Haunted Chocolatier is the Stardew Valley developer's next RPG
Run a chocolate shop staffed by ghosts
The developer of Stardew Valley has revealed their next game: Haunted Chocolatier. It's again a game about moving to a new town to "try your hand at a new way of living", but instead of a farm, you're opening a chocolate shop staffed by ghosts. There's an adorable trailer below.
I wasn't the world's biggest fan of Stardew's pixel art, but the snowy, cosy scenery here is lovely.
If you're a big fan of Stardew Valley, it looks like there'll be plenty that's familiar. You arrive in a new town, explore, talk to the townspeople, seemingly win their affections with gifts, and all while also brewing chocolate to sell in your shop.
The game's official site has a few more details on where exactly it differs from Eric Barone's previous game. Mainly, that "Haunted Chocolatier is more of an action-RPG compared to Stardew Valley." There's a fair bit of whacking animals and sentient leeks with sticks in the video above, who sometimes drop ingredients you can use in your work.
We also see players brewing chocolate, constructing their stores, laying out their wares and inviting in customers. Also, exploring a haunted castle.
"In Stardew Valley, the focus was more humble: living off the land, growing food, and connecting to the people and nature around you," writes Barone. "However, with my next game, I wanted to explore more fantastical possibilities… experiences that take you beyond the ordinary. That’s where magical haunted ghost chocolate comes in."
Just as with Stardew, Barone aka ConcernedApe says he's working on the game alone, with currently no plans to bring on other developers. He also writes that it's "still relatively early in development" with no release date estimate.