Summary
There are hardly any gamers who haven’t heard ofStardew Valley, the indie darling that aimed to capture everything the classicHarvest Moongames offered and more. However, solo developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone isn’t done creating games yet as he’s hard at work onHaunted Chocolatier, an RPG-simulation game that has been likened tobeing the moon toStardew Valley’s sun.
While there are plenty of potential placesHaunted Chocolatiercould go that have fueled speculation, it seems that the game may still be quite a ways off. ConcernedApe has been working on content forStardew Valleyupdates to this very day, with the latest news from July 2024 being that he’ll speak more about the farming sim at a later date. Comparatively,Haunted Chocolatieris most certainly still secondary in terms of Barone’s priorities. The only thing that could potentially work in the newer game’s favor is how many pieces it’s shamelessly taking fromStardew Valleyto save on development time, and making luck a stat could be a fun piece to include.
The Luck Stat in Stardew Valley Could Make Days in Haunted Chocolatier All the More Interesting
Stardew Valleyhas multiple quirky features giving it charm likereceiving items from random events throughout Pelican Town. One of which is how players' luck is made into an in-game changeable stat, which influences what items are dropped and other lucky breaks for a limited time. Seeing luck personified as a stat in video games is frequent in RPGs, where it helps with anything from critical hit ratios, to special encounters, and anything else the developers desire. InStardew Valley, a little luck can change the day-to-day experience completely.
With each new day in the indie farming sim, the player’s luck is randomly generated to either be -1.0 or 1.0, which can be viewed by checking the Fortune Teller channel on the TV. One of the ways to increase luck through fans' day-to-day activities in the game isthrough the Special Charm item, which increases luck by 0.025. This value affects multiple things across the game from mining, fishing, and other random interactions. Through understanding howStardew Valley’s luck might change how the day’s events play out, there are plenty of windows of opportunity forHaunted Chocolatierto benefit from the same mechanic.
The Known Mechanics of Haunted Chocolatier and How Luck Can Make or Break Them
ConcernedApe’s last game, to use his words, was following many farming sim traditions while expanding on them at the same time.Haunted Chocolatieris much more combat-oriented, however. From what’s seen in the current gameplay footage released so far, along with Barone’s own descriptors of the game, the mining aspect ofStardew Valleywill serve as a core element ofHaunted Chocolatier.
Players will need to gather ingredients for the chocolate they make inHaunted Chocolatier, with one in particular method involving facing enemies and scavenging just as one would do in the mines inStardew Valley. Going byhow luck affects mining inStardew Valley, this means that players could have multiple different lucky breaks when exploring that are determined by their own luck stat, which could be anything in or similar to the list below.
All of these options would certainly make exploring for chocolate ingredients exciting, which would spice upHaunted Chocolatier’s gameplay loop significantly. Considering that Barone’s new game is once again another simulation game with RPG elements, the luck stat would fit right in as a way to verify each player has a different advantage and experience each playthrough, every day. Considering that’s one large reason why players keep coming back toStardew Valley, preserving that feeling is almost a must forHaunted Chocolatieron its own.
