Rich Flavor, Rich Gameplay
If you are not familiar with the name ConcernedApe aka Eric Barone, you are probably familiar with his game. Stardew Valley is one of the greatest success stories of indie games. Now, the developer is focusing on their second game Haunted Chocolatier.
Stardew is an easy game to describe on its surface, but it is much deeper than it looks. The same can probably be said for Haunted Chocolatier, but Barone is clearing things up in his interview with ScreenRant. The recipe is one part chocolate shop, one part dungeon crawler.
In the interview, Barone describes the main gameplay loop of his new title. Players open a chocolate shop and run it during the day. They also visit magical worlds and areas where they find ingredient to use in the shop. There are monsters and enemies, as well as full bosses to fight.
Like Stardew Valley, players can interact with NPCs. Some of them will come to your shop with personal requests, making you venture into new places with specific goals. You will also be able to upgrade your shop and add attractions.
Players won’t be running the shop alone either. Haunted Chocolatier will have ghosts that help you out. These helpers can automate certain tasks, so you can focus on your dungeon crawling.
Other parts of the interview include a collaboration between ConcernedApe and the band Alvvays. Barone helped animate a music video for them after finding out they were fans.
We don’t know much about the release of Haunted Chocolatier. Hopefully, it will launch on the same platforms that Stardew Valley is on.
Will you be trying out ConcernedApe’s new game? Let us know in the comments below.