Stardew Valley is an unassuming, colorful farming sim featuring cute romances, magical sprites called Junimos, and a variety of animals like cats, chickens, and ostriches. But underneath the bright and happy pixels are darker truths and heavier themes like the corporation Joja ruining small businesses and the love affairs possibly resulting in children born out of wedlock. And at the frontrunners of those sinister theories is none other than the 'You Are Dead' Stardew Valley fan theory.
The You Are Dead theory, also sometimes called the 'You Died at Joja' theory as it has no official name, is one of those that tries to make sense out of the weird world of video games when it might actually not be all that deep. After all, Stardew Valley is inspired by the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons games, which all play out in a similar fashion, essentially creating the standard of the farming simulator genre. However, it's a common theory posited when it comes to most semi-fantasy worlds; some gamers have suggested the same about the Animal Crossing series.
The Farmer is Dead at the Start of Stardew Valley
During the intro sequence of any new Stardew Valley save file, a skippable cutscene plays showing the player character working at the dingy Joja corporate offices. Through with their mundane life, the player decides to open their grandfather's letter and they inherit his old, dilapidated farm, setting the game on its course. During this scene, players will likely notice a skeleton at a desk. Some believe this might be the player themself, dead at their desk.
Some theorists will also say that all the villagers in Pelican Town are also dead, and everyone is stuck in purgatory. Another popular conspiracy theory suggests that the player is stuck in a time loop when they arrive at Stardew Valley, which fits together with the You Are Dead theory quite nicely. Both of these theories would explain a multitude of factors normally featured in Harvest Moon-inspired farming sims such as that every year plays out (more or less) the exact same and NPCs only have the same sets of repeated dialogue to offer the player.
This Stardew Valley conspiracy theory could also explain why magic exists in this world, why the farmer doesn't need to pay rent or property taxes, and why players can speak to Grandpa in the afterlife at will (by paying the hefty price of a diamond each time).
This presumed purgatory or afterlife would also be why the player and NPCs never age. Age is not a factor in Stardew Valley, and this has actually come into question several times in regards to dating some bachelors and bachelorettes like Abigail or Sebastian, who appear to be teens or young adults. The only characters that age seem to be the children that players can have. However, they only grow to the toddler stage and cannot fully grow to be adults, but this fact still backs up the You Are Dead Stardew Valley theory.
However, as some fans have pointed out, theories that state "they were dead the whole time" basically fit into most worlds and stories decently well, meaning it's not very likely but simply works conveniently for Stardew Valley's lore and setting. Plot twists like this often cheapen the story on the whole, and audiences tend to react poorly to them. For example, the idea that Deltarune's Dark World is just make-believe, according to the popular YouTube channel The Game Theorists. But that won't stop fans from speculating when it comes to hit movies, TV shows, and games.
Stardew Valley is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
