We’ve Been Patient, But Let’s Be Real...

We’ve Been Patient, But Let’s Be Real: It’s Time for Haunted Chocolatier to Drop

A love letter to Eric Barone, and a polite scream into the void

Listen y'all, I love Stardew Valley as much as the next cozy gamer girl with anxiety and a tendency to name my cows after my childhood trauma, but it’s been nearly five years since Haunted Chocolatier was announced, and I need this game like . . . yesterday.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to complain. This isn’t that kind of post. I’m not throwing any shade. I’m throwing confetti. I’ve been a fan of Eric Barone, aka ConcernedApe, since I first set foot in Pelican Town and realized that this guy made an entire game completely by himself and somehow made it feel like a warm hug wrapped in pixel art and seasonal depression.

But let’s be honest, we have been waiting, like legit... patiently and quietly, for years.

At this point? We are feral. We are starving. We are READY.

The Stardew Years: A Love That Keeps Giving

Let’s give credit where credit is due. Stardew Valley has given us so much. It’s not just a game, it’s a lifestyle. It has been a coping mechanism for many. It's been an actual reason I’m now growing real potatoes, learning how to make jam from wild blackberries, and raising my own chickens.

When Stardew came out in 2016, it hit like a soft meteor made of serotonin. I sunk THOUSANDS of hours into that game. I married everyone (not at the same time. . . yet). I’ve restarted more farms than I have unfinished hobbies. I've played on PC, Switch, mobile, and Playstation, you name it. My farmer has been broke, rich, goth, capitalist, socialist, poly, monogamous, a fishmonger... Stardew lets you live whatever life your little overthinking heart desires, we been showing up for it.

While most devs would have cashed in and dipped, ConcernedApe kept showing up too. Free updates, new content, dialogue rewrites, multiplayer, and even a literal beach farm. This man said, “Here’s a perfect game,” and then in his best Billy Mays voice followed up with, “But wait, there’s more,” for eight years.

I cannot overstate how rare that is. Most studios throw in a loot box and call it love. Eric gave us tea saplings, endgame content, and split screen co-op. . . For free.

We love you, king.

Haunted Chocolatier: The Glorious Tease

So when he dropped that gorgeous, glowy trailer for Haunted Chocolatier back in October 2021, I screamed like it was Ryn tickets and a full moon at the same time.

Ghosts? Chocolate? Combat? A haunted castle? Cozy vibes with just a hint of Tim Burton? It looked like Stardew Valley’s goth cousin who listens to lo-fi in the bath and hands out homemade fudge during thunderstorms.

It was perfect. . . and then . . . silence.

I mean, not total silence, there were little updates here and there. Eric mentioned he was working on it, we got a few screenshots, some vague vibes. Then we got the Stardew 1.6 update, which was fantastic, don’t get me wrong. I’ll never say no to more Stardew. But inside? Deep down? I was like: “Sir. You are giving me salad when I asked for dessert.”

We’re Not Mad, Just Hungry

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Eric finally gave us a little peek behind the curtain. He said he’s officially putting Stardew on the shelf (for now) so he can focus fully on Haunted Chocolatier. Honestly? Give all thanks to the pixel gods.

Apparently, he’s been pulled back into Stardew again and again because he genuinely cares about the game and the community. He wants people to have a good experience in his game. He’s proud of it, and so am I. He’s protective of his work, and I respect that. He’s the kind of game dev who loses sleep if your NPC pathing is wonky. That’s the kind of passion we’re dealing with from Eric.

But now, he says he’s finally stepping away so he can go all in on Haunted Chocolatier. He even joked about disappearing into a cabin in the woods and just going full cryptid mode until the game is done.Honestly? I fully support that. Lock the doors, toss your phone in a lake, and let the ghosts in the game help you code. We’ll be here when you’re ready. Waiting...

But also… PLEASE hurry.

I’ve been imagining myself running a haunted chocolate shop for YEARS now. I have outfits planned and whole vibes imagined. Possible fanfics started. I don’t even know the characters yet and I’ve already picked my favorite. (It’s the spooky hot one. There’s always a spooky hot one.) Abigal.

The Indie Dev Struggle (And Why We Get It)

Let me be clear: I know making a game, especially solo, is hard. All I do is world building, I can’t even commit to finishing a proper homebrew mechanics system. Eric Barone has been carrying entire cozy communities on his back for almost a decade.

In the interview, he talked about how Haunted Chocolatier has been a work in progress since 2020, and how he’s had to go back and completely redo parts of it, not because it was bad, but because he’s changed. He said he’s literally a different person now than when he started the project. His tastes, his vision, his style, all of it evolved. So, the game has, too.

I get that, really I do. Growth is a beast, sometimes you have to throw out something good to make room for something great. That’s what artists do. It’s why I’m not mad. Just… a little twitchy.

Stardew is my comfort game, but I need something new to obsess over

Don’t worry, I’m still playing Stardew Valley. It will always be one of my go to games. I’ll probably be playing it until I die. It’s the Simpsons of indie games. It never stops being good.

I’ve gotten to that “I know all the heart events by memory” level of familiarity. My farmer is rich, my animals are pampered, my spouse does dishes and waters crops without complaint. It’s pure bliss.

I need new chaos. I need a new town to wander into awkwardly, with new weirdos to fall in love with. I need haunted chocolate related drama. I'm about that life. I need a game that makes me go, “Wait, why did I just play for six hours straight and forget to eat?” I need Haunted Chocolatier.

Final thoughts from a Stardew veteran who has been waiting in silence

Eric, if you’re reading this, know that we love you. You changed the indie game scene forever. You proved that one person with passion, patience, and maybe a little witchcraft can make a game that feels more real and comforting than most AAA titles ever could. We are so grateful for everything you’ve given us. We’ll wait as long as it takes, you’ve earned that grace a hundred times over.

We’re not mad. We’re just desperate.

Drop a crumb. A screenshot. A vibe. A song. A coded message hidden in tea leaves. Anything. I'm like raccoons pawing at your window out in that little cabin in the woods. Just need to know it’s still coming. We’re excited. We’re ready. We’ve been patient.

Now we’re prepared to lose our minds the second Haunted Chocolatier drops. See you in the castle, besties. I’ll be the one running the shop, flirting with ghosts, and hoarding ingredients like a pixelated gremlin with ADHD.