Why is Abigail such a popular spouse? I don’t understand what makes her so much more desirable.
It’s hard to explain, but I’ll try.
First of all, it’s not a cut-and-dry recipe; there’s no one winning thing that wins players over. Like all of the spouses in the game, male and female, Abigail has competition and she ends up being chosen for a mix of reasons… usually. I’d personally argue that Penny is more popular, but everyone has their favorite.
- She eats gemstones; it’s cool, it’s unusual, and it makes an impression. Long after being something funny you can laugh at and make memes of, it’s a convenient way to get a shit ton of respectable gifts for her that are far easier to come by and remember at all times of the year than the average player’s spouse, especially for players without guides for gift-giving.
- Her lust for the adventuring life holds a keen spot in the hearts of many. I mean, we’re all a bunch of nerds; while that term’s grown significantly over the years, and Stardew Valley itself reaches through the hardcore gamers out to a more casual audience like Harvest Moon always has, at our core many of us play other games, including this one, to enjoy a life of wild adventure, fun, and swordplay. It’s relatable.
- She plays music, and beautiful music at that. For me, personally, her solo in the rain was probably the moment I knew for sure that Abigail was going to be 100% of my marriages in this game, and I’m not sure if anyone else feels exactly the same, but it’s a nice extra facet of her personality and secluded life.
- She’s also a gamer. Need I say more? And not just the in-game version of Stardew Valley, either; no, Abigail plays a Smash TV style pilgrim shoot-em-up and isn’t afraid to try and use this game of choice to seduce any nearby farmers, often successfully.
- She has purple hair, and this whole mystique, but digging inside reveals this shy, quiet, troubled person. She wants to be special… she even comments on her dyed hair, and struggles to go deeper into the Halloween maze in spite of her fears, and longs to go adventuring in the mines, but she knows these things are, at least in a way, beyond her. It’s just part of her character, but it’s a vulnerability that humanizes her, on a different level than many of the girls she competes with.
She’s also good at other things. She tends to give good gifts, she’s a master at finding eggs, her redecorations are sometimes surprisingly good, and unlike her dear old dad, she’s open on Wednesdays.
Original Link – Continuation of discussion