Highlights
- Haunted Chocolatier, the next game from ConcernedApe, will feature customizable chocolate confectionery and potential romantic relationships with NPCs.
- Stardew Valley's spouses helped out around the farm, providing benefits such as watering crops and feeding animals.
- Haunted Chocolatier could potentially have spouses helping run the chocolate confectionery business, bringing unique gameplay mechanics and efficiency.
Fans of ConcernedApe's farm life sim Stardew Valley have been anxiously awaiting the release of the developer's next game, Haunted Chocolatier since its development began in 2020. As the proprietors of their own customizable chocolate confectionery store in Haunted Chocolatier, players will sell delicious chocolate confections made from the ingredients they gather, alongside what will likely be even more activities related to the game's non-player characters and its world.
It's currently unclear the full extent of what ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier will bring to the table that hasn't already been introduced in Stardew Valley, but several features have been confirmed and still more can likely be expected. One feature that has been confirmed by ConcernedApe to be present in Haunted Chocolatier is potential romantic relationships with NPCs, which players could also pursue in Stardew Valley. Apart from adding depth to the world's overarching narrative, Stardew Valley's romantic partners benefit players in a variety of ways, and the hope is that Haunted Chocolatier will do the same.
How Haunted Chocolatier Can Improve on Stardew Valley's Customization
Haunted Chocolatier will hopefully build and improve upon Stardew Valley's foundations, with customization being one area ConcernedApe should target.
Haunted Chocolatier Romantic Partnerships Could Function Similarly to Stardew's
Stardew Valley's Spouses Helped Out Around the Farm
Aside from the benefits of having a constant companion at their side after marrying in Stardew Valley, players can receive regular help from their spouses on the farm, thus allowing them extra energy and time to spend elsewhere in the game. This makes pursuing romantic relationships in Stardew Valley a highly worthwhile endeavor, although it can often prove to be a rather drawn-out and dramatic one.
- Spouses help water the crops on the farm
- Spouses tend to and feed the animals on the farm
- Spouses keep the dog or cat's water bowl filled
- Spouses repair broken structures, like fences
- Spouses occasionally provide the player with gifts, like food
The most beneficial bonus of having a spouse in Stardew Valley is their tendency to help water crops and feed animals. These activities can often take players several hours, depending on how many crops and animals they have, so being able to step outside their house every morning in Stardew Valley to a well-kept farm is an enormous blessing. When they're not helping out with crops and animals, however, spouses also keep the farm pet's water bowl filled, cook the player some food, and sometimes even repair damaged structures. These are all signs of what Haunted Chocolatier could and arguably should implement in the upkeep and management of its chocolate confectionery business.
Haunted Chocolatier's Spouses Could Help Run the Business
Running a farm in Stardew Valley and running a business in Haunted Chocolatier are likely to be on entirely different levels in terms of demand. Running a farm is taxing enough, as crops and animals will only last so long without the proper care. Running a business, on the other hand, comes with the added challenge of pleasing people. It's currently unknown whether Haunted Chocolatier will give customers some sort of satisfaction meter, but it's likely the pressure to please will be there regardless.
In light of that, perhaps Haunted Chocolatier could implement Stardew Valley's spousal bonuses by allowing romantic partners to help players run the chocolate confectionery business. Haunted Chocolatier may allow players to hire employees to help out around the store, but the idea then of the player's spouse staying in to manage the store while the player goes out to complete other activities could be even more efficient. It could also lead to interesting gameplay mechanics, whether that be in the two partners brainstorming ideas to build the business or the spouse contributing a unique feature to the business that other potential partners couldn't.
As Haunted Chocolatier's release grows closer, ConcernedApe is likely to share more information about the upcoming workplace sim, and that may include information about the roles and functions of the game's romantic partners. Hopefully, the new sim will see spouses running the business alongside the player, but that much remains to be seen.
Haunted Chocolatier
Haunted Chocolatier is an upcoming adventure game from Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe (Eric Barone). The game is currently set to feature a lush explorable world, chocolate making and cooking, a spooky theme, and more. There is currently no release date or time period for the game.
