Despite the general air of mystery surrounding it, the excitement for Haunted Chocolatier among fans of Stardew Valley is 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 of Haunted Chocolatier showcased just how hungry fans of Stardew are 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 from Stardew Valley. The two games will obviously be comparable, but it looks like Haunted Chocolatier is 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 in Haunted Chocolatier's initial reveal trailer.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Comparisons between the Animal Crossing series and Stardew Valley have been made since the farming sim was released in 2016, but Haunted Chocolatier seems to be expanding on an element of Stardew that Animal Crossing is known for: interior decoration. Players were able to decorate their house in Stardew, but it wasn't ever a main focus of the game - though Haunted Chocolatier seems to be putting more focus on decorating the inside of the player's chocolate shop. Hopefully, ConcernedApe should look to New Horizons for 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 how Haunted Chocolatier's combat will differ from Stardew Valley's. The indie-developer said that combat for Haunted Chocolatier has 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 at The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for inspiration on top-down sword combat mechanics. The Zelda game, 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 Chocolatier looks like it will have a more combat-focused gameplay loop that's reminiscent of early Zelda titles, so hopefully it looks to one of the best entries in the series for tips.
Luigi's Mansion
The role of the ghosts in Haunted Chocolatier is 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 the animals in Stardew: named by the players but functionally the same as the rest of the pack.
If they do end up to be individual characters, then hopefully Haunted Chocolatier takes a page out of Luigi's Mansion's book and packs them full of character. All of the named ghosts in Luigi's Mansion have a lot of character quirks that help make each feel unique and like part of the titular mansion's history. Even if the ghosts in Haunted Chocolatier end 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.
Haunted Chocolatier is in development.