Settings: Controls, Saves & Appearance Guide
The settings in Stardew Valley cover how you control the game, how your save behaves, and how you customize your character and interface. Most of these options are available from the Options tab in the Player Menu.
Player Menu and Options tab
The Player Menu can be opened at any time during gameplay using ESC or E on PC. It contains several tabs with different information and settings, and the game automatically pauses while the menu is open, except in multiplayer.
The Options tab is where you configure in-game options such as controls and display preferences. On mobile, the menu also includes control-style choices specific to touchscreen play.
Character Creation
The character creation screen lets you customize your farmer’s basic identity and appearance.
You can choose:
- Appearance
- Gender
- Name
- Farm Name
- Favorite Thing
- Animal Preference
Available appearance options include:
- 2 genders
- 24 skin tones
- 74 hairstyles
- 112 shirts
- 4 pants
- 31 accessories
- 10 animals: 5 cats and 5 dogs
The color sliders for eye color, hair color, and pants color represent hue, saturation, and value.
Name, Favorite Thing, and Animal Preference
Villagers refer to the player using the exact case entered for the name, so lowercase names remain lowercase in dialogue.
Favorite Thing is referenced when the player eats a 
Animal Preference determines which pet Marnie will bring.
Gender does not affect marriage in-game.
Appearance changes after starting
The player can later change appearance after gaining access to the Wizard's Tower and reaching 4 Hearts of friendship with the Wizard.
Controls and input settings
Stardew Valley includes multiple control styles depending on platform.
PC and controller basics
On PC, the game supports keyboard and controller input through the Options menu. When using a controller:
- The cursor can snap between menu buttons by default
- If snapping is disabled, the cursor accelerates while moving
- Pressing the back button skips skippable events
Mobile controls
The mobile version has touch-specific control options, including:
- Tap to move
- On-screen joystick
These control styles can be selected through the Options tab.
Nintendo Switch 2 mouse controls
The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition supports optional mouse controls using the right Joy Con as a mouse to move the cursor.
During gameplay:
- R picks up furniture or uses a tool
- ZR rotates furniture, interacts with the environment, or uses other items
- R Stick scrolls through the toolbar
- By default, moving the R Stick down scrolls to the right
- This direction can be reversed with Invert Toolbar Scroll Direction in the Options menu
In the inventory:
- R picks up or drops an entire stack
- ZR picks up or drops a single item from a stack
Mouse controls can be turned off in the Options menu.
Button remapping
Controller buttons can be reassigned systemwide through the console’s accessibility or controller settings:
- Switch Controller: System Settings > Controllers and Sensors > Change Button Mapping
- PlayStation Controller: Settings > Accessibility > Button Assignments
Save behavior
Standard Saves
Standard Saves match the PC save format. Since the PC version only saves when the player goes to sleep, Standard Saves retain that system.
A Standard Save always starts at 6am when loaded, and these saves are compatible with PC and can be transferred back and forth.
On mobile, each new standard save keeps the previous one with the suffix _old. If a save file has problems, you can use the Swap to previous save button on the Options page to switch between the most recent save and the backup.
Visual and display options
Some visual settings can be adjusted directly from the Options Menu.
Snow transparency
Snow transparency can be changed in the Options Menu. Moving the slider to the left increases snow transparency and decreases opacity.
Interface and accessibility notes
The game includes platform-specific and interface-related options that affect playability and comfort, especially on mobile and console.
The menu and control settings are designed to support different input styles across platforms, while still keeping the core game systems consistent.