Summary
Among its many secrets and Easter eggs,Stardew Valleyhas several that go beyond just referencing alien tropes and instead seem to directly confirm their existence with links to one group of characters in particular. Out of all of these nods toward extraterrestrial life withinStardew Valley, there are a select few players who will have most likely encounteredthe mysterious Strange Capsule eventor the little green man hiding in the game’s title screen. But while these could be dismissed as playful references like fromSilent Hill’s secret endings orFallout’s recurring alien race,Stardew Valleyseems to take things further.
By diving deeper intoStardew Valley’s lore around its ancient history and characters' backstories, it’s possible to begin to build a picture of how alien life factors into the broader game. From details learned duringMaru’s Six Heart eventabout nearby planets and stars to the unknown inhuman creature that breaks free of the Strange Capsule, aliens seem to hold much more prominence inStardew Valleythan just secrets for players to discover. However, the answer to the mystery of aliens inStardew Valleydoesn’t come down from outer space, it instead comes from deep underground with the hidden history and lore behind the Dwarves.
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Stardew Valley’s Dwarves Have An Unusual History
When players are first introduced to the Dwarf inStardew Valley, not only will they have already made considerable progress within the game, but they will actually be unable to understand the character’s dialogue. It is only afterfour ofStardew Valley’s Dwarvish Scrollshave been donated to the museum that players will receive a translation guide, yet even then to learn more about the Dwarves the player must build a friendship like any otherStardew Valleyresident. For example, at six hearts the Dwarf informs the player that their race was once technologically advanced, while at fifty friendship points the Dwarf will confront Krobus in a cutscene.
It’s during this cutscene that players are also made aware of theElemental Wars between Dwarves and Shadow Peoplewhich lead to the confrontation of the two characters as the former’s race forced the latter out of their ancestral home. With the hint that the Dwarves aren’t native to Earth, their uncanny resemblance to Jawas fromStar Warsbegins to make more sense, especially when one ofStardew Valley’s Lost Books explicitly proposes that Dwarves are aliens themselves as their name translates to “sky people.“Stardew Valley’s aliens, then, have been hiding right underneath players' noses deep below the surface.
The Strange Capsule Could Connect to the Dwarves
Given thatStardew Valley’s aliensare actually just the Dwarves, the more explicit references to extraterrestrial life like the rare glimpse of a UFO on the player’s profit screen or the Strange Capsule event now make more sense with this in mind. In particular, as the Dwarf is obscured beneath his outfit,Stardew Valleynever lets the player see what these alien creatures actually look like, so the creature glimpsed roaming Pelican Town after breaking from the capsule could be an exposed Dwarf. After all, both the Dwarf and Lost Book confirm the ancient alien race had advanced technology that mirrors the technology of the Strange Capsule.
Based on this information, it seems that the Strange Capsule contained some form of incubating Dwarf that either landed or crashed on the player’s farm. The theory that the Dwarf and the escaped alien are the same is supported by the fact that the creature can only be encountered at night, just as the Lost Book entry claims that Dwarves can’t survive in Earth’s sunlight and only come out when it’s dark. But while this answers the long-standing mystery of who these aliens are, where they came from, and even how they got to Earth, the only remaining question is what do they want fromStardew Valley’s residents.
Stardew Valleyis available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
