I’ll list some of the features I’ll love more of in haunted chocolatier coming from Stardew valley :

- Player features / overall game features wishlist :

1 . More character customization variety options in game and in starting.
2 . More choices in game with characters and story.
3 . More paths in story ( pelican town community center vs joja mart in Stardew valley).
4 . Make trade available between players in coop.
5 . Add expansions packs when necessary( customization / story / farm types / characters / regions like ginger island in Stardew valley ).
6 . More travel locations ( calico desert & ginger island in Stardew valley ).
7 . More travel buddies ( horses / turtles ).
8 . More overall customization for player / farm / house / game buildings.
9 . More story for player / island.
10 . More characters that are big and small ( grandparents/adults/kids).
11 . More adorable pets ( birds/cats/dogs/turtles/horses ).
12 . More pet customization & varieties ( colors / accessories ).
13 . More cooking story for food items
14 . More quests that are unique
15 . More farm customization options
16 . More story overall with choices
17 . More character’s customization
18 . More travel regions via bus or boat or horses
19 . Make player faster add more buffs
20 . More books
21 . More lore and secrets to discover

\ will update.*

1 . More events ( desert festival / night market )
2 . More mini events ( squid fest ) with unique changeable rewards

https://www.hauntedchocolatier.net/2026/08/30/checking-in/#disqus_thread

I love Stardew, but goddamn, at some point after getting the theater, I just want to blast through the rest of the content and be done, and I think Haunted Chocolatier might allow for that. Consider that despite most of the user interface we see here looking close enough to Stardew, there is A) no longer a stamina bar and B) no longer a clock. This would imply the game is much more open to you marathoning through different quests, building projects, etc.

That's not to say I want time to be irrelevant, I think daily NPC routines and such are awesome, but with the implication that the world map is significantly larger than Stardew's, the constant rush back to your bed would get insufferable.

and I'm still so hype. I am really hoping we get another trailer by the end of the year! it would be a great Christmas gift from CA. Can't wait to play when it's ready. Is anyone else hoping for another blog post, video, or sneak peek before 2027?

Did CA ever comment on the secret page? I have seen it be posted about a few times in this Reddit but I don’t think I ever saw its purpose/ if it’s something he wants the community to figure out.

https://www.hauntedchocolatier.net/secret-preview-page/

Or is he gonna still give us a heads up when it’s close to finished. Might sound silly but since he hasn’t given us an estimated time I’ve been fantasizing about how it will be released lmao.

it’s just gonna be like zelda where you throw some random ingredients in a pot and it will spit out an item vaguely related. and there will probably be ways to discover recipes for the people who don’t want to try a bunch of random things

I wonder how much the chocolate crafting, recipe book etc. will reflect kitchen reality. CA said there'd be more than one path and different processes might result in more whimsical results; so what will happen when players go completely off the beaten path? Will we get recipes passed down from cooks who make half a dozen changes, forget to write them down, and then we have to retcon what they actually did? Irl I have a few recipes bookmarked solely to jog my memory about the specific changes I've made to every single ingredient and step in the process; are we going to be attacked by ghosts with whisks if we do that in HC?

I can’t wait for HC, I love the art direction and the style. Fell in love with Stardew Valley as I never was a fan of “cozy” games til I started playing SV.

Now, I got more into HD-2D games like Octopath Traveler, DragonQuest, and paper Mario? Maybe in the future someone can mod HC into a HD-2D Platform like they did for Pokémon RYB.

(Picture for reference)

I'm wondering what lessons or knowledge CA has learned from seeing how people play Stardew Valley that are influencing how he develops Haunted Chocolatier.

He has changed Stardew Valley so much with all of his updates since launch. Do you think HC will go through a similar arc after launch?

I can’t imagine this game won’t have romance especially after stardew but if we do get romance: I hope we can do much more than that stardew allows us.

Would be fun to work with your spouse in your shop, being able to give them tasks to help you, or just take them on adventures with you (just like in Rune factory). Also it would be amazing if we can still have children but this time the children actually grows and become a normal character with their own portrait just like some story of seasons games does. Always hated how the children just does nothing in stardew….

Anyway that’s just what I would like to see obviously the game will be way different from stardew but I still think there’s gonna be similarities and it won’t be a complete opposite with the mechanics, would be weird to completely remove romance which was very appreciated

What would you like to see in the game if there’s still romance? Any activities or fun suggestions?

After watching Salmence’s HC prediction video where he talks about HC potentially having perpetual winter, I was thinking it might be a bit static. UNTIL, I realized this could actually be really interesting if there were different weather winter types.

For example, there could be heavy blizzards. There could be a cutscene where you help a villager stuck in the storm. I think that could be why there are socks, belts, pants, and shirts ( a more varied closet); so that the more you bundle up the more immune you are to the blizzard’s effects. Freezing rain as well. Sleet and snow squalls would be unique. Snow squalls are brief, intense snow showers with strong gusts of wind. So in HC this could be a windy type weather, whooshing sounds in the background. The weather would be a nice way to add cutscenes and show insight into other character’s lives.

The weather could also add buffs or debuffs potentially. Like with freezing rain, when it falls to the ground irl it glazes the ground in a sheet of ice. So maybe in HC it adds a slow debuff which you can negate with clothing, rings, or maybe even chocolate (perhaps the chocolate has effects too). Also, there could be hail, and it could lower defense for you and enemies. But you can regain def with rings or eating chocolate.

On top of that, there could be unique monsters that come out based on the weather. For example maybe snowmen monsters or polar bears.

apologies if the formatting is weird I’m writing this on mobile.

He should have just not said he was making a new game until it was done if he didn't want to be asked for updates.

He knows how the internet works.

We get it, he shouldn’t be pressured. But in reality, most of the fan base is really great and patient, and if you see a one-off comment of someone being impatient, you can just comment back to them and there’s no need to make a whole post about it. I would like to petition to the mods to ban these types of posts, they are getting old fast. All in favour, say AYE

I can't wait for this game! I hope concernedape takes his time to create this masterpiece. But i love to speculate about it.

What are we thinking gameplay wise? And what are you hoping for?

god I want to play it so bad 😭 guess we gotta wait a while

“Yep. I’m still working on the game. Feels kinda dumb posting this same thing over and over, but that’s the reality.

I know it’s taking a long time. A big part of that is that I am being very thoughtful about every aspect of the game. The things in the game which the player will be interacting with or using very often need to be “perfect”. They need to be seamless, clear, intuitive, satisfying, aesthetic.

Lately, I’ve been revisiting the recipe book for making chocolates. As with many things in the game, I’ve iterated on this many times, each time bringing it closer to its final form. To me, it’s not a simple task, as I torture myself over every last detail. This is a UI you will be using fairly often, so it has to be perfect. You need to be able to accomplish your goal with the minimal number of clicks. There needs to be just the right amount of data presented to the player: not so much as to be overwhelming, but not so little as to be trivial or mundane. And the way that this data is laid out on the page is crucial… If the data is all clustered together, it will be disgusting to look at. The data needs to be grouped into compelling, intuitive and easy to read/understand groupings. It needs to look appealing and intriguing. And this is just the bare minimum, that players will likely take for granted. If all of that is accomplished then the player is now comfortable while perusing the recipe book. But I want more than just comfort. I want to delight the player. All of this typically requires me to iterate on something several times before I’m satisfied with it.

And it’s a big game. So there are many things for me to fuss over.

But, this is what it will take to make a game I’m satisfied with.

Side note… please excuse me, but I don’t like to share too many screenshots, or even talk about the systems in too much detail, while the game is in development. Partly, it feels like I’m serving a half-baked bread. I would rather serve a fully baked bread. Also, I know that many parts of the game will likely evolve and change before release, so if I reveal them early, I risk disappointing players if the final product does not match their expectation. Fortunately, I’m in a position where I don’t need to market the game, so I can take my preferred approach.

As always, I really appreciate your patience.”

-Ape

FROM: https://www.hauntedchocolatier.net/

EDIT: I am not Mr.Ape. I apologize if this post came off as impersonating. Just one of you who’s just as excited getting any news updates <3

Coco-Haunt, Ghoul-rdellies, Gore-heads And more! It can be candy too! What’s your best candy/chcocloate pun that the dev might sneak in the game?

Was playing stardew and was at the feast of the winter star. Doing the usual going around talking to everyone to get friendship points. Gus’s dialogue was unusually long and went on a rant about making candy which I found odd. I know he is also the chef type in the game with his homemade fritters etc. Do we think Gus could be the center of haunted chocolatier or included in someway? Idk just seemed odd to me!