Though it may seem like just a simple farming sim, Stardew Valley is a lot more expansive and complex than many gamers may realize. There are many secrets and side stories to discover throughout the game, such as the secret of Fall 26, which can only occur if the player has abandoned their children by turning them into doves at the witch's hut.
Another Stardew Valley secret includes passageways that can be purchased via Robin. Moving around the Pelican Town map can be a bit tedious, especially before unlocking the minecart or buying a horse from Robin, sometimes resulting in falling asleep in random locations at 2 AM. However, not many players actually know about the secret passageways that can be purchased, likely because it's late-game content that was only added after the 1.5 Stardew Valley update, but getting them installed can prove to be quite a useful quality-of-life improvement.
How to Purchase Stardew Valley's Shortcuts
Unfortunately, these shortcuts aren't available early on and will require putting some work in. The "main quest" of Stardew Valley is largely considered to be completing the Community Center, which requires donating to several bundles in the dilapidated Community Center building on the northern end of Pelican Town. Each section of the Community Center has at least a few bundles, and each bundle includes various forageable, collectible, or craftable items like crops, fish, artisan goods, mined materials, and so on. It takes at least a full Stardew Valley year to complete, though doing it in just a year is difficult and is considered a player-made challenge for the game. Most new players won't complete the Community Center until their second year at the earliest.
Alternatively, players can complete the Joja Warehouse instead of the Community Center, which is often considered the "evil" route of Stardew Valley. Instead of donating to bundles at the Community Center, players can donate money via the Joja Community Development Form. Each project gives the same reward that the Community Center would, like unlocking the bus, greenhouse, and minecarts.
Additionally, players will also have to upgrade the farmhouse fully. This includes the first upgrade that adds the kitchen and increases the overall size of the farmhouse, costing 10,000 gold and 450 wood, the second update adding the room for the children and one empty room, costing 50,000 gold and 150 hardwood, and finally, the cellar upgrade, running 100,000 gold.
After these tasks have been completed, Stardew Valley will then give the player a couple of community upgrades, the second of which are the town shortcuts. The first community upgrade, also purchasable via Robin's store, is building a house for Pam. Pam and Penny, her daughter, live together in the trailer next to the river in Pelican Town, but the player can spend 500,000 gold and 950 wood to build them a new house. Afterward, the second community upgrade will unlock the series of shortcuts throughout the map, allowing players to navigate the valley with a bit more ease, and is certainly a benefit veteran players will want to take advantage of if they haven't already. It also comes at a heavy price, though, of 300,000 gold.
The Stardew Valley Shortcut Locations
In total, there are six shortcuts that will unlock after paying for the upgrade. One connects the beach to Cindersap Forest, or the area where Leah's house is located. Another links the mountains next to the quarry bridge to the main town to the north of Joja Mart. Another connects the town south of the museum to the beach, with the passage hidden between the tide pool trees (interestingly, the player can access this shortcut without unlocking the beach bridge). The bus stop can connect to the backwoods near a passage through the tunnel, and finally, a new log will connect the island in the mountains to the Adventurer's Guild.
Stardew Valley is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.