Stardew Valley has one remaining mystery ahead of update 1.6

Stardew Valley has one remaining mystery ahead of update 1.6

Time Stamp: March 20, 2024 9:00 AM

Stardew Valley fans have seemingly pored over every pixel of the game since its release, doing everything from creating vast wikis that catalog the game’s every detail to creating mods that extend the world. Despite all this work, one big mystery still eludes fans everywhere. It’s 2024, and we still don’t know who threw rocks at Linus and destroyed his home.

Developer Eric Barone, known as ConcernedApe, released Stardew Valley over eight years ago. It follows the story of a disaffected office worker who quits and starts a farm on a parcel of land bequeathed to them by their late grandpa. To this day, the game maintains an avid player base and Barone continues to release significant updates. In light of the Stardew Valley 1.6 update out Tuesday, I’ve been thinking about this particular mystery, so it seems like the best time to try and solve it.

Stardew Valley takes place in a small village called Pelican Town where you can befriend a colorful cast of characters as you start up a farm. One such character is Linus, an outcast who lives in a tent on the outskirts of town. Like other townspeople, he’s a bit guarded when he first meets you and won’t chat you up. However, he does make a request of the player: “Please don’t destroy my tent. It’s happened before.” If you continue to talk to him throughout the seasons, he’ll mention other forms of harassment. In other instances, somebody threw rocks at his tent while he slept, and another spray-painted it.

Linus might be a bit cold, but he doesn’t deserve to have his home destroyed. My heart went out to him after hearing about all he endured. I, like many other fans, have dwelled on this unsolved crime for years, because nobody ever fesses up to it! I contacted Barone directly two years ago to see if he could tell us. At the time, he didn’t offer clarification, but he gave his general thoughts on Stardew Valley lore.

“When it comes to Stardew Valley lore, as a general rule, I don’t comment on anything outside the scope of what’s in the game,” he told Polygon via email. “I like leaving these things open to interpretations and discussions.”

Barone’s response means we won’t get a canon answer per se. However, I’d argue that this means it’s fair game for me to lodge my own accusations against other characters. So without further ado, I’m going to point at one particular hooligan: Sebastian, the emo son of the carpenter Robin.

A screenshot from Stardew Valley showing Sebastian and Sam smoking by the river.

Image: ConcernedApe via Polygon

At first, he doesn’t seem like the most likely culprit. He’s introverted and goes to bed earlier than many other townspeople. However, that persona might make for the perfect cover-up. For starters, he’s located in the perfect place to commit the crime; he lives on the north end of town, just like Linus. Also, while he has an early bedtime, he’ll tell you that he sneaks off to the caves at night — meaning he has some time where he’s unaccounted for. To top it all off, he will also ask for extra help finding rocks using the Help Wanted bulletin board next to Pierre’s General Store. What if he used those rocks as the tool for the crime?

I think Sebastian makes a lot of sense, even if I don’t want it to be true. I could see him destroying Linus’ tent in an impulsive act of teenage rebellion, but I could also see why people might disagree. There are plenty of other possible culprits, and there’s a reason this has remained a mystery for so long. As Barone said, it’s up to interpretation, so players can continue to craft their own theories.

If you have your own theory, please let us know in the comments. You can help Polygon piece together the grand mystery behind who destroyed Linus’ tent in Stardew Valley.

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