Stardew Valleyis packed with things for players to see and do. As they live their lives in a bustling town, eager to get their farm up and running, they can get to know their neighbors, run a successful business, andeven find romanceamong the people of the town. Thegame also possesses some mysteriesand hidden quests.
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One such mystery is only unlocked by completing a quest that can be started in the first year. A Winter Mystery comes seemingly out of nowhere but its rewards are well worth hunting down. Completing the Winter Mystery quest is easy and grants access to Secret Notes, and is worth finishing as soon as possible to maximize chances of finding all of them.
Updated on July 12, 2025 by Erik Petrovich: After they find the shadowy figure Stardew players are granted a unique new mechanic to mess around with: the Secret Note system. A few dozen of these secret notes can be found throughout Pelican Town,Stardew Valley, and Ginger Island, but first players must figure out exactly where is the shadowy figure Stardew teases in Year One. When encountered for the first time, players are sent on the the Winter Mystery quest, but the shadowy figure isn’t who many players think it is.Krobusis a shadow person, but they are unfortunately not the players' quarry. Before worrying about the new systems and quest, though, players will first have to start the Winter Mystery.
How To Start the Stardew Winter Mystery Quest
Some quests inStardew Valleyonly begin once players have completed a specific set of prerequisites, usually byreaching a certain relationship level with someone. Daily and seasonal quests can also be found on the bulletin boards and Community Board, and there are all of theprerequisites to access Ginger Island, too. Luckily, the Winter Mystery quest actually requires very little of the player except to simply last their first year.
During Year One in the Winter – or any year, for that matter – leave the farm and head to the bus stop during winter, between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. A cutscene will trigger in which players see a Shadow Person wandering around on their own, seemingly happy, unbothered, in their lane, focused, and flourishing. They notice the player and sprint in the other direction. When the cutscene ends, the Winter Mystery quest will be added to the player’s journal.
Where To Find The Shadowy Figure
Don’t be too hasty in leaving the bus stop area just outside the farm. To figure out how to complete theStardew ValleyWinter Mystery quest, look closely at the ground. There should be a set of footprints in the snow – follow the footprints, and they will lead to a bush near the community center. Interact with the bush, and the shadowy figure will pop out of it.
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The shadowy figure will apologize – as it turns out he is a bit of a thief, and he will give players aMagnifying Glass,and the Winter Mystery quest will be complete. Once players have found out where is the shadowy figure Stardew teased back at the start of Winter, the ability to find secret notes is granted.Notes can lead to interesting secrets, like furniture and other unique items, or important pieces of information about other people in the town, like their loves, hates, and relationships with one another.
How To Find Secret Notes
Players can find secret notes while performing several different actions in the game. Secret notes can appear while dealing withWeeds, killing monsters, chopping trees, fishing, finding artifacts, and harvestingStoneor other resources. The more players do these tasks, the greater the chance of finding a note.
The notes will drop based on random loot tables, so the only way to get them is to do as much in the game as possible and not make theclassic beginner’s mistakeof not considering a job to be important. When a note drops, players can view it by clicking on the bag-shaped icon on the top row of their inventory, then the secret notes icon on the bottom left. Right-clicking on any of the notes will then allow players to read them.
Some of them will be simple pieces of information about the townsfolk, while others will contain clues to finding important items. It should be noted, the relevant items will not populate in the game unless players have found the secret note in their own game, and any related quests can only be completed upon reading a secret note.
Mining a giant crop
100%
Digging at an artifact spot
11%
8%
Mining resources (logs, boulders, stumps, meteorites)
5%
Killing monsters
3.3%
Harvesting stone
0.75%
Harvesting weeds
0.9%
Harvesting trees
0.5%
Source:Stardew Valley Wiki
Stardew Valleyis available on Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
