The latest update of Stardew Valley has given many people an excuse to return to the game. Reaching new peaks of simultaneous players, this farm simulator published in 2016 has become the main reference in the genre. And with good reason. With beautiful art, excellent gameplay loop, and learning the necessary lessons from the early Harvest Moon games, it is a game that knows how to perfectly weave its ingredients to be attractive.
Now, the game is already eight years old; it is normal for people to be already waiting for the next thing from the people who created it in the first place. Even if those people are just one person, since he created it alone and has refused to have practically any other external help. Because its developer, Eric Barone, has confirmed that despite the success of Stardew Valley, which has made him a millionaire, he does not plan to stop working on video games and do it alone. Hence, we already know about the existence of his next game.
As avid fans of Barone’s work already know, his new game is called Haunted Chocolatier. And although we don’t know a whole lot about it yet, we’re going to try to summarize everything we know so far. Because if Stardew Valley has been a huge success, there’s no doubt that Haunted Chocolatier also has the potential to be.
The main reason to have faith in Haunted Chocolatier is that anyone who has seen its trailer will have noticed something obvious: its similarities with Stardew Valley. In addition to having a similar artistic style, the game has certain mechanics similar to those of its first successful game. It seems that in Haunted Chocolatier we will also plant, harvest, and manufacture some of our resources. But that’s not all.
Something that Barone has confirmed and wanted to insist on is that Haunted Chocolatier is not a sequel or an extension of Stardew Valley. This becomes evident from the moment he confirmed that it would be an action RPG, with a particular emphasis on two specific elements: combat and exploration. Of course, collecting ingredients, making chocolate, and running our chocolate shop will still be the main core of the game, so Stardew Valley fans will feel right at home here.
Something they also have in common is their premise. Both in Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier, we will be a newcomer who has to take care of a business. The difference will be that in one it was a farm, in the other it will be a chocolate shop and factory, with an added element: Barone’s intention with Haunted Chocolatier is to explore certain fantasy elements in a deeper way, whereas in Stardew Valley he wanted to keep everything more grounded in reality.
That being said, we already know five characters, named Lily, Burk, Maddie, Jett, and Miguel, of which we still don’t know what their role will be within the story. Although if Stardew Valley serves as a reference, they will surely be more than they seem and we will end up getting to know them in depth throughout the game.
The latest details we know about the game is that it is being developed for PC and that Barone started working on the game at some point in 2020. While we have a trailer, as well as some videos and screenshots, we don’t know its release date or if it will be released on other platforms. But what we do know for sure is that Haunted Chocolatier will be one of the candidates for game of the year when it finally comes out.
