Steam overwhelmingly positive ＂Stardew Grain Language＂ 1.6.4 version of the short translation was bombarded with negative reviews

The independently developed farming simulation game "Stardew Valley" recently released its 1.6 major update, followed by several smaller adjustment updates. However, the latest 1.6.4 version encountered significant translation errors and omissions in Simplified Chinese text. In response, the author issued an apology letter to Chinese players, announcing the rollback of the Chinese portion to version 1.6.3.


"Stardew Valley" itself supports multiple language options, with the Chinese portion specifically supporting Simplified Chinese. The 1.6.4 version, released on the 19th of this month, included updates to the appearance and readability of Simplified Chinese text. However, beyond cosmetic changes, the translation content was also altered, leading to strong backlash from Chinese players on Steam, resulting in numerous negative reviews demanding a change in translation team.

Player complaints about the new and old versions of Chinese translation generally revolve around appearance (handwritten fonts being difficult to discern), translation (such as changing the term "Hot Stuff" for a loved one to "小辣椒" instead of "萬人迷"), and unnecessary changes (peach tree sapling becoming peach tree) among other issues. The author has issued an apology on Twitter and promised to first roll back the Chinese portion to version 1.6.3, as well as adopt a more cautious approach to translations in the future.

Underneath the mentioned Twitter post, many Chinese players expressed their appreciation for the response, while some French users also indicated that the game's localization seemed to rely heavily on Google Translate. As an example, they cited a dialogue segment where "un esprit fait de pomme de terre" should have been translated as "a spirit made of potatoes" rather than "some potato wine."
"Stardew Valley" is, after all, developed by a single person, although there have been some contributions from other developers in various development versions. Nonetheless, it is primarily led by the author, Eric Barone. Given his passion for the game and sense of responsibility, it's reasonable to expect improvements in translations for various languages in the future.