Haunted Chocolatier blijft een town game, maar Eric Barone noemt het een action RPG

According to Barone, Haunted Chocolatier is about adventure, finding equipment and getting stronger. He also confirmed that monsters and boss fights are part of the game, making it lean more heavily on combat and progression than Stardew Valley.

Barone also said Haunted Chocolatier is more “metaphysical” than Stardew Valley. There is still no official release date.

What happened

Eric Barone shared new information about Haunted Chocolatier in an interview with GQ, the project he announced in October 2021 as his next game after Stardew Valley. Eurogamer summarizes his comments and says Barone describes the game as “more of an action RPG,” while still calling it a “town game.” That combination is notable, since Barone is pointing to both the social or town-building side and the action-focused side of the project.

Barone said the core of Haunted Chocolatier revolves around adventure, finding equipment and becoming stronger. He also mentioned monsters and boss fights as part of the game. That shifts the emphasis clearly toward action and RPG systems, without removing the town setup. The reporting also notes that Barone sees the game as something for players who in Stardew Valley mostly head to the mines and look for combat.

In the same interview, Barone said Haunted Chocolatier is more “metaphysical” than Stardew Valley. He did not explain exactly what he meant by that in the available reporting. As things stand, there is still no official release date for the game. The official Haunted Chocolatier website has long described it as Barone’s next game, and an early gameplay video titled “ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier -- Early Gameplay” has already appeared on YouTube, giving an earlier look at the project.

The new comments fit into a longer development cycle. Reporting describes Haunted Chocolatier as a project that has been in development for more than five years. That makes it one of Barone’s longest-running solo projects since the 2021 announcement. The mix of town-building, action RPG elements, monsters and boss fights now gives a clearer sense of how Barone himself is positioning the game.

Background

Haunted Chocolatier is Eric Barone’s next major project, following Stardew Valley. The game was announced in October 2021 and has since been known as a separate ConcernedApe project, apart from the ongoing updates for Stardew Valley. On the official website, the game is presented as Barone’s new game, and in the 2021 announcement he wrote that after ten years on Stardew Valley he was moving on to something new.

The new comments mainly clarify how Barone positions the game. Haunted Chocolatier remains a town game in his view, but with more emphasis on action, combat and RPG progression. Barone also referenced players who in Stardew Valley mostly focus on the mines and combat. That makes the game feel connected to part of the Stardew Valley community without seeming like a direct repeat of that game.

The reporting also says Haunted Chocolatier is more “metaphysical” than Stardew Valley. That wording is not explained further, but it does suggest Barone sees the tone or themes of the project differently from his earlier hit. The combination of monsters, boss fights and equipment progression also points to a more defined action RPG structure than many players may have expected from a new ConcernedApe game.

Another constant is that there is still no official release date. That matters because the game has been in development since 2021 and Barone has only shared occasional new information since then. The YouTube video with early gameplay shows that work on the game is ongoing, but it does not provide any concrete launch timing. For now, Haunted Chocolatier remains one of the most discussed, but still undated, projects from the Stardew Valley creator.