Few indie games carry the prestige ofStardew Valley—something that is reflected by the rabid excitement swirling aboutHaunted Chocolatier, ConcernedApe’s sophomore project. Although audiences are eagerly awaiting thisStardew Valleysuccessor, ConcernedApe, AKA Eric Barone, doesn’t seem to be inany rush to getChocolatierout the door, much to the chagrin of passionate players.
Torturous wait aside,Haunted Chocolatierlooks like a promising spin on theStardew Valleyformula. Instead of working the land and producing nourishing essentials like crops and artisanal goods, this upcoming game will focus primarily on chocolate production, as its name suggests. Additionally, Barone has describedHaunted Chocolatieras “channeling the moon,” whileStardewchannels the sun, implying a darker, more supernatural world and story—something that is also evidenced by the game’s title. Part and parcel of this distinct tone isChocolatier’s greater emphasis on combat, with Barone calling it an “action-RPG,” borrowing several staples of the genre. Per the developer’s most recent update, it looks like this combat-heavy design will remain a major focus, which is good news.
Haunted Chocolatier Is Sticking to Its Action-RPG Focus
Haunted Chocolatier Is Still Looking Like a Combat-Oriented Stardew Valley
As part of ConcernedApe’s most recent blog post (December 2024), screenshots of awork-in-progress build ofHaunted Chocolatierwere shared. The most promising image features the player-character up against a swarm of slime-like creatures that will no doubt look familiar toStardewfans, but the biggest difference about their appearance inChocolatieris their sheer volume. It would appear that the player may be tasked with taking on considerable hordes of enemies, suggesting a significant elevation of the threats from Barone’s debut.
There are a number of ways that greater enemy density couldimpactHaunted Chocolatier’s gameplay. InStardew Valley, players will often only have to deal with a small handful of hostile creatures while exploring the mines, but even this can sometimes result in stressful encounters, requiring careful forethought, positioning, and enemy management, all informed by the player’s gear and abilities. One could assume, then, thatHaunted Chocolatier’s increase in enemy volume would make for even more stressful and engaging combat encounters, thereby encouraging more granular build-crafting and gear collecting, which in turn encourages seeking out greater threats, and so on.
The update also offered a glimpse atHaunted Chocolatier’s gear screen, though this looksquite similar toStardew Valley’s gear systemat this stage.
Why Haunted Chocolatier’s Greater Combat Emphasis Is a Good Thing
Perhaps the greatest challenge thatHaunted Chocolatierfaces is breaking away fromStardew’s legacy. Barone took the world by storm with his debut, which has proven to be one of the most influential indie titles of all time, so audiences are no doubt hoping thatChocolatierwill recapture that lighting-in-a-bottle legacy.Haunted Chocolatiercertainly seems to share DNA withStardew, carrying over its art style, management mechanics, and social simulation elements, so there’s a lot resting on the action-RPG systems to set it apart from its predecessor. In other words, delivering on the action-RPG promise is what could determineHaunted Chocolatier’s identity as a brand-new, standalone project.
By doubling down on strong, intense combat,Haunted Chocolatiercanspill new blood in the same way thatStardew Valleydid all those years ago. Gaming audiences are all too aware of how manyStardew Valleyclones are on the market these days, so it would be somewhat disappointing if Barone’s next game were to just beStardewwith a spooky coat of paint. With this new combat system,Haunted Chocolatiercan be much more.
Haunted Chocolatier
WHERE TO PLAY
Haunted Chocolatier is an upcoming adventure game from Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe (Eric Barone). The game is currently set to feature a lush explorable world, chocolate making and cooking, a spooky theme, and more. There is currently no release date or time period for the game.
