Haunted Chocolatier dev confirms return of Stardew Valley's hardest mini-game

Haunted Chocolatier is already a pretty sweet concept. You live in a cozy town, doing cozy town things like brewing chocolate in a massive castle. How could life get any better? With mini-games, that's how. On top of sharing a stunning new screenshot of the game, developer Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone has nonchalantly revealed one of Stardew Valley's most iconic hustles is making a grand return. But let's just hope it's not as maddening this time…

The Haunted Chocolatier release date is still a mystery wrapped in an enigma. ConcernedApe has been quietly whittling away at it for several years now, leaving us newshounds scraps to report on (even if he's tired of us yapping about everything he posts. Sorry, fella). Fortunately, today's Haunted Chocolatier posting has some real sauce, courtesy of a new screenshot showcasing what could land as one the best indie games' gorgeous forestscape.

If there's anything we can say for sure about Haunted Chocolatier at this point, it's that ConcernedApe's art style has had a substantial glow-up. I absolutely adore the warmth of its color palette, and this latest sneak peek is no exception. Most prominently, we see a towering tree house, branched with maple and fir. There's a smattering of toadstools around for maximum whimsy, building on those classic magical allusions. But enough glazing, let's get to the really important bit of news.

As anyone with taste(?) will tell you, to make the finest confections, you'll have to throw in a few fish. 'But, Aaron, Haunted Chocolatier doesn't have fishing,' you say. Surprise, it does. Responding to a comment on the screenshot asking if Stardew Valley's most notorious mini-game will be back for another round, ConcernedApe simply says, "there is fishing."

So how will it materialize? While the dev doesn't offer any specifics, we do know that he has lingering regrets regarding the steep difficulty curve found in Stardew's version. Even as a self-professed fishing mini-game connoisseur, I struggled to get to grips with Stardew's system. At the very least, then, I'd expect Haunted Chocolatier's iteration to be more forgiving for newcomers.

So, we'll once again be taking to the lakes, rod in hand. We'll have to wait to sling our bait, but you can at least bide the time with some of the best games like Stardew Valley. If you haven't checked the gaming calendar recently, then check out our upcoming PC games guide to see what else you can look forward to.

Are there any specific changes you'd love to see made to Haunted Chocolatier's fishing system? Let us know over in our community Discord server.