Summary
AsStardew Valleymaintains its reputation as one of the most influential farm life sim games ever made, the future of its developer, ConcernedApe, looks bright. On the horizon isHaunted Chocolatier, the developer’s next game, which sees players managing a chocolate confectionery store in aworld that looks likeStardew Valley’sbut is already showing signs of being quite different.
Not much is known aboutHaunted Chocolatieraside from some of its basic features, including the potential for players to marry someone in the game. It can be assumed thatHaunted Chocolatier’s marriage system will be similar toStardew Valley’s, but it may even be able to take one of the latter’s best marriage features even further, thanks to its premise.
Haunted Chocolatier’s Marriage Benefits Could Parallel Stardew Valley’s
Stardew Valley’s Marriages Come With Unique Gameplay Benefits
While the roleplaying aspect ofmarrying someone inStardew Valleyis noteworthy in and of itself, marrying specific individuals also comes with unique benefits. Ultimately, this might lead to players choosing one spouse over another, as these benefits can be significant enough to help players save time during their day that they can then allot to other tasks or provide them with helpful items that can enhance players' experience with specific activities in the game.
One of the most desirable aspects of marriage inStardew Valleyis when the player’s spouse assists them with farm-related chores, like watering crops, filling the pet’s water bowl, feeding the farm animals, and even repairing fences. However, this is something that every spouse is capable of doing, it’s just not guaranteed when or what they might do. On the other hand, specificspouses inStardew Valleywill provide unique items through cooking or a simple gift, and this is where players might be a bit more picky in their romantic relationships.
For example, Penny often offers players farm-related items like Milk, Eggs, and Seeds, whereas Abigail might provide players with meals that can assist in their adventures in the Mines.
Haunted Chocolatier’s Marriages Could Come With Cooking-Based Benefits
Considering whatStardew Valley’s spouses are capable of doing when it comes to providing unique gameplay benefits to the player,Haunted Chocolatier’s premisearguably allows it to take that concept even further. SinceHaunted Chocolatiersees players managing their own chocolate confectionery store, marrying a specific spousal candidate could potentially provide players with special chocolate recipes that they couldn’t obtain anywhere else. This could work brilliantly from a narrative standpoint, perhaps seeing these spouses letting the player in on a secret family recipe that has been passed down for generations.
Incorporating a mechanic like this intoHaunted Chocolatierwould also increase its replay value, as players might wish to experience each of these special recipes at some point and would therefore be required to marry a different character in each playthrough. What this would accomplish more than anything else, however, is it would add another layer of choice as players are trying to decide who to marry. Again, the roleplaying aspect of marrying someone inHaunted Chocolatiermight be enough, but seeing which gameplay benefits might be more desirable than others to certain players could even be a dealmaker or dealbreaker in these relationships.
SinceHaunted Chocolatiersees players managing their own chocolate confectionery store, marrying a specific spousal candidate could potentially provide players with special chocolate recipes that they couldn’t obtain anywhere else.
As ConcernedApe remains tight-lipped aboutHaunted Chocolatier, it’s too soon to tell just how deep the game’s marriage mechanics will go. That being said, it can be assumed they will at least useStardew Valley’s marriage mechanicsas a starting point. The hope is just that they will take things further and give players even more reason to consider their spouses carefully.Haunted Chocolatiercan accomplish an even deeper marriage system by including more worthwhile gameplay benefits for each spouse, like a unique chocolate recipe that can only be obtained by marrying them.
Haunted Chocolatier
WHERE TO PLAY
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.
