Haunted Chocolatier “is not Stardew Valley 2,” but might have some shared lore

“I haven’t nailed down exactly to what degree the two will be connected” says creator

Stardew Valley creator Eric ConcernedApe Barone is at it again, blowing up the internet with a single screenshot of Haunted Chocolatier. And some tweets! This week, they mused on how Haunted Chocolatier lore could be connected to their prior project.

After sharing a single screenshot from Haunted Chocolatier, Barone noted some hours later that “someone pointed out the perspective looks kinda weird around the passageway, and on the drop down spots.” Agreeing, they shored up the area and shared a live screen of the improvement. They clarified that they use Paint [dot] net as a tool for pixel art, and changing objects is akin to “re-drawing stuff,” which is “time consuming.” There’s “no engine,” as it’s “all from scratch again,” though they are using Monogame framework instead of XNA.

From there, Barone continues to do a Q&A session of sorts on Twitter, responding to a fan that they “don’t know” if the game will come to mobile, before tweeting “probably not, to be honest” (likely fueled by their experience with Stardew on mobile). When asked if the character design of what appears to be the main character is final, Barone replied: “Nothing is final,” at the moment and they are “in the middle of everything.” They re-iterate that “it’s not a farming game,” though there might be “some plant cultivation.”

This, however, is perhaps the most interesting part: “It’s gonna be its own separate game with a self-contained identity… it’s not a ‘Stardew [Valley] 2.’ But there might be some shared lore, I haven’t nailed down exactly to what degree the two will be connected.” The secrets of the Haunted Chocolatier lore grow stronger every update! Having the game be completely unique with some hat tips for fans to enjoy is probably for the best.