Stardew Valleyis one of the biggest indie success stories yet. Created by Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone and released in 2016, theHarvest Moon-inspired farming/life simulator has sold over 20 million copies as of March 2022. It has released for nearly every modern platform and dropped additional waves of content, includingUpdate 1.5’s Ginger Island. That success has afforded Barone the opportunity to explore other ventures, such as the upcomingHaunted Chocolatier.
ConcernedApe’sHaunted Chocolatierwas announced in October 2021. Despite having a similar aesthetic toStardew, it swaps the focus from farming to making chocolate with ingredients gathered through more involved combat. Players are also able to run their own shop, all while getting to know the local residents of their hometown. Yet the anticipated game could go much further than that by leaning more intoStardew Valley’s fantasy elements, such as the variety of races found around Pelican Town.
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The Fantasy Races of Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley’s grounded opening hours hide a lot of its deeper worldbuilding. There are signs of Barone’s sense of humor early on, such as skeletons filling cubicles in the headquarters ofStardew’s Amazon-esque megacorporation Joja, or themain character’s grandpa having an absurdely designed bed. Yet players will spend much of their time exploring the small community of Pelican Town, starting up their farm, and schmoozing with eligable bachelors and bachelorettes - all of whom are human.
The first sign that something deeper is happening underneath the surface comes when players unlock the Community Center, which acts as a set of tasks to complete that improve various parts of Pelican Town. Unless players elect to replace the center with a JojaMart Warehouse, they will be helping forest sprites called Junimos. Pelican Town’s Wizard is the main gateway into this more mystical side ofStardew Valley, and soon enough players will find more than just Junimos running about.
Various combat-centric parts of the game like The Mines and Skull Cavern are full of aggressive creatures ranging from slimes to ghosts, but friendly NPCs are more limited. Dwarves can be found in The Mines as well as Ginger Island’s Volcano Dungeon, and the Wizard mentions Elemental Wars fought between them and theShadow People - one of whom is named Krobus, who lives in Pelican Town’s sewer system. A goblin named Henchman guards the Witch’s Hut deep in the swamp, plus Merpeople can be seen both in the Night Market and off the coast of Ginger Island. Characters and books also make reference to Elves and “Tundra Dwellers,” and Fairies will occassionally bless players' crops. One could even argue the mysterious Mr. Qi is of an unknown race due to his cosmic attire and blue skin.
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Haunted Chocolatier’s Potential for More
Plenty more worldbuilding is snuck into every corner ofStardew Valley, from a religion centered around “Yoba” to a war being fought by Kent during the player’s first in-game year.Haunted Chocolatierpresents its own unique setting with a chance to greatly expand upon this. The game’s reveal trailer and early screenshots show players mainly interacting with other human characters outside the ghosts that help operate their shop. However, a major tenet ofHaunted Chocolatierwill involve jumping through portals to hunt monstersalaSuper Mario 64.
Given the way Barone sprinkled in bits of lore and mysteries about the wayStardew Valley’s world operated, there’s no doubtHaunted Chocolatierwill do the same. Letting players explore a variety of places well outside the boundaries of their home should only help with this endeavor, as visiting locales like the desert and Ginger Island improvedStardew Valley. Plenty more fantasy races could be tucked into the world, and ifHaunted Chocolatierreally improvesStardew Valley’s romancewith mechanics like dialogue choices, there’s room for a variety of romantic partners. If BioWare games likeDragon AgeandMass Effectcan get away with it, so too could ConcernedApe.
