Stardew Valley has a multitude of lovable villagers who leave an impact on the player years after playing. Not all of them, however, are necessarily romantic options. The vast majority of characters in the game are local characters, shop keepers or other memorable figures who fill the game with charm and personality.
But which ones leave the biggest impact? Stardew Valley's characters are memorable, offering interesting personalities and (sometimes) benefits for befriending them. And while you can't marry all of them, these characters bring life to the game's already vibrant world.
Marlon
Marlon is the head of the Adventure Guild and a vital resource if you're going out to quest in the caves. He's vital if you want to breed slimes, fight with your sword or go on any manner of quests. However, as a character, he feels incredibly out-of-place in Stardew Valley, despite being a rather cool, intimidating figure. You can't even raise your friendship meter with him. That's just how aloof he is.
Pierre
Pierre is the unassuming shop-keeper in town and (possible) father to Abigail. While he's essential to providing you all the goods you need to run your farm, there are few opportunities to get to know Pierre.
The man works through festivals and is rarely free for chats. For example, you probably wouldn't realize this, but Pierre is a former boxer with many titles and wins under his belt. He's also severely allergic to cats. He also has a "secret stash" in his bedroom that he trusts to you to keep a secret -- though threatening to reveal it could result in one of the biggest drops in friendship in the entire game, with the player losing 500 points of friendship.
Caroline
Of all the characters, Caroline is the one with the most hidden depths. She has a sun-room that provides tons of tea leaves to the player, allowing them to produce and brew tea. It's also heavily implied she had an affair with the Wizard, producing Abigail.
Caroline often comes in conflict with her daughter, trying to encourage her to behave the way she wants her to, which we see in Caroline's later heart events. It's hard to ascertain why Caroline cheated, but if it has anything to do with Pierre's secret stash, maybe you should tell her about it.
Demetrius
The father of Maru and stepfather to Sebastian, Demetrius is the scientist in town -- a genius with a lot of ambition. However, he arguably pushes his daughter too hard to follow in his footsteps. He's incredibly protective of her, even confronting the player when they start to get to know people.
Demetrius also genuinely loves his wife, often spending nights stargazing with Robin. There is also a heated debate involving Demetrius that requires you to take a side in the debate of whether or not tomatoes are a real fruit.
Willy
The enigmatic fisherman to the south of town, he's the only person living out on the beach alongside Elliot. He's also a fascinating character unlike any other. All fish-related activities start with getting to know Willy, and befriending him will grant you a ton of special fish recipes. He can sell you rods, bait and many other resources necessary to fishing. One of his later heart events even leads to a great deal of crab cakes being openly sold in the Saloon. He also has an unusually high number of loved gifts, which makes it easy to raise his heart level.
Wizard
One of the most enigmatic characters in the entire game, the Wizard lives on the outskirts of town, concocting magic and sorcery. The Wizard is one of the few indications of something magical and enchanted going on in Stardew Valley. The Wizard is capable of helping the player change their appearance and helps them out with magical affairs, like in the Community Center.
Most fascinating, however, is the prospect that Abigail might be the Wizard's daughter -- the product of an affair that might have torn his marriage apart. After all, no one else in the game has hair that shade of purple aside from the Wizard and Abigail. That's a huge clue that the Wizard is Abigail's dad.
Krobus
Krobus is a mysterious shadow entity that lives in the sewers. He is the survivor of a war between his race and the dwarves that lasted over a thousand years. He runs a shop that can provide players a great deal of mystical material that cannot be bought anywhere else.
Of all the characters, Krobus is the most overtly magical entity. On top of that, while you can't marry Krobus, he can move in with the player, provided they aren't already married. This makes him unique among the NPCs, in that he finds comfort in your home, provided certain circumstances.
Marnie
This lovable lady is the woman who sells you farm animals for your farm. Befriending her also allows you to access tons of recipes, like the rhubarb pie recipe, available only through Marnie.
However, on top of being useful in-game, her relationships with other characters makes her even more compelling. She is having an affair with the town mayor, Lewis, whose shorts you find in her bedroom. She's taking care of her adult nephew, Shane, and his orphaned goddaughter, Jas. Marnie (alongside the player) will help Shane out through the plunging depths of his depression. She's a warm, loving woman with a little extra moral ambiguity.
Robin
Robin is the town carpenter and one of the first people to help you out when you first arrive in town. While her first marriage might've ended in failure, her current relationship with Demetrius is clearly a loving one. A vital characters in-game for the player, Robin allows you to alter and build upon your house, provided you have enough equipment. She's also the mother of both Sebastian and Maru, thus making it very likely she'll end up being your mother-in-law.
Linus
Linus does not serve a vital role in town. He doesn't really have anything to offer the player. However, his character is one of the most memorable and heartbreaking ones in the game. Linus lives on the outskirts of town, afraid that people laugh at him, and his only close friend is the Wizard.
One of the first events in which we meet Linus features him searching the garbage outside the Saloon for food. While the community would welcome him and offer him resources, he seems almost afraid to accept it, as if he thinks he isn't worthy of their love or that they're just making fun of him. Linus is a sad, lonely character who, over the course of the game, can find that the town honestly wants to help him and support him through his hardships.