diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 753e7dd49a..2ca50dc4cb 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -247,6 +247,7 @@ Collate:
     'stat-bindot.R'
     'stat-binhex.R'
     'stat-boxplot.R'
+    'stat-connect.R'
     'stat-contour.R'
     'stat-count.R'
     'stat-density-2d.R'
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 6dd4dd92bd..ed35dffe93 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ export(StatBin2d)
 export(StatBindot)
 export(StatBinhex)
 export(StatBoxplot)
+export(StatConnect)
 export(StatContour)
 export(StatContourFilled)
 export(StatCount)
@@ -684,6 +685,7 @@ export(stat_bin_2d)
 export(stat_bin_hex)
 export(stat_binhex)
 export(stat_boxplot)
+export(stat_connect)
 export(stat_contour)
 export(stat_contour_filled)
 export(stat_count)
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 2f490a4d33..194f6c7d3f 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # ggplot2 (development version)
 
+* New `stat_connect()` to connect points via steps or other shapes 
+  (@teunbrand, #6228)
 * Fixed regression with incorrectly drawn gridlines when using `coord_flip()` 
   (@teunbrand, #6293).
 * Deprecated functions and arguments prior to ggplot2 3.0.0 throw errors instead 
diff --git a/R/stat-connect.R b/R/stat-connect.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..48a193fdf1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/stat-connect.R
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+#' Connect observations
+#'
+#' Connect successive points with lines of different shapes.
+#'
+#' @inheritParams layer
+#' @inheritParams geom_point
+#' @param connection A specification of how two points are connected. Can be one
+#'  of the folloing:
+#'  * A string giving a named connection. These options are:
+#'      * `"hv"` to first jump horizontally, then vertically.
+#'      * `"vh"` to first jump vertically, then horizontally.
+#'      * `"mid"` to step half-way between adjacent x-values.
+#'      * `"linear"` to use a straight segment.
+#'  * A numeric matrix with two columns giving x and y coordinates respectively.
+#'    The coordinates should describe points on a path that connect point A
+#'    at location (0, 0) and point B at location (1, 1). At least one of these
+#'    two points is expected to be included in the coordinates.
+#'
+#' @eval rd_aesthetics("stat", "connect")
+#' @export
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' ggplot(head(economics, 20), aes(date, unemploy)) +
+#'   stat_connect(connection = "hv")
+#'
+#' # Setup custom connections
+#' x <- seq(0, 1, length.out = 20)[-1]
+#' smooth <- cbind(x, scales::rescale(1 / (1 + exp(-(x * 10 - 5)))))
+#' zigzag <- cbind(c(0.4, 0.6, 1), c(0.75, 0.25, 1))
+#'
+#' ggplot(head(economics, 10), aes(date, unemploy)) +
+#'   geom_point() +
+#'   stat_connect(aes(colour = "zigzag"), connection = zigzag) +
+#'   stat_connect(aes(colour = "smooth"), connection = smooth)
+stat_connect <- function(
+    mapping = NULL,
+    data = NULL,
+    geom = "path",
+    position = "identity",
+    ...,
+    connection = "hv",
+    na.rm = FALSE,
+    show.legend = NA,
+    inherit.aes = TRUE) {
+  layer(
+    data = data,
+    mapping = mapping,
+    stat = StatConnect,
+    geom = geom,
+    position = position,
+    show.legend = show.legend,
+    inherit.aes = inherit.aes,
+    params = list2(
+      na.rm = na.rm,
+      connection = connection,
+      ...
+    )
+  )
+}
+
+#' @rdname ggplot2-ggproto
+#' @format NULL
+#' @usage NULL
+#' @export
+StatConnect <- ggproto(
+  "StatConnect", Stat,
+
+  required_aes = c("x|xmin|xmax", "y|ymin|ymax"),
+
+  setup_params = function(data, params) {
+    params$flipped_aes <- has_flipped_aes(
+      data, params,
+      range_is_orthogonal = TRUE, ambiguous = TRUE
+    )
+
+    connection <- params$connection %||% "hv"
+
+    if (is.character(connection)) {
+      check_string(connection)
+      connection <- switch(
+        arg_match0(connection, c("hv", "vh", "mid", "linear")),
+        hv     = matrix(c(1, 1, 0, 1),     2, 2),
+        vh     = matrix(c(0, 0, 0, 1),     2, 2),
+        mid    = matrix(c(0.5, 0.5, 0, 1), 2, 2),
+        linear = matrix(c(0, 1, 0, 1),     2, 2)
+      )
+    }
+
+    if (!is.matrix(connection) ||
+        !typeof(connection) %in% c("integer", "double") ||
+        !identical(dim(connection)[2], 2L)) {
+      extra <- ""
+      if (!is.null(dim(connection)[2])) {
+        extra <- paste0(" with ", dim(connection)[2], " column(s)")
+      }
+      cli::cli_abort(
+        "{.arg connection} must be a numeric {.cls matrix} with 2 columns, \\
+        not {.obj_type_friendly {connection}}{extra}."
+      )
+    }
+
+    if (any(!is.finite(connection))) {
+      cli::cli_abort(
+        "{.arg connection} cannot contain missing or other non-finite values."
+      )
+    }
+
+    if (nrow(connection) < 1) {
+      connection <- NULL
+    }
+
+    params$connection <- connection
+    params
+  },
+
+  compute_group = function(data, scales, connection = "hv", flipped_aes = FALSE) {
+
+    data <- flip_data(data, flipped_aes)
+
+    n <- nrow(data)
+    if (n <= 1) {
+      return(vec_slice(data, 0))
+    }
+
+    if (!is.matrix(connection)) {
+      return(data)
+    }
+    m <- nrow(connection)
+
+    before <- rep(seq_len(n - 1), each = m)
+    after  <- rep(seq_len(n)[-1], each = m)
+
+    data <- vec_slice(data, order(data$x %||% data$xmin))
+
+    # Interpolate x
+    # Note that `length(x) != length(xjust)`, but these are kept in sync due to
+    # the matrix recycling rules (effectively `rep(xjust, ncol(x))`)
+    x <- as.matrix(data[intersect(names(data), ggplot_global$x_aes)])
+    xjust  <- rep(connection[, 1], n - 1L)
+    x <- vec_slice(x, before) * (1 - xjust) + vec_slice(x, after) * xjust
+
+    # Interpolate y
+    y <- as.matrix(data[intersect(names(data), ggplot_global$y_aes)])
+    yjust  <- rep(connection[, 2], n - 1L)
+    y <- vec_slice(y, before) * (1 - yjust) + vec_slice(y, after) * yjust
+
+    # Reconstitute data
+    new_data <- vec_slice(data, before)
+    new_data[colnames(x)] <- split_matrix(x)
+    new_data[colnames(y)] <- split_matrix(y)
+
+    # Esnure data starts and ends are intact
+    if (!all(connection[1, ] == c(0, 0))) {
+      new_data <- vec_c(vec_slice(data, 1), new_data)
+    }
+    if (!all(connection[m, ] == c(1, 1))) {
+      new_data <- vec_c(new_data, vec_slice(data, n))
+    }
+    flip_data(new_data, flipped_aes)
+  }
+
+)
diff --git a/_pkgdown.yml b/_pkgdown.yml
index 0259312234..5b0505afd8 100644
--- a/_pkgdown.yml
+++ b/_pkgdown.yml
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ reference:
   - stat_unique
   - stat_sf_coordinates
   - stat_manual
+  - stat_connect
   - after_stat
 
 - subtitle: Position adjustment
diff --git a/man/ggplot2-ggproto.Rd b/man/ggplot2-ggproto.Rd
index 6658fdafb9..d4dfa8ab1f 100644
--- a/man/ggplot2-ggproto.Rd
+++ b/man/ggplot2-ggproto.Rd
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@
 %   R/position-stack.R, R/scale-.R, R/scale-binned.R, R/scale-continuous.R,
 %   R/scale-date.R, R/scale-discrete-.R, R/scale-identity.R, R/stat-align.R,
 %   R/stat-bin.R, R/stat-summary-2d.R, R/stat-bin2d.R, R/stat-bindot.R,
-%   R/stat-binhex.R, R/stat-boxplot.R, R/stat-contour.R, R/stat-count.R,
-%   R/stat-density-2d.R, R/stat-density.R, R/stat-ecdf.R, R/stat-ellipse.R,
-%   R/stat-function.R, R/stat-identity.R, R/stat-manual.R, R/stat-qq-line.R,
-%   R/stat-qq.R, R/stat-quantilemethods.R, R/stat-smooth.R, R/stat-sum.R,
-%   R/stat-summary-bin.R, R/stat-summary-hex.R, R/stat-summary.R,
+%   R/stat-binhex.R, R/stat-boxplot.R, R/stat-connect.R, R/stat-contour.R,
+%   R/stat-count.R, R/stat-density-2d.R, R/stat-density.R, R/stat-ecdf.R,
+%   R/stat-ellipse.R, R/stat-function.R, R/stat-identity.R, R/stat-manual.R,
+%   R/stat-qq-line.R, R/stat-qq.R, R/stat-quantilemethods.R, R/stat-smooth.R,
+%   R/stat-sum.R, R/stat-summary-bin.R, R/stat-summary-hex.R, R/stat-summary.R,
 %   R/stat-unique.R, R/stat-ydensity.R
 \docType{data}
 \name{ggplot2-ggproto}
@@ -131,6 +131,7 @@
 \alias{StatBindot}
 \alias{StatBinhex}
 \alias{StatBoxplot}
+\alias{StatConnect}
 \alias{StatContour}
 \alias{StatContourFilled}
 \alias{StatCount}
diff --git a/man/stat_connect.Rd b/man/stat_connect.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d62ba610a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/stat_connect.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/stat-connect.R
+\name{stat_connect}
+\alias{stat_connect}
+\title{Connect observations}
+\usage{
+stat_connect(
+  mapping = NULL,
+  data = NULL,
+  geom = "path",
+  position = "identity",
+  ...,
+  connection = "hv",
+  na.rm = FALSE,
+  show.legend = NA,
+  inherit.aes = TRUE
+)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{mapping}{Set of aesthetic mappings created by \code{\link[=aes]{aes()}}. If specified and
+\code{inherit.aes = TRUE} (the default), it is combined with the default mapping
+at the top level of the plot. You must supply \code{mapping} if there is no plot
+mapping.}
+
+\item{data}{The data to be displayed in this layer. There are three
+options:
+
+If \code{NULL}, the default, the data is inherited from the plot
+data as specified in the call to \code{\link[=ggplot]{ggplot()}}.
+
+A \code{data.frame}, or other object, will override the plot
+data. All objects will be fortified to produce a data frame. See
+\code{\link[=fortify]{fortify()}} for which variables will be created.
+
+A \code{function} will be called with a single argument,
+the plot data. The return value must be a \code{data.frame}, and
+will be used as the layer data. A \code{function} can be created
+from a \code{formula} (e.g. \code{~ head(.x, 10)}).}
+
+\item{geom}{The geometric object to use to display the data for this layer.
+When using a \verb{stat_*()} function to construct a layer, the \code{geom} argument
+can be used to override the default coupling between stats and geoms. The
+\code{geom} argument accepts the following:
+\itemize{
+\item A \code{Geom} ggproto subclass, for example \code{GeomPoint}.
+\item A string naming the geom. To give the geom as a string, strip the
+function name of the \code{geom_} prefix. For example, to use \code{geom_point()},
+give the geom as \code{"point"}.
+\item For more information and other ways to specify the geom, see the
+\link[=layer_geoms]{layer geom} documentation.
+}}
+
+\item{position}{A position adjustment to use on the data for this layer. This
+can be used in various ways, including to prevent overplotting and
+improving the display. The \code{position} argument accepts the following:
+\itemize{
+\item The result of calling a position function, such as \code{position_jitter()}.
+This method allows for passing extra arguments to the position.
+\item A string naming the position adjustment. To give the position as a
+string, strip the function name of the \code{position_} prefix. For example,
+to use \code{position_jitter()}, give the position as \code{"jitter"}.
+\item For more information and other ways to specify the position, see the
+\link[=layer_positions]{layer position} documentation.
+}}
+
+\item{...}{Other arguments passed on to \code{\link[=layer]{layer()}}'s \code{params} argument. These
+arguments broadly fall into one of 4 categories below. Notably, further
+arguments to the \code{position} argument, or aesthetics that are required
+can \emph{not} be passed through \code{...}. Unknown arguments that are not part
+of the 4 categories below are ignored.
+\itemize{
+\item Static aesthetics that are not mapped to a scale, but are at a fixed
+value and apply to the layer as a whole. For example, \code{colour = "red"}
+or \code{linewidth = 3}. The geom's documentation has an \strong{Aesthetics}
+section that lists the available options. The 'required' aesthetics
+cannot be passed on to the \code{params}. Please note that while passing
+unmapped aesthetics as vectors is technically possible, the order and
+required length is not guaranteed to be parallel to the input data.
+\item When constructing a layer using
+a \verb{stat_*()} function, the \code{...} argument can be used to pass on
+parameters to the \code{geom} part of the layer. An example of this is
+\code{stat_density(geom = "area", outline.type = "both")}. The geom's
+documentation lists which parameters it can accept.
+\item Inversely, when constructing a layer using a
+\verb{geom_*()} function, the \code{...} argument can be used to pass on parameters
+to the \code{stat} part of the layer. An example of this is
+\code{geom_area(stat = "density", adjust = 0.5)}. The stat's documentation
+lists which parameters it can accept.
+\item The \code{key_glyph} argument of \code{\link[=layer]{layer()}} may also be passed on through
+\code{...}. This can be one of the functions described as
+\link[=draw_key]{key glyphs}, to change the display of the layer in the legend.
+}}
+
+\item{connection}{A specification of how two points are connected. Can be one
+of the folloing:
+\itemize{
+\item A string giving a named connection. These options are:
+\itemize{
+\item \code{"hv"} to first jump horizontally, then vertically.
+\item \code{"vh"} to first jump vertically, then horizontally.
+\item \code{"mid"} to step half-way between adjacent x-values.
+\item \code{"linear"} to use a straight segment.
+}
+\item A numeric matrix with two columns giving x and y coordinates respectively.
+The coordinates should describe points on a path that connect point A
+at location (0, 0) and point B at location (1, 1). At least one of these
+two points is expected to be included in the coordinates.
+}}
+
+\item{na.rm}{If \code{FALSE}, the default, missing values are removed with
+a warning. If \code{TRUE}, missing values are silently removed.}
+
+\item{show.legend}{logical. Should this layer be included in the legends?
+\code{NA}, the default, includes if any aesthetics are mapped.
+\code{FALSE} never includes, and \code{TRUE} always includes.
+It can also be a named logical vector to finely select the aesthetics to
+display. To include legend keys for all levels, even
+when no data exists, use \code{TRUE}.  If \code{NA}, all levels are shown in legend,
+but unobserved levels are omitted.}
+
+\item{inherit.aes}{If \code{FALSE}, overrides the default aesthetics,
+rather than combining with them. This is most useful for helper functions
+that define both data and aesthetics and shouldn't inherit behaviour from
+the default plot specification, e.g. \code{\link[=borders]{borders()}}.}
+}
+\description{
+Connect successive points with lines of different shapes.
+}
+\section{Aesthetics}{
+
+\code{stat_connect()} understands the following aesthetics (required aesthetics are in bold):
+\itemize{
+\item \strong{\code{\link[=aes_position]{x}} \emph{or} \code{\link[=aes_position]{xmin}} \emph{or} \code{\link[=aes_position]{xmax}}}
+\item \strong{\code{\link[=aes_position]{y}} \emph{or} \code{\link[=aes_position]{ymin}} \emph{or} \code{\link[=aes_position]{ymax}}}
+\item \code{\link[=aes_group_order]{group}}
+}
+Learn more about setting these aesthetics in \code{vignette("ggplot2-specs")}.
+}
+
+\examples{
+ggplot(head(economics, 20), aes(date, unemploy)) +
+  stat_connect(connection = "hv")
+
+# Setup custom connections
+x <- seq(0, 1, length.out = 20)[-1]
+smooth <- cbind(x, scales::rescale(1 / (1 + exp(-(x * 10 - 5)))))
+zigzag <- cbind(c(0.4, 0.6, 1), c(0.75, 0.25, 1))
+
+ggplot(head(economics, 10), aes(date, unemploy)) +
+  geom_point() +
+  stat_connect(aes(colour = "zigzag"), connection = zigzag) +
+  stat_connect(aes(colour = "smooth"), connection = smooth)
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/_snaps/stat-connect.md b/tests/testthat/_snaps/stat-connect.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..98c4fd7df5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/_snaps/stat-connect.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# stat_connect rejects invalid connections
+
+    Code
+      test_setup(connection = "foobar")
+    Condition
+      Error in `setup_params()`:
+      ! `connection` must be one of "hv", "vh", "mid", or "linear", not "foobar".
+
+---
+
+    Code
+      test_setup(connection = matrix(1:3, ncol = 1))
+    Condition
+      Error in `setup_params()`:
+      ! `connection` must be a numeric <matrix> with 2 columns, not an integer matrix with 1 column(s).
+
+---
+
+    Code
+      test_setup(connection = matrix(c(1:3, NA), ncol = 2))
+    Condition
+      Error in `setup_params()`:
+      ! `connection` cannot contain missing or other non-finite values.
+
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-stat-connect.R b/tests/testthat/test-stat-connect.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..16c3ed44fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-stat-connect.R
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+test_that("stat_connect closes off ends", {
+
+  data <- data.frame(x = 1:3, y = c(1, 2, 0))
+
+  ld <- get_layer_data(
+    ggplot(data, aes(x, y)) +
+      stat_connect(connection = "mid")
+  )
+
+  i <- c(1L, nrow(ld))
+  j <- c(1L, nrow(data))
+  expect_equal(ld$x[i], data$x[j])
+  expect_equal(ld$y[i], data$y[j])
+
+})
+
+test_that("stat_connect works with 1-row connections", {
+  data <- data.frame(x = 1:3, y = c(1, 2, 0))
+
+  ld <- get_layer_data(
+    ggplot(data, aes(x, y)) +
+      stat_connect(connection = cbind(0.5, 0.5))
+  )
+
+  expect_equal(ld$x, c(1, 1.5, 2.5, 3))
+  expect_equal(ld$y, c(1, 1.5, 1.0, 0))
+})
+
+test_that("stat_connect works with ribbons in both orientations", {
+
+  data <- data.frame(x = 1:4, ymin = c(1, 2, 0, 1), ymax = c(3, 4, 3, 4))
+  expected <- data.frame(
+    x    = c(1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4),
+    ymin = c(1, 1, 2, 2, 0, 0, 1),
+    ymax = c(3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4)
+  )
+
+  ld <- layer_data(
+    ggplot(data, aes(x, ymin = ymin, ymax = ymax)) +
+      geom_ribbon(stat = "connect", connection = "hv")
+  )
+
+  expect_equal(ld[c("x", "ymin", "ymax")], expected)
+
+  ld <- layer_data(
+    ggplot(data, aes(y = x, xmin = ymin, xmax = ymax)) +
+      geom_ribbon(stat = "connect", connection = "hv", orientation = "y")
+  )
+
+  expect_equal(ld[c("y", "xmin", "xmax")], flip_data(expected, TRUE))
+})
+
+test_that("stat_connect rejects invalid connections", {
+
+  test_setup <- function(...) {
+    StatConnect$setup_params(NULL, list(...))
+  }
+
+  # Accept keyword parameter
+  p <- test_setup(connection = "linear")
+  expect_vector(p$connection, size = 2L, ptype = matrix(NA_real_, 0, 2))
+
+  # Accept xy coord matrix
+  p <- test_setup(connection = cbind(c(0, 1), c(0, 1)))
+  expect_vector(p$connection, size = 2L, ptype = matrix(NA_real_, 0, 2))
+
+
+  p <- test_setup(connection = matrix(NA_real_, 0, 2))
+  expect_null(p$connection)
+
+  expect_snapshot(
+    test_setup(connection = "foobar"),
+    error = TRUE
+  )
+
+  expect_snapshot(
+    test_setup(connection = matrix(1:3, ncol = 1)),
+    error = TRUE
+  )
+
+  expect_snapshot(
+    test_setup(connection = matrix(c(1:3, NA), ncol = 2)),
+    error = TRUE
+  )
+})