Stardew Valley creator Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone is currently developing his next game, Haunted Chocolatier. The two games will share some similarities as they can both be described as “town games” that start off with players moving to a new place, much in the way of Animal Crossing. From there, the story is set up to build a new life that involves exploring the surrounding area, finding resources, completing specific objectives, and forming relationships with the locals. Haunted Chocolatier will have players begin their new lives as chocolate makers and will take place around a castle. In a recent interview, Barone confirmed one key feature will remain the same between both Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier.
In an interview with VGKami, ConcernedApe described his favorite part of the game development process. Barone said he loves the development stage when all the main components are complete and he is able to “just add fun things on top of it. The little surprises for players to discover.” The game developer was sure to point out that he hasn’t quite gotten to that stage with Haunted Chocolatier just yet, but has confirmed that one feature that has made its way from Stardew Valley is relationships.
About the relationships feature ConcernedApe said, “Yes, there will be relationships like in Stardew Valley. I haven’t decided exactly how the system will work yet. And I expect to approach some things differently this time around.” Trailers for Haunted Chocolatier have teased an improved dialogue system as well, along with many opportunities to interact with the townsfolk. Relationships were a key feature in Stardew Valley and it’s definitely nice to know they will be an important part of this upcoming game.
Haunted Chocolatier does not have a release date yet but that hasn’t stopped fans of Stardew Valley from getting excited. Hopefully, more news about the upcoming game will be revealed in 2022.