Creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone is best known for being a man who does it all. His massively popular farming simulator, Stardew Valley, which first released in February 2016, was an entirely solo project, with Barone writing the game's script, building assets, and even composing his own music. Now, as the Stardew Valley creator moves on to his next project, Haunted Chocolatier, he is both sticking to a few beloved Stardew traditions and adding some brand-new gameplay elements.
Haunted Chocolatier, which was announced via a trailer in October 2021, will move away from Stardew Valley's rural setting as the player takes up residence in a city and takes over the titular chocolatier. Unlike Stardew, the game will focus not on farming but on running a business - possibly with the help of some friendly ghosts who can be put to work serving customers delicious chocolate. Players will be able to decorate their chocolate shop, learn new recipes, and assign various tasks to their ghost helpers.
In previous interviews, ConcernedApe had confirmed that several gameplay elements from Stardew Valley would be returning to Haunted Chocolatier, such as the ability to build friendly and romantic relationships with a variety of NPC characters. Now, during a livestream with Reason Studios in which he discussed his music composition, Barone previewed an upcoming track from Haunted Chocolatier entitled "Bee Boss." Another Haunted Chocolatier track was also revealed, entitled "Pristine Snow," which was a slow, gentle tune commenters on Reddit compared favorably to the music from The Legend of Zelda series.
The upbeat, buzzy tune "Bee Boss" may indicate the presence of boss battles in Haunted Chocolatier, a feature which was not present in Stardew Valley. In a previous blog post, Barone revealed that Haunted Chocolatier would focus more heavily on combat and have more RPG-like elements than Stardew Valley. The game's first trailer showed a player facing off against slime-like enemies using multiple weapons, including a sword for melee and a bow and arrow for long distance combat. A later blog post from ConcernedApe also showed a player running into a bee-like monster, which may in fact be the "Bee Boss" to which the new track was referring.
So far, ConcernedApe has not confirmed a release date for Haunted Chocolatier, although he did state that he was continuing to actively work on the project. It is likely that Barone will self-publish the game, as he recently confirmed that he had become the sole publisher of Stardew Valley following an official split with former publishing partner Chucklefish. A 2023 release date is speculated, but some fans suspect a surprise earlier release, as previously happened with Stardew Valley's free 1.5 content update.
Haunted Chocolatier is in development.