6411]

its not his journey its that he reverts alot after marriage od rather see him active and happy and not married to me then a beer to dealth husband ya know

[@GemR38]

I really like this video Leap. Thank you for all the work you put into it. It is rather interesting to look at the data from the SV community. I hope Concerned Ape sees this because all the information and feedback could prove useful to him during development of Haunted Chocolatier. 🙂

[@Leapalot]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SiaDW]

I’d like more plus size characters or any plus sized marriage candidates. Would just be nice to be represented. Also definitely more older ones! I feel weird talking to any of the ‘teen’ characters (I’m 30), so harvey and Elliot are my options haha

[@sonofpears4691]

The fact that leah was the overwhelming majority with the homesexual demographic is so accurate. Lesbians just want there cottage core girlfriend and to be honest I can’t blame them since I married her myself

[@k_katt672]

As someone who fell in love with Leah the moment they started playing the game, I am pleasantly surprised to see she’s such a popular candidate, especially among the other bachelorettes! I’m with you in thinking Abigail was going to be the popular one, and although I also like Abigail, I’m glad to see my favorite artist capturing the hearts of many

[@kennalikespizza4515]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1470">24:30</a> yes!! Yes yes yes yes oh my god please yes! I love this game through and through of course, but sometimes it feels like the marriage candidates bend themselves to suit you, if that makes sense? Abigail has that dialogue something like "I didn't even know I liked girls" which sort of (not fully but sort of) implies that you're an exception to her sexuality. I don't want to be an exception, I want to be seen an eligible partner from the start :/

[@Leapalot]

I saw this a lot in the comments! People didn't really want to hear, "Wow, I'm surprised I'm attracted to you." Having everyone available makes sense for the game, since it revolves around the player, so I'm not sure how best to address it. 🤔

[@sammiehopkins9408]

Alex had a similar moment. My first playthrough was as a guy, and when Alex took me on that date in the Saloon, he talks about how he had to overcome internalized homophobia to realize that he does like men (specifically your character) and that he's ready to accept that he also likes you. It's why Alex is one of my favorite candidates

[@kennalikespizza4515]

@@Leapalot Very very true! I read some other comments mentioning that they wouldn't want their marriage candidate to be locked away from them due to the gender they play as... but on the other hand, I feel like that would make for a more realistic and immersive experience, don't you think? Like, if you're only going to play as a man but feel attracted to a character that's a gay women, then I guess sorry, player! She's just not going to like you. Similarly to how I'd love to marry Sandy, but simply can't, it's just not an option for me. It feels a little more respectful to the characters and much more immersive if characters don't differ from their cannon sexuality just because you like them and want them to. But of course, that's just my take on it! Oh boy that's a long comment my bad 😅

[@monovailable442]

@@kennalikespizza4515 It would be more realistic, but imo i would really hate it to be like that. This is a game a lot of people play for escapism - Im trans, and if I wanted to be with a character who didn't like my character just bc of gender, itd mean i'd have to either try to deal with wanting to be with that character but not being allowed to, or i'd have to change my characters gender and suffer through being misgendered every other dialogue, both of those options suck, esp the second. Sure the first of those options isn't the end of the world but it'd be so incredibly annoying, and the second is just horrible for obvious reasons. I don't *want* true realism in the game i use to *escape* real life.

[@kennalikespizza4515]

@@monovailable442 oooh great point! Guess it just depends what you're looking for in a game :)

[@franciscasepulveda4370]

I just found your channel today and I wish I was able to take the survey. Such a fun concept. I was one of those people who married Shane first. He isn't my least favorite tho. I still love his character tho just not for marriage. I appreciate Concerned Ape being realistic with Shane. You don't marry a person expecting them to magically change. He's messy but he always was. One of his post marriage scenes shows how worried the farmer and Marnie were that Shane still frequents the saloon only to find him playing the arcade games that he's become obsessed with. The cans littering his room are joja soda not beer. But he still mentions wanting cider (which could be alcoholic or not). He only gives you microwaved food. He does help with the farm and his love for chickens is adorable. Not a bad guy, just a messy one with problems. I really do hate his room though lol

[@InYourFloorboards12345]

I married Haley first, she is my favorite marriage candidate, STOP THE HATE ON HALEY FOR ’S SAKE

[@Leapalot]

Sorry friend. I don't hate Haley either, but she gets a lot of flak.

[@InYourFloorboards12345]

@@Leapalot well, at least some people like her.

[@mochiattoart514]

I think I would love to see older marriage candidates to be inclusive of those playing this game who are older. Coded sexuality also sounds great! But for a game about having fun and choosing what you wanna do, I think it'd be best if that's coded in the non-eligible marriage candidates.

[@kit_chen_ben]

for the older candidates, there's this mod called Stardew Valley Expanded or SVE for short. It brings two older candidates (there may be more not sure). They're both women tho so if you aren't attracted to women, BUT there is also the "marry anyone" mod you could check out. (claire is the best bachelorette of SVE imo lol)

[@CyberDucke]

There are three older candidates as stated in secret note seven, with them being Harvey, Shane, and Elliot. As for girls, idk but Emily seems somewhat older to me

[@Eve.v]

re: shane as a marriage candidate -- my husband played SV a lot before i eventually got into it earlier this year, and on his current main save file, he did indeed marry shane! he related to his mental health struggles, and wanted to see him continue to do and feel better. he stayed with him for quite a while. he adopted two kid with him. [breathes in and steeples fingers] so. i went to the wiki to check the exact quotes and it was worse than i remembered. when you have two kids with him, he will say: “I already fed the kids two bowls of pizza puffs cereal. They'll be full for a while.” (not horrible but like. when he says it So Often, it starts to feel weird. like that's the only breakfast they get from him and you can't feed your children, so ??) “I'll be honest... two kids is enough for me.” (again, that's fair, but. BUT. LOOK AT WHAT HE WILL SAY ABOUT THE TWO KIDS HE *DOES* HAVE--) "Ugh... [child] is being a little brat today. Must've gotten that from me...” ( :') cool and good) “*Sigh*... If only we could send the kids off to Joja work-camp for a season... I'm just kidding.” -- SO THIS IS THE BIG ONE, IN PART BECAUSE. YOU HAVE TO INTERACT WITH HIM AGAIN TO GET THE "I'm just kidding." LIKE. IT WASN'T FUNNY? imo, i think it's fine, if a bit disappointing from a storytelling perspective, for shane's spouse room to be messy, for him to have """lazy""" (read: behavior indicative of untreated/unmedicated depression) dialogue and behaviors, or for him to continue to drink alcohol. [ah, spoiler warning ❗] pam has a similiar event after you pay to have robin build her and penny a house where she talks to the player about her how she feels Really Really Bad about continuing to crave and drink alcohol, since she'd always thought that having a better house would fix *everything,* but it...didn't. i won't spoil all the details of the event just in case, but. But. BUT. after you subsidize their house, shane will comment that it's "not fair" that pam and penny got a new house -- "what did they do to deserve that?" WHICH. is dialogue my husband and i saw him say WHILE LIVING IN THE PLAYER'S FARMHOUSE. yes, those are different, but just. the AUDACITY of it made my husband decide to divorce him that day. (he has since, ironically, married leah.) closing notes: - in my first (and current) stardew game, i married abigail and i love her very much. i'm currently looking into slime rearing specifically because she mentions it in her spousal dialogue (she also gives me very nice presents) - bonus dialogue -- when shane gits you stuff he will say: “Hey. Take this... I put a bit too much in the microwave. Sorry if it's squishy.” “Here... take this. I bought some of those a while ago and they're almost expired...” also: “The roof's leaking? Ah well... a little mold never hurt anyone.” - thank u for this video, it made my brain very happy to see the results of a survey like this!

[@AxeSoul]

I absolutly did worst-to-best when i first filled out the server, but thankfully i noticed the extra text before i submitted and fixed it! I'm a big fan of surveys and information like this, so please do more! Sadly, my girl Maru, my #1, turned out pretty bad, which is honestly still what I was expecting.

[@Leapalot]

At least you came out to rep Maru!

[@meh8982]

I'm with you on Maru. She's not completely unappreciated.

[@Carpatouille]

These numbers prove that first impressions weight heavily in how we perceive people, even if said people have a character development that leads them to be better people, like Haley.

[@zara-uv1kp]

to me sam is underrated he’s so nice even though i prefer the ladies sam in my opinion has the nicest dialogue

[@FrickingTaylor]

I think it would be interesting to see the split with homosexual guys VS homosexual girls. I'm a lesbian but Shane is my favorite marriage candidate by far.

[@Leapalot]

True true. I could probably figure that out... 🤔

[@vristrogen]

i chose abigail first because i was doing a stupid gimmick where my character was "evil" and i chose the most goth looking one but then the character ended up accidentally being really wholesome and it was very fun