There is no set release date for Haunted Chocolatier. Haunted Chocolatier will absolutely be coming out on PC, but there has been no mention of other platforms yet.
In late 2021, indie developer Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe online, famed for single-handedly creating one of the most famous indie games of all time, Stardew Valley, officially announced that he was developing a new game. The game is called Haunted Chocolatier. This new game is a role-play game where you will play as a chocolatier living in a haunted castle. In order to thrive in your new role, you will have to gather rare ingredients and make delicious chocolates to sell them in a chocolate shop.
The most recent update on the game’s progress comes from an interview Barone did with Screen Rant in December 2022. Here’s what Barone had to say about his progress on Haunted Chocolatier:
“It’s going well, but it’s a big game. I have a big, ambitious vision for it. It’s a little bit daunting, the amount of work that it’s going to be. But Stardew Valley took me four and a half years; I’ve been working on Haunted Chocolatier for about a year and a half or maybe two years now. I announced it a little bit over a year ago, but it’s still gonna be a while. But I think it’s going good. So far. There’s a lot of good things so far.”
Gameplay
Haunted Chocolatier begins with the player starting up a chocolate shop while living in a haunted castle in the middle of a snowy village. The player will need to seek a wide variety of ingredients and alliances to make the best chocolate possible and ultimately reach success.
It’s not surprising just how similar the game looks to Stardew Valley so far. ConcernedApe has compared it to the energy of the moon, as Stardew Valley was the energy of the sun. The art style, movement, and interface are all recognizable here.
Community
One of the things people fell in love with in Stardew Valley was the ability to take their time, get to know everyone in the community, and make progress with a variety of relationships, this is what Barone calls a “town game.” Haunted Chocolatier will be more of the same, with similar systems to give gifts, get to know characters, and progress relationships or make mistakes.
Action and combat
The action is where Haunted Chocolatier splits from Stardew Valley. There is a bigger emphasis on Action role-player features such as combat. There will be a variety of weapons and shields, a full blocking system, a stun system connected with successfully blocking enemies, and more. This should make foraging attempts and exploration an interesting part of the game for those who want a little more action in their chocolate-making plans.
Final words
If this game manages to live up to the quality of StarDew Valley then it will for sure be a fan favourite and if you enjoyed playing Stardew Valley then this is definitely a game that you should be looking forward to and have on your release radar.
