While Haunted Chocolatier might stand apart from Stardew Valley, the game shouldn’t shy away from incorporating farming mechanics into its gameplay.
Way before Haunted Chocolatier's time, Stardew Valley not only re-defined the indie life simulator space but invited thousands of non-gamers to take joy in creating their farms in Pelican Town. The game's success was due to the ingenuity and sincerity of developer Eric "ConceredApe" Barone, who took a formula made famous by games like Harvest Moon and turned it into a heartfelt, thoroughly enjoyable game that players can make their own. While the upcoming ConcernedApe game Haunted Chocolatier may try to distance itself from its predecessor, it would benefit significantly if it kept some farming elements in play.
In the upcoming life simulation game, the player steps into the shoes of a new chocolatier who must gather ingredients and turn them into delicious chocolate. While very little is known about the game in early development, Haunted Chocolatier has a moodier, almost-gothic atmosphere that makes it feel incredibly different from Stardew Valley. Barone has clarified that while the farming simulator game was meant to "channel the sun," Haunted Chocolatier is intended to "channel the moon." While this might spell the end of farming in the next ConcernedApe game, there are still ways in which the developer could keep the well-loved mechanics in their new title.
While there is plenty of reason for ConcernedApe to want to distance Haunted Chocolatier from Stardew Valley so that the game can stand on its own, there is a way for the upcoming title to include farming without feeling like a sequel. Given that the player will be gathering materials to make chocolate, it would make sense thematically for the player to be able to garden or farm in a small plot outside their haunted mansion. The ghosts could even help with the farm work. This would add another layer of immersion to the game and attract hardcore fans of Stardew Valley who enjoyed growing crops.
While Haunted Chocolatier might need to constrain the farming mechanics in the game to make the game feel distinct, this allows for Stardew Valley's ConcernedApe to evolve the farming system. Given that much of the main town in Haunted Chocolatier appears to be snowy and dark, this could be an excellent opportunity to employ magic or hydroponics if players can garden inside their mansion. It would be fantastic for players to monitor soil health, plant growth, contain diseases, and more – especially since Barone has said he wants to involve more stats in the upcoming title compared to Stardew Valley.
Since ConcernedApe is still working on developing Haunted Chocolatier, not much is known about the core gameplay elements except that players will need to find ingredients and make chocolate. Fans know that the haunted mansion contains a mysterious door to a lush, green landscape where players can explore and gather ingredients. Haunted Chocolatier's gameplay could feasibly do with farming elements added to this forest landscape, especially if the NPCs in this world are farmers. Knowing that ConcernedApe intends to have more combat in the upcoming game, this would provide a balance of action and relaxation.
Other recently released RPGs like Potion Permit task players with gathering ingredients and turning them into sellable products, but those games often need more dynamic gameplay. Adding farming elements to Haunted Chocolatier would allow players to grow ingredients that could be added to their chocolate through gameplay that isn't reliant on combat. While this would make Haunted Chocolatier more similar to the Rune Factory franchise compared to Stardew Valley, the advent of the in-game economy and storefront would make the game unique from any recently released RPG on the market. Hopefully, Haunted Chocolatier's rumored connection to Stardew Valley will be seen as a return to farming in some small way.
Haunted Chocolatier is currently in development.
Sangita is a game designer and writer whose first love is videogames. Sangita’s first videogame was Harvest Moon – from then on she’s been playing every farming simulator game she can. When she’s not playing farming sims, she’s playing old-school rpgs or running a D&D game.
Why Haunted Chocolatier Should Still Have Farming Elements – GameRant
