ConcernedApe’s sophomore projectHaunted Chocolatierwill likely share quite a bit in common withStardew Valley, its spiritual predecessor. Just how similar these two games will be remains to be seen, and one can only hope thatHaunted Chocolatierwill stand out as a unique gamein its own right, but certain parallels seem obvious at this stage.
Among the most notable distinctions betweenHaunted ChocolatierandStardew Valleyis the former’s gameplay premise. As the name suggests, players will be tasked with gathering ingredients for chocolate production, rather than the farming and foraging activities ofStardew. This will almost certainly impact the central gameplay loop ofChocolatier, but it could have more far-reaching effects as well, determining the sorts of resources, rewards, and side activities that are made available to the player. When speculating aboutHaunted Chocolatier’s gameplay, going off what players have grown familiar with throughStardew, this raises a few interesting questions.
Haunted Chocolatier’s Approach to Bundles Will Have to Be Different From Stardew Valley’s
Bundles Are a Major Part of Stardew Valley
ThoughStardew Valleycan theoretically be played indefinitely, there are certain goals that players are encouraged to aspire to. Among the game’s meatiest opportunities for endgame grinding are the Community Center bundles, which serve as resource sinks and encourage players to engage with all ofStardew’s systems; in order to complete the Community Center, players can’t simply spend all their time farming, for example.
Thus, these bundles do a great job ofextendingStardew Valley’s gameplay loop, while providing meaningful rewards like access to the bus. It ties into the game’s narrative as well, as the Community Center is representative of the Pelican Town community, and repairing it with the help of the Junimos is an important part of the player’s role in the town. Something similar to this seems like an obvious choice forHaunted Chocolatier, but it’s unlikely that it would be as extensive.
Haunted Chocolatier’s Version of the Community Center Bundles May Have To Be More Restrained
Stardew Valleyallows players to fish, forage, mine, grow a multitude of crops, and craft artisan goods, all of which feed into the Community Center system. ButHaunted Chocolatieressentially removes all of these categories save for the artisan goods, building its progression system solely around chocolate-making. It will be fascinating to see howthis impactsHaunted Chocolatier’s gameplay, but it may be even more interesting to observe the effect it has on endgame content similar toStardew’s community center.
With a more limited scope, the sorts of bundles that players could make inHaunted Chocolatierwill probably lack the variety seen inStardew Valley. After all, players are only making one type of product. That said, there is a way thatHaunted Chocolatiercould lean into its cookingfor a more compelling version of Community Center bundles.
Haunted Chocolatierhas a charming in-game justification for a bundle equivalent: chocolate boxes.
IfHaunted Chocolatierwere to be granular with its chocolate-crafting system, then its Community Center equivalent could be compartmentalized based on different types of chocolate. For example, milk chocolate could be its own “bundle,” as could nutty or fruity chocolates. This would offerthe same benefits asStardew Valley’s bundles, namely encouraging players to fully immerse themselves in all the different crafting opportunities, forming the backbone of mid-to late-game progression. Of course, there would still be less variety thanStardew Valley’s more distinctly themed bundles, but if the process of gathering materials and making chocolate inHaunted Chocolatieris sufficiently fleshed out and satisfying, then this may not matter all that much.
Haunted Chocolatier
WHERE TO PLAY
Haunted Chocolatier is an upcoming adventure game from Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe (Eric Barone). The game is currently set to feature a lush explorable world, chocolate making and cooking, a spooky theme, and more. There is currently no release date or time period for the game.
