Previously,Stardew Valleycreator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone had hinted that he was working on a new project unrelated to the popular farming simulator, but few fans suspected news would be arriving so soon. However, on October 21, a mysterious video simply titled “???” was uploaded to the developer’s YouTube channel. This marked the first non-Stardew Valleyvideo on the channel, and the reveal of Barone’s newest project, entitledHaunted Chocolatier.
Barone’s first project,Stardew Valley,was initially released in 2016 and was inspired by Barone’s love for theHarvest Moonseries. The game, which includes elements of farming, fighting, mining, fishing, relationship building, and more, has become a critical and commercial success and has seen release on a variety of platforms including PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles andeven Tesla cars. As of 2021,Stardew Valleyhas sold over 15 million copies in total.
RELATED:Stardew Valley Fan is Making Game’s Recipes in Real Life
Although visually similar toStardew,Haunted Chocolatiersees players embark on a new journey as the owner and head chef at a gourmet chocolatier staffed by adorable ghosts. The two-and-a-half-minute preview video revealed various gameplay elements including combat, conversation with various characters, ingredient gathering, and visiting a blacksmith’s forge. The game seems to draw greater inspiration from role-playing games thanStardew Valley, with a dynamic combat system and multiple weapon options. Barone described the project as “early in development,” and did not specify a release date. Previously, when hosting the Stardew Valley Cup event, he confirmed thatthe game was “not a sequel” toStardew Valley.
Barone had discussed the possibility of working on non-Stardewrelated projects as early as 2018, though he chose to re-focus onStardewwhile developing its multiplayer mode and porting it to various consoles. The 1.5 content update, which released in December 2020, added a massive amount of content to the game. This included a new location, Ginger Island, with puzzlesBarone confirmed in an interview were inspired bySuper Mario 64, several new crops, crafting items, and recipes, and a “Perfection” system that tracks how many of the game’s updates a player has completed. Due to the implementation of the Perfection system, many sources speculated that 1.5 would be the game’s last update and that Barone would move on to other projects.
Haunted Chocolatierseems to include elements which fans ofStardewwill enjoy, such as its pixelated art style and the ability to expand and improve your chocolate business by learning new recipes and crafting or purchasing new types of furniture. However, the short initial reveal trailer alone seems to indicate that the game will have a wider variety of tasks and locations, including a bustling city and a scientific laboratory complete with ongoing experiments.
Unfortunately, it will likely be a while untilHaunted Chocolatierreleases. However, in the meanwhile, fans of farming, cooking and item crafting can enjoy theupcoming free update toAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, which many have compared favorably toStardew Valley.
MORE:Games to Play if You Like Stardew Valley
