After ten years of developing Stardew Valley, one-man developer ConcernedApe has announced that he is working on a new game titled Haunted Chocolatier. According to the game’s newly-opened official website, Haunted Chocolatier will revolve around the player running a magical chocolate shop located in a haunted mansion. By the looks of the announcement trailer’s early gameplay, Haunted Chocolatier’s art style is almost identical to its predecessor. However, ConcernedApe notes that Haunted Chocolatier will allow him to experiment with new mechanics and ideas.
Pleased to announce my new game: “ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier” — in development! #hauntedchocolatierhttps://t.co/tcY5lwFODn
— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) October 21, 2021
ConcernedApe, aka Eric Barone, goes on to explain the differences between Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier, describing the former as channeling the “energy of the sun” while the latter channeled the moon. While the game will involve ghosts and a haunted castle, Barone is quick to clarify that the game will not be an “evil or negative game.” Instead, Barone wants to explore more fantastical possibilities.
Furthermore, Barone also reveals that developing Stardew Valley felt constrained at times, due to the fact that he was working within the “established tradition” of other farming simulator games like Harvest Moon. This time around, Barone wants to go “unleashed” though he has only worked on the core aspects of Haunted Chocolatier so far. The trailer does give us a good idea of what to expect, however, as it shows us some gameplay mechanics such as gathering ingredients, creating chocolate, and selling that product at the store. In true Stardew Valley fashion, it also looks like you’ll have a wide cast of side characters to romance and interact with.
some screenshots pic.twitter.com/pJXurwwGXM
— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) October 21, 2021
You can check out the official Haunted Chocolatier early development gameplay trailer below:
There isn’t any development timeline at the moment, and Barone notes that there is still “a ton of stuff to do.” Though the early development footage looks fairly polished, Barone states that he doesn’t want to be tied down to any particular concept and that Haunted Chocolatier will evolve organically as he develops it. While the game will “take a while” before it is done, he says he is going to be working on it “as much as he can” until it’s finished.
Haunted Chocolatier is currently only confirmed for PC, but is intended to also come to consoles at some point in the future. In the meantime, you can currently play Stardew Valley on the PlayStation 4 which supports local split-screen.
[Source: Twitter]
