Mixing things up throughout the game, Stardew Valley's best-kept secrets unlock eye-opening revelations and add extra fun to a player's day.
ConcernedApe's charming farming simulator, Stardew Valley, is practically never-ending. The game is full of secrets and mysteries that players stumble across by accident or through collecting Secret Notes, which are unlocked during players' first Winter of the game. If players track down a mysterious "Shadow Guy," who looks an awful lot like the sewer-dwelling Krobus, they'll receive a Magnifying Glass.
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With this item, players can find Secret Notes while chopping trees, digging, slaying monsters, fishing, and mining. These notes keep things fresh in the valley, allowing players to solve puzzles and hints when the monotony of farming wears a little thin. The secrets of Stardew Valley expand the world, generate new items, and increase immersion.
The Junimos of Stardew Valley are cute, magical, and helpful, too. If players find Secret Note #13, they'll receive instructions detailing how to find a secret Junimo Plush from the bush behind the park in the northwest corner of Pelican Town. All players need to do is right click the right bush to acquire this adorable piece of furniture.
Farmers don't need to find the Secret Note to access the Junimo Plush, but most players wouldn't think to go rustling around in the town bushes for secret furniture. With this hidden item, players can place their very own oversized Junimo in their homes.
If players have made their way to Calico Desert, they've probably noticed the immovable Bouncer standing at the back door inside the Oasis shop. To gain access, players will need to complete "The Mysterious Qi" quest, which entails completing tasks found on notes around town. At the quest's end, players will discover a Club Card, which grants them access to the Casino on top of Oasis.
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Once inside, players can exchange their gold for Qi coins, which can then be used for gambling, either on the fruit machines or by playing CalicoJack. With high amounts of Qi coins, players can purchase special items at the store in the top right of the Casino, including a Rarecrow, Farm Warp Totems, and mysterious artworks.
There are a variety of random events that can occur during a Stardew Valley playthrough, but one of the rarest and most obscure is the appearance of a Strange Capsule. After players' first year, there's a 0.8% chance of finding this alien object on their farm. After three days, it'll become an Empty Capsule, suggesting that something ominous has broken free.
Afterward, there's a 1% chance of players glimpsing a mysterious creature venturing around town after dark. The reported hotspots are the Bus Stop, on Willow Lane in Pelican Town, and the bushes near the bridge leading to The Beach.
As players get to know characters like Pierre, Abigail, Caroline, and The Wizard, they'll notice something strange. There are dialogue snippets between these characters that suggest Pierre isn't Abigail's father. The local shop owner worries Abigail looks nothing like him, while she's confused by her seemingly natural purple hair.
Caroline even admits to taking walks to The Wizard's Tower and asks the player to keep it a secret from Pierre. To top it all off, The Wizard even shares suspicions with the new farmer that he believes one of the locals may be his daughter. Despite ConcernedApe never explicitly stating this is the case, it remains a popular and feasible fan theory.
Secret Note #21 urges players to check out the bush beside the tree near the bridge to The Beach at 12:40 am on any night. Once rustled at the exact time, Mayor Lewis and animal-lover Marnie will leap out and scatter, leaving the new farmer in town confused and embarrassed.
Lewis and Marnie's secret affair is strange, as neither are married nor have any other reason to keep their relationship secret. Players can only imagine that they like the thrill, seeking town bushes rather than visiting Mayor Lewis' empty home just above.
The whimsical Trash Bear only appears at the bottom of Cindersap Forest in the third year of a playthrough. If farmers interact with the Trash Bear, it'll request a specific item. This is usually something edible the Trash Bear will gobble down in one go. Once the player fulfills four requests, they'll trigger a special cutscene.
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The Trash Bear plays the pan-pipes, levitates with a leafy umbrella, and magically cleans up all the trash on the inaccessible beach area past the Sewers entrance. The area transforms with foliage and trees. Trash Bear also flies over Pelican Town, where it cleans up Pam's front yard and upgrades Dusty's dog pen too.
When players are loading up Stardew Valley, one of the first things they'll see is creator ConcernedApe's logo: a purple bear or dog-like creature with its eyes closed. Most players won't realize there's an Easter Egg here before the game itself has even loaded or a save file has been created.
If players click the logo, the bear or dog's eyes will open, and a duck-like sound will play. The next time players load the game, ConcernedApe's logo will wear sunglasses. When clicked again, the glasses will disappear.
Once players find Secret Note #23, they'll be able to read a misspelled note asking the player to bring Maple Syrup to the Secret Woods, left of Cindersap Forest. This adds a quest called "Strange Note" to players' journals, which can be fulfilled if players enter the Secret Woods between 6 pm and 7 pm with Maple Syrup in their inventory.
This triggers a cutscene in which the hungry bear shares his knowledge about foraged berries. From here on out, the price of Salmonberries and Blackberries goes up 3x, making Spring and Fall even more fruitful.
Secret Note #20 is a tad more confusing than others but absolutely worth solving. If players follow the arrows from the middle of the town center, they'll find themselves at the truck parked beside JojaMart. Farmers will need to interact with the truck to speak to its driver.
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The Joja truck driver will request a Rabbit's Foot, which can either be found or obtained as a drop from owning Rabbits. If players have a Rabbit's Foot in their inventory, they can trade it for a Special Charm that increases daily luck. This especially improves activities like fishing and mining.
A lot of players know that Mayor Lewis's purple shorts can be found in Marnie's room. However, if farmers don't return the shorts to Lewis, they'll unlock various humorous opportunities to embarrass the Mayor.
One of those includes displaying the purple shorts at the Stardew Valley Fair, whereby Lewis will pay the farmer to remove them from the display immediately. Players can also add the shorts to the Luau potluck in the Summer. Players can even wear the purple shorts around town if they combine them with a Gold Bar at a Sewing Machine.
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Beth Cope is a Creative Writing graduate with a avid hobby for gaming. She has a particular love for chilled-out, simulation games like Animal Crossing, The Sims, and Stardew Valley. She also loves to write sci-fi horror short stories and make digital art inspired by anime and manga.
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