Stardew Valley developer explains how combat will change in follow-up Haunted Chocolatier

Haunted Chocolatier will have a "greater focus" on combat than Stardew Valley, according to its developer.

In a recent blog post, Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone outlined how combat will change in his second game, which was announced last month. He said that the "greater focus on combat" means that "it needs to be very fun, satisfying, and engaging, while also appropriately fitting into the big picture."

Barone says that he won't be "copying and pasting" combat from Stardew Valley - instead, "almost everything in Haunted Chocolatier, including the combat, is completely coded (and drawn) from scratch."

That includes the introduction of shields, which allows players to block an attack to stun the enemy and follow up with a string of quick attacks. Players who want to charge in aggressively, however, might choose to forgo a shield in favor of "other off-hand items [...] that will complement different play styles." It's a more risky strategy, but Barone points out that if you're successful with it, you'll be able to slice through plenty more enemies far more quickly.

Despite the new blog post, Barone says that he'll mostly be keeping information about the game under wraps, telling fans that "I like to keep my cards close to my chest," but that "I won't rest, or release this game, until I am personally satisfied that it's very fun and compelling, in every aspect."

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that there's no launch date for Haunted Chocolatier just yet, but fans think they might have spotted a release window teaser in the game's reveal trailer.

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