Angela B. Games 07.27.2023 05:Jul AM EDT

Haunted Chocolatier: What to Expect from Stardew Valley Creator ConcernedApe’s Second Game

With the success of ConcernedApe with Stardew Valley, fans are excited about his new game, Haunted Chocolatier, which allows the players to take on the role of a chocolate maker, but the game will be so much more than that.

ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier

As the protagonist, you will not be living in a quaint little house on the farm as it is in Stardew Valley. Instead, you'll be residing in a haunted castle as a chocolatier. Of course, you will still need to gather resources to make chocolates.

Based on the trailer, you'll be encountering familiar monsters like Slimes, but also new ones such as crows (or ravens?) and what appear to be adorable living plants who are out to get you, and will drop milk once you defeat them.

Just like in Stardew Valley, you will also meet several NPCs throughout the game, all of which will play important roles in how you progress throughout the story. You can converse with them and give them gifts, presumably to build friendships as well.

Eric Barone, also known as the creator of the game, ConcernedApe, says that Haunted Chocolatier will focus more combat. While the graphics in both Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier are similar, Barone says that both are different.

In his blog post, he assured fans that he is not "copying and pasting" Stardew Valley's combat. In fact, he was coding and drawing everything from scratch. One of the biggest addition in combat is players can now get a shield, which will play a huge part in the fighting mechanics.

With the new gear, players can block off attacks from enemies, which will stun them in the process. While the enemy is incapacitated, players will have an easier time attacking without worrying about taking in damage.

In his own words, chocolate represents that which is delightful, while the haunted castle represents the "allure of the unknown." The ghosts symbolize the "imprint of the past." Even with those elements, Barone expressed that the game is not evil nor negative.

Other than that, Barone doesn't want to share much about the game other than the fact that he is making good progress. He prefers the game to be a surprise to players, which allows them to discover all the wonders of the game on their own.

When Can We Try It?

Sadly, it will be a while before the game comes out. As of right now, ConcernedApe is focused on developing the Stardew Valley update. Given that ConcernedApe is an indie developer, we have to consider that it might take them more time to develop an amazing game.

According to PCGamesN, we might see the release around 2025, although that's just a rough estimate and it might even be released sooner. ConcernedApe started around 2021, and he developed Stardew Valley for approximately four and a half years.

Since Barone is working on an update, players might even have to wait until early 2026. If you can't wait until then, you'll have the update to look forward to. Besides, there's so much to do on Stardew Valley anyway that you can occupy yourself for a while.