•Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone has provided new details about his upcoming game, Haunted Chocolatier, describing it as more of an action RPG than a farming simulation. The comments came in a wide-ranging interview with GQ that also covered creative burnout and the importance of “cosy gaming”.
The emphasis on combat is not surprising for anyone familiar with Stardew Valley, where fighting takes place largely within the mines — one area of the map holding some of the game’s rarest materials. Speaking to GQ about Haunted Chocolatier, Barone said: “[The new game] is for the people in Stardew Valley that go into the mines. That’s what I do, honestly.”
Barone also described Haunted Chocolatier as a more “metaphysical” experience than Stardew Valley, which fits its connection to ghosts and spirits. He added that “no one’s playing the game until I’m ready to show it”, meaning there is still no confirmed release date.
The most recent update on the game came in January, when Barone noted “I’m alive, the game is still in development”. That message followed earlier statements suggesting that the world of Haunted Chocolatier is bigger than Stardew Valley. On a release date, he said at the start of the year: “The bottom line is, I don’t want to give a release date. The game will come out when it’s done.”
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