This article contains spoilers for the late game of Stardew Valley.
A sinister new cut scene introduced in Stardew Valley's massive 1.6 update scolds those who glitch their way to an endgame region of the map.
Perfection is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder. In the case of Stardew Valley, however, only one beholder really matters, and that is the game’s developer, Eric Barone, who has set very stringent criteria as to what constitutes a perfect game. Progress towards a "perfect" playthrough can be tracked via the perfection meter found in the Walnut Room on Ginger Island.
To fill it up, you’ll have to spend countless hours slaying monsters, finding collectibles, growing crops, and generally being an outstanding, problem-solving member of the community. Put in the time and effort to achieve perfection, and you’ll be rewarded with access to a part of the map known as The Summit, where you’re treated to a heartwarming cutscene with your loved one of choice, before being presented with a parade of every animal and character in the game. As its name suggests, reaching The Summit could be considered the pinacle achievement of a Stardew Valley playthrough, a fitting reward that is gated behind tens of hours worth of digital sweat.
Or, you be a monster, and skip all of the effort to take the easy way to the summit by using an exploit to glitch out of bounds, and navigate to the endgame section of the map. Thankfully, Barone is well aware of this particular dirty trick, but rather than patching out the exploit for 1.6, the developer instead opted to introduce a cutscene to the game, which punishes players for accessing The Summit without achieving perfection.
Reddit users like Snail51 caught the cutscene shortly after release, which we here at IGN have captured as well. If you don't mind suffering the wrath of Mister Qi, you can watch a walkthrough below (which also includes the cutscene itself if you don't want to go through all that).
After following the steps, you'll come face-to-face with Mister Qi - a mysterious character who operates the Casino found in Calico Desert.
“Well, well, well, look who ‘made it to the summit,” taunts Mister Qi, against the backdrop of a glitching sky. “Thought you were really clever, didn’t you?” The NPC then chides the player further for cheating the system, before calling them "despicablee," and lunging forwards as the screen fades to black.
The player then comes to in the hospital, only to be told that Harvey had been forced to perform “emergency surgery” on them after they were found “unconscious" and "battered." Harvey then charges the player 500g for medical expenses, because he isn’t running a charity thank you very much.
Since the cutscene obviously didn’t appear in the extensive list of changes following the release of 1.6, we have no idea what other surprises might be waiting for other players who look to game the system. Regardless, those hoping to get to The Summit the honest way would do well to consult IGN’s comprehensive Stardew Valley Wiki, and to check out our page detailing everything that you need to know about the 1.6 update.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
