Haunted Chocolatier: Trailer, gameplay, and all the news so far

The Stardew Valley neighborhood may be alive and kicking because of the current 1.6 replace, however followers are nonetheless excited for the shiny new recreation coming from its maker, Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. The subsequent recreation from the developer, Haunted Chocolatier, is within the works, and it already appears to be like like it would seize loads of the charms of Stardew Valley.

Since saying Haunted Chocolatier in 2021, Barone has been juggling its improvement whereas releasing vital 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 instances that he prefers to work in secret and infrequently discusses vital updates informally on X. Consequently, the knowledge out there on every recreation could be a bit scattered. So we did the work of rounding all these particulars up. As you learn, take into account that Barone is creating the sport “organically,” so it’s attainable some particulars will change earlier than launch.

Does Haunted Chocolatier have a launch date?

The brief 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 know the way far alongside improvement is as a result of we’ve solely gotten occasional snippets from the sport. Most just lately, he mentioned that he’s “keen” to get again to work on it, however that he must make it possible for Stardew Valley 1.6 is “settled, bug-free and out to all platforms first.”

Picture: ConcernedApe

It’s seemingly we received’t get a Haunted Chocolatier launch anytime quickly, because it’s going to take some time for Barone to launch all the pieces 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 12 months, he mentioned he was “getting aspect 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 staff (roughly), so if you happen to’re itching for the sport, possibly give the man a break!

What’s going to the gameplay be like in Haunted Chocolatier?

Picture: ConcernedApe

Picture: ConcernedApe

Picture: ConcernedApe

Picture: ConcernedApe

Followers of Stardew Valley will instantly acknowledge a number of of Haunted Chocolatier’s gameplay components from the trailer. The sport bears Barone’s typical type, pairing stunningly detailed pixel artwork with a lush soundtrack. Options of Stardew gameplay — like the power to develop relationships with characters and adorn a house — additionally appear to determine prominently into Haunted.

Nonetheless, the largest distinction between the 2 will probably be its core gameplay and fight. In accordance with a 2021 weblog publish, the sport will lean into extra action-RPG components and have a larger emphasis on fight. Moreover, in his announcement publish, he mentioned that the core loop will contain “gathering components, making chocolate, and operating a chocolate store” as a substitute 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 feel and look comparable. Haunted even appears to have an analogous 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: dwelling off the land, rising meals, and connecting to the folks and nature round you. Nonetheless, with my subsequent recreation, I needed to discover extra fantastical potentialities… experiences that take you past the odd,” Barone mentioned within the weblog.

Consequently, this recreation will lean a bit extra into supernatural components. In the event you watch the trailer, you’ll see cute little ghosts that support you in a chocolate store. Moderately than wanting the sport to really feel scary, Barone mentioned that he intends for the sport “to be constructive, uplifting and life-affirming.” He mentioned, “if Stardew Valley principally channeled the vitality of the solar, Haunted Chocolatier channels the vitality of the moon. Each are very 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 observe that these descriptions are based mostly 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 take care of a furnace, however he additionally simply looks as if a sweaty man.
• Maddie, an individual with a little bit of a comfortable goth look who asks the participant character what it’s like dwelling within the metropolis.
• Jett, a researcher with an entire mess of hair. I simply wish to know if he’ll be this recreation’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 desires Haunted Chocolatier to have its personal identification, so it in all probability received’t be a direct sequel. (Sorry to these of you who needed to pack up together with your Stardew partner and stay your finest chocolate life collectively!) Nonetheless, the sport may have not less than some type of connection to Stardew’s world, however Barone hasn’t determined how deep it is going to be but.

Will Haunted Chocolatier have multiplayer?

Followers who’ve performed Stardew Valley with buddies utilizing its native co-op and on-line multiplayer modes may be questioning if Haunted Chocolatier will help comparable gameplay. In accordance with 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 recreation was about as a result of there have been plenty 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 positive come out on is Home windows PC, in line with the FAQ. However 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 folks will have the ability to play it on the identical methods [as Stardew Valley].”

Stardew Valley is offered to play on macOS, cell gadgets, Nintendo Swap, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Home windows PC, and Xbox One. It’s additionally out there to play on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Collection X by way of backward compatibility. I’m not going to carry out hope for Haunted Chocolatier on PlayStation Vita within the 12 months 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 go away you with this banger Barone made for a boss battle within the recreation. It’s titled “bee_boss.ogg” and it’s an authorized bop.