The Stardew Valley group is perhaps alive and kicking due to the current 1.6 replace, however followers are nonetheless excited for the shiny new sport coming from its maker, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. The subsequent sport from the developer, Haunted Chocolatier, is within the works, and it already appears like it’s going to seize loads of the charms of Stardew Valley.
Since asserting Haunted Chocolatier in 2021, Barone has been juggling its growth whereas releasing important updates for Stardew Valley. It may be exhausting to maintain up with progress on each video games directly, particularly since Barone has mentioned a number of occasions that he prefers to work in secret and sometimes discusses vital updates informally on X. In consequence, the data obtainable on every sport is usually a bit scattered. So we did the work of rounding all these particulars up. As you learn, remember the fact that Barone is creating the sport “organically,” so it’s potential some particulars will change earlier than launch.
Does Haunted Chocolatier have a launch date?
The quick reply is that we don’t have a launch date or window for Haunted Chocolatier but. Barone began engaged on the sport in 2020, however we don’t understand how far alongside growth is as a result of we’ve solely gotten occasional snippets from the sport. Most lately, he mentioned that he’s “keen” to get again to work on it, however that he must be sure that Stardew Valley 1.6 is “settled, bug-free and out to all platforms first.”
It’s probably we received’t get a Haunted Chocolatier launch anytime quickly, because it’s going to take some time for Barone to launch the whole lot wanted for the brand new model of Stardew. He simply dropped the 1.6.3 Stardew Valley fixes for PC on March 27 and doesn’t but have a launch date for when the replace will come to console, so there’s extra information to come back.
Moreover, Barone has been engaged on Stardew Valley updates for some time. In January of final yr, he mentioned he was “getting facet tracked” by Stardew Valley work. Then, that spring, he mentioned that he paused work on Haunted Chocolatier to work on the 1.6 replace. Barone is a one-man group (kind of), so should you’re itching for the sport, perhaps give the man a break!
What is going to the gameplay be like in Haunted Chocolatier?
Followers of Stardew Valley will instantly acknowledge a number of of Haunted Chocolatier’s gameplay parts from the trailer. The sport bears Barone’s typical model, pairing stunningly detailed pixel artwork with a lush soundtrack. Options of Stardew gameplay — like the flexibility to develop relationships with characters and enhance a house — additionally appear to determine prominently into Haunted.
Nevertheless, the most important distinction between the 2 might be its core gameplay and fight. Based on a 2021 weblog publish, the sport will lean into extra action-RPG parts and have a higher emphasis on fight. Moreover, in his announcement publish, he mentioned that the core loop will contain “gathering elements, making chocolate, and operating a chocolate store” as an alternative of operating a farm.
What can we find out about Haunted Chocolatier’s characters and story?
Regardless of fight variations, the 2 video games nonetheless appear and feel related. Haunted even appears to have an identical premise, that includes a narrative a couple of new-to-town participant character who begins a enterprise.
“In Stardew Valley, the main focus was extra humble: residing off the land, rising meals, and connecting to the individuals and nature round you. Nevertheless, with my subsequent sport, I needed to discover extra fantastical prospects… experiences that take you past the bizarre,” Barone mentioned within the weblog.
In consequence, this sport will lean a bit extra into supernatural parts. In the event you watch the trailer, you’ll see cute little ghosts that support you in a chocolate store. Fairly than wanting the sport to really feel scary, Barone mentioned that he intends for the sport “to be optimistic, uplifting and life-affirming.” He mentioned, “if Stardew Valley largely channeled the power of the solar, Haunted Chocolatier channels the power of the moon. Each are important.”
Followers are already excited to fulfill the characters on this new world. Barone launched a screenshot of an unnamed character that appears like a grandpa or maybe a wizard; the trailer additionally confirmed us a number of new faces. You’ll be able to learn extra in regards to the characters beneath, however notice that these descriptions are primarily based on our personal observations of the footage — some particulars aren’t confirmed and will change.
- Lily, a younger maybe-bachelorette who seems to ask the character into a beautiful desert-themed room.
- Burk, a burly bald-headed man with a thick beard. He appears to keep up a furnace, however he additionally simply looks as if a sweaty man.
- Maddie, an individual with a little bit of a smooth goth look who asks the participant character what it’s like residing within the metropolis.
- Jett, a researcher with a complete mess of hair. I simply need to know if he’ll be this sport’s Sebastian.
- Miguel, a bartender who additionally has a bald head and a few very furrowed brows.
Is Haunted Chocolatier simply Stardew Valley 2?
Barone mentioned he needs Haunted Chocolatier to have its personal id, so it most likely received’t be a direct sequel. (Sorry to these of you who needed to pack up along with your Stardew partner and dwell your greatest chocolate life collectively!) Nonetheless, the sport may have at the very least some kind of connection to Stardew’s world, however Barone hasn’t determined how deep it will likely be but.
Will Haunted Chocolatier have multiplayer?
Followers who’ve performed Stardew Valley with pals utilizing its native co-op and on-line multiplayer modes is perhaps questioning if Haunted Chocolatier will help related gameplay. Based on the sport’s FAQ, it simply has single-player, and Barone has “no present plans” so as to add multiplayer.
The place can I watch the Haunted Chocolatier trailer?
We solely have one early gameplay trailer of Haunted Chocolatier to this point. Though some followers have mentioned Barone introduced the sport too early, he has since responded by saying that he released it as a result of he “needed to ascertain what [his] subsequent sport was about as a result of there have been a variety of false rumors and assumptions going round.” You’ll be able to view the trailer above.
What platforms will Haunted Chocolatier come to?
The one platform that we all know Haunted Chocolatier will for certain come out on is Home windows PC, based on the FAQ. Nevertheless it’s not like all hope is misplaced for different platforms. Barone mentioned he imagines the game will have “about the identical system necessities” as Stardew Valley. Barring any points with backward compatibility, he “would think about individuals will be capable to play it on the identical programs [as Stardew Valley].”
Stardew Valley is obtainable to play on macOS, cellular units, Nintendo Change, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Home windows PC, and Xbox One. It’s additionally obtainable to play on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Sequence X through backward compatibility. I’m not going to carry out hope for Haunted Chocolatier on PlayStation Vita within the yr 2024, however it seems like gamers received’t want to fret about platform exclusivity.
What else is there to find out about Haunted Chocolatier?
What’s left? Not a lot. We’ll proceed to replace you with extra information, however for now, I’ll depart you with this banger Barone made for a boss struggle within the sport. It’s titled “bee_boss.ogg” and it’s a licensed bop.