Despite the general air of mystery surrounding it, the excitement forHaunted Chocolatieramong fans ofStardew Valleyis pretty much through the roof. ConcernedApe’s farming simulator took the hearts of many, as it’s packed full of content and is frequently being updated with more. The announcement ofHaunted Chocolatiershowcased just how hungry fans ofStardeware for more from the solo developer. Unfortunately, information on the project is still pretty scarce since it was announced just under a month ago, and according to the game’s FAQ, it is still early in its development.
Haunted Chocolatier’s announcement trailer, however, does show off a lot of what fans can expect from the game, including aspects that will set it apart fromStardew Valley. The two games will obviously be comparable, but it looks likeHaunted Chocolatieris branching out and experimenting with new gameplay mechanics. There’s a long list of games that it can take inspiration from, but the titles featured below speak to specific elements of the game that have already been showcased inHaunted Chocolatier’s initial reveal trailer.
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Comparisons between theAnimal Crossingseries andStardew Valleyhave been made since the farming sim was released in 2016, butHaunted Chocolatierseems to be expanding on an element ofStardewthatAnimal Crossingis known for: interior decoration. Players were able to decorate their house inStardew, but it wasn’t ever a main focus of the game - thoughHaunted Chocolatierseems to be putting more focus on decorating the inside of the player’s chocolate shop. Hopefully, ConcernedApe should look toNew Horizonsfor inspiration when it comes to understanding what makes interior decoration so satisfying in a video game.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
ConcernedApe has already commented on howHaunted Chocolatier’s combat will differ fromStardew Valley’s. The indie-developer said thatcombat forHaunted Chocolatierhas been built from the ground up and isn’t just a copy of the studio’s previous work, so it would do them well to look atThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningfor inspiration on top-down sword combat mechanics. TheZeldagame, both the original and the recent remake, is often touted as the best 2D combat that the series has to offer and makes good use of the dimensions available to it.Haunted Chocolatierlooks like it will have a more combat-focused gameplay loop that’s reminiscent of earlyZeldatitles, so hopefully it looks to one of the best entries in the series for tips.
Luigi’s Mansion
The role of the ghosts inHaunted Chocolatieris still a little bit mysterious. It’s obvious from the trailer that they are more on the helpful-Casper side of things than the vengeful angry spirits that are frequently featured in horror media. That said, it’s unclear if they’ll be their own characters or be similar to theanimals inStardew: named by the players but functionally the same as the rest of the pack.
If they do end up to be individual characters, then hopefullyHaunted Chocolatiertakes a page out ofLuigi’s Mansion’s book and packs them full of character.All of the named ghosts inLuigi’s Mansionhave a lot of character quirks that help make each feel unique and like part of the titular mansion’s history. Even if the ghosts inHaunted Chocolatierend up being less unique and more like the ghost mobs that Luigi encounters in his game, they can still have characters of their own in the same way that Luigi’s ghost adversaries have personalities based on their ghost-type.
