Stardew Valley developer announces new game, Haunted Chocolatier, now in development
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What you need to know
Indie developer Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, became a breakout star in 2016 thanks to the life and farming simulator hitStardew Valley, and now we finally have information on the follow-up.
Haunted Chocolatier is a game where you make chocolate, go out into the world to gather ingredients, and it takes place in a haunted castle with ghosts and monsters. While Barone hasn’t devled into too many details (he notes the game is evolving as he develops it), he mentions it won’t necessarily be a horror game.
“Don’t think for a moment that, because this game features ghosts in a haunted castle, it is an evil or negative game,” he wrote in apost on Haunted Chocolatier’s website. “On the contrary, I intend for this game to be positive, uplifting and life-affirming. However, if Stardew Valley mostly channeled the energy of the sun, Haunted Chocolatier channels the energy of the moon. Both are vital.
Barone teased an announcement on Twitter, with a link to a YouTube video with only question marks in the title. That announcement ended up being the Haunted Chocolatier. Along with the announcement itself, he shared early gameplay and a blog with some basic information.
Barone hadreviously teased on Twitterthat he’s working on two games in the Stardew Valley universe. One takes place within the same world, while the other will “tie into Stardew Valley in some way.” While he didn’t confirm if Haunted Chocolatier is one of these two games, the similarities are striking. Not only is the UI nearly identical, but some creatures like slimes also appear. Granted, this could change as development continues.
Haunted Chocolatier is still in the early stages of development (and there’s currently no release window), and, as he notes, fans should consider that the details might change. “I don’t want to get too deep into at this early stage, partly because I don’t want to be tied down to any particular concept of what the game is,” he wrote.
Stardew Valley is arguably one of the biggest indie games of the past decade, and one of thebest comfort gamescurrently available. It follows the story of an unnamed person (customized by the player) that moves to a tiny town to reinvigorate their grandfather’s farm and become a part of a community. It started life on Steam, but is now available on just about every platform, including mobile andXbox. As of 2020, ConcernedApe stated the game has sold around10 million copies.
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Carli is the Gaming Editor and Copy Chief across Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore. Her last name also will remind you of a dinosaur. Follow her onTwitteror email her atcarli.velocci@futurenet.com.
