Haunted Chocolatier Trailers, Gameplay, And More
Haunted Chocolatier is set to be the next game from Stardew Valley developer Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone, and after the behemoth success of the previous game, many are excited for what ideas he has next. Haunted Chocolatier looks like it will bear many similarities to Stardew, whilst also carving out its own unique identity to set it apart and emphasise different aspects of simulation gameplay. So if you're looking forward to moving into a haunted castle and starting up your own chocolate factory, take a look at our breakdown of the Haunted Chocolatier release date and more.
- Want to play more games like Haunted Chocolatier? Here’s everything we know about the upcoming magic school sim Witchbrook.
Is There A Haunted Chocolatier Release Date?
Click to enlargeHaunted Chocolatier has no official release date currently, and the developer ConcernedApe has neglected to even set a release estimate to better handle the pressure and work at their own pace. Stardew Valley took four years of development before it was released, and it's likely that Haunted Chocolatier will take just as long, if not longer.
According to the FAQs on the game's website, it's still "relatively early in development," and we know that work on it officially began during 2020, so it's likely still a couple of years away at the least. We'll make sure to update this once a release date or window has been announced.
Haunted Chocolatier Trailers
There has only been one Haunted Chocolatier trailer released so far, which can be seen above. It won’t take long to see the similarities between it and Stardew Valley. However, there is one core difference. In Haunted Chocolatier, you will be running a chocolate shop instead of a farm. This means that instead of growing crops and maintaining your property, you’ll be running around finding ingredients, making chocolate, and selling it to happy customers.
We don’t know when we can expect more Haunted Chocolatier trailers, as Barone typically likes to randomly drop them, or leave some cryptic hints leading up to a new reveal. Your best bet is to keep an eye on his Twitter account for the next trailer drop.
Haunted Chocolatier Gameplay
Click to enlargeThe Haunted Chocolatier gameplay will be similar to that of Stardew Valley, but will also be different in a lot of ways. As far as similarities go, they both have the same 2D pixelated art style and are town simulators. Just like in Stardew Valley, being a part of the community will be a vital role in Haunted Chocolatier, so there here will be plenty of characters to meet throughout the game.
However, there will also be a lot of differences between Haunted Chocolatier's gameplay compared to Stardew Valley. Barone has shared that Haunted Chocolatier is more of an action RPG whereas Stardew Valley is truly more of a farm life RPG. Players will be responsible for managing a chocolate shop in town, must go out and hunt for rare ingredients, upgrade their shop, fight enemies, and of course, learn new chocolate recipes to make the best chocolate in town.
Another gameplay element in Haunted Chocolatier will be combat. It will also be different from Stardew Valley’s combat and almost all of the combat elements are “completely coded and drawn from scratch” instead of being reused from Stardew Valley, according to Barone.
Our first look at the new combat elements came in the first trailer, as we can see that combat will include a shield mechanic. Like most RPGs, Barone has shared that most attacks can be blocked with a shield, and an enemy will become briefly stunned, allowing you to quickly attack them.
If you aren’t a fan of cautious, shield-based combat, don’t worry. Barone is also promising “other off-hand items besides shields that will complement different play styles.” Unfortunately, we will just have to wait a little bit longer to see what he has up his sleeve.
The increased focus on combat is likely due to the fact that players will have to go hunting for ingredients to make their chocolate. While there’s plenty to explore in Stardew Valley, it’s not forced upon you, as you can grow crops on your farm and mingle with the townsfolk. However, in Haunted Chocolatier, in order to get ingredients, you’ll have to go out and forage for them. So, naturally, you’re going to run into a handful of enemies along the way.
Haunted Chocolatier Characters
Click to enlargeIn the first trailer, we got to meet a few of the Haunted Chocolatier characters. While there are likely plenty more to meet, below are all of the confirmed characters that we know of so far:
- Lily: Seems to be a town member
- Burk: Seems to be a blacksmith that makes weapons
- Maddie: Seems to be a town member
- Jett: Seems to be some type of researcher that works with a Dr. Tungsten
- Nigel: Seems to be a bartender
Haunted Chocolatier Platforms
Haunted Chocolatier will launch on PC, and possibly other platforms. On the official Haunted Chocolatier website, Barone shared that he could only confirm that it would be released on PC at launch. Though he shared that he has “every intention of bringing it to the other major platforms as well.”
For those that are fans of Barone’s previous game, Stardew Valley, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Stardew Valley started out on PC, then slowly released onto other platforms. Now, it’s available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and mobile.
However, Barone has much more influence in the gaming industry than he did when Stardew Valley was released. Additionally, the official website states that Barone will likely seek help with console ports and localizations. So, it seems very likely that Haunted Chocolatier will eventually release on multiple platforms.
