Details about Haunted Chocolatier’s gameplay may be scarce, but looking at Stardew Valley for comparison could give insight into ConcernedApe’s next title. With confirmation that some of Haunted Chocolatier‘s gameplay will be similar to, if not the same, as Stardew Valley’s, there’s a chance that foraging may follow suit.
However, Stardew Valley’s version of foraging may not lend itself well to Haunted Chocolatier. After all, ConcernedApe’s next title isn’t just a simulation game, but also features action role-playing elements and combat. If Haunted Chocolatier implements foraging into its gameplay, ConcernedApe should rework foraging from Stardew Valley in a few key ways.
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Why Stardew Valley’s Foraging isn’t a Good Match for Haunted Chocolatier
Foraging in Stardew Valley has a few limitations. The most obvious is seasonality: like crops in Stardew Valley, certain crops can only be foraged based on their season. The quality of foraged crops also depends on a player’s foraging level, which develops like any other skill. However, players following the Botanist profession will forage crops with special benefits and rewards.
Additionally, the foraged items available in Stardew Valley aren’t as applicable in Haunted Chocolatier. Forageable crops include sap, mushrooms, flowers, onions and berries. While berries could certainly be included in Haunted Chocolatier as a forageable crop for certain confectionery recipes, these other crops don’t fit into Haunted Chocolatier’s sweet theme. ConcernedApe will have to introduce new wild crops to Haunted Chocolatier if foraging returns.
However, it may yet turn out that Haunted Chocolatier is an entirely new experience. After all, players who are attached to the system could just forage in Stardew Valley rather than in Haunted Chocolatier. Perhaps foraging should not be the main way that players gather ingredients for their confections in Haunted Chocolatier, but merely a bonus feature for specific recipes.
Haunted Chocolatier Could Distinguish Its Version of Foraging Through Combat
Few details about Haunted Chocolatier’s gameplay have been released, but it’s confirmed that players will engage in more combat than Stardew in addition to the game’s cozier aspects. This foray into action suggests that chocolate making won’t be the only focus of Haunted Chocolatier. With both the simulation and action role-playing genre elements playing a part, a mechanic like foraging doesn’t seem like a necessary priority.
For example, it seems more realistic that players will receive some of their confectionery making supplies at some sort of marketplace, maybe a riff on Pierre’s General Store or the Joja Mart. If an item that a player needs for a recipe is out of stock, perhaps certain more rare ingredients could be foraged. This gives players a reason to forage rather than to simply visit this hypothetical shop continuously.
Foraging could also be a gateway for Haunted Chocolatier’s ghosts, as players could run into some not-so friendly spirits while out and about. The number of ghosts could increase depending on the time of day or area of the map players are visiting. Maybe certain ingredients are more difficult to achieve due to their rarity. If players have to engage in combat in order to access the ingredients they need for one of Haunted Chocolatier’s main forms of gameplay, combat would be utilized more often in the game while also distinguishing Haunted Chocolatier’s foraging feature from Stardew Valley’s.
