Stardew Valley takes place in a world where the supernatural lurks around the edges, with cheery Junimos helping repair the town and a wizard selling magical enhancements to players’ farmers. Developer ConcernedApe’s next project, Haunted Chocolatier, will feature a much more openly supernatural story, with ghosts helping the player run the titular chocolatier smoothly. Because of this, Haunted Chocolatier could feature friendly NPCs similar to Stardew Valley‘s Dwarf – supernatural creatures who live in places hidden from the human eye and speak unknown languages which players must learn to understand.
Related
Haunted Chocolatier’s Customization Options Could Skyrocket if It Follows One Animal Crossing Trend
Haunted Chocolatier will aim to improve upon Stardew Valley’s customization suite, and learning from Animal Crossing could be a great way to do it.
The Dwarf Is One Of Stardew Valley’s Most Unique NPCs
Unlike most NPCs, who live in or near Pelican Town, the Dwarf can be found in a side chamber on the entrance level of Stardew Valley’s mines. Initially, the Dwarf’s location is blocked off by rock, which players can break using a Steel Pickaxe (or higher) or any type of Bomb, such as the Cherry Bombs dropped by Rock Crabs and Duggys.
However, simply reaching the Dwarf is not enough to befriend them. They speak only Dwarvish; therefore, players must obtain the Dwarvish Translation Guide to understand them. Finding the Guide involves obtaining all four Dwarf Scrolls, artifacts which drop randomly via tilling or fighting monsters in the Mines, and donating them to the Museum. Only then can players get to know the Dwarf and raise their heart level by chatting and giving them gifts.
The Dwarf is one of a handful of outright supernatural characters the player can befriend; the others are the magical Wizard and the shadow person Krobus. Compared to the other two, the Dwarf is fairly mysterious and remains an enigma, as they have only one heart event and cannot be invited to move to the farm like Krobus can.
Haunted Chocolatier Should Double Down On Both Nonhuman Friends And Multi-Step Character Unlocks
Haunted Chocolatier could draw inspiration from Stardew Valley‘s Dwarf in two ways: featuring nonhuman NPCs to befriend and having NPCs who require multiple steps before the player can converse with them. Alternate languages, like Dwarvish, are a great idea for the latter, but other options could include characters in locked rooms and buildings, or even creatures who the players cannot interact with until they have obtained a specific magic item or learned a certain spell. The “double unlock” puzzle of the Dwarf – requiring an upgraded pickaxe and all four Dwarf Scroll artifacts – is a particularly good strategy for Haunted Chocolatier to follow regarding its late-game NPCs.
Nonhumans should also play a prominent role in Haunted Chocolatier. It would be fun for the player to befriend the ghosts they work with, but the game shouldn’t stop there. More dwarves could appear, as they did seem to have a thriving society, with Stardew’s dwarf being an outlier. ConcernedApe should not shy away from creating his own fantasy races, however – Krobus the shadow person was one of Stardew Valley‘s most popular characters, and the Junimos were also well liked for their adorable apple-inspired designs.
Nonhuman NPCs Should Have Interactions And Relationships
One fascinating element of Stardew Valley‘s lore is the relationship between the dwarves and the shadow people. It is very strained, with the Dwarf blaming Krobus for the death of their family. The two characters initially do not get along, but the Wizard in Stardew Valley is able to negotiate a peace between them by pointing out they are not individually responsible for the actions of their entire people. However, this conflict is really only seen in a single Heart Event cutscene. Haunted Chocolatier could expand on themes like this by having nonhuman NPCs whose races have pre-existing relationships with one another, whether positive or negative. Perhaps, this time, the player could even be the one to make peace among them.
Haunted Chocolatier
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.
- Platform(s)
-
Microsoft Windows
- Released
-
2025-00-00
- Engine
-
MonoGame
- ESRB
-
e