Highlights
Few games have the staying power of Stardew Valley. Since its release in 2016 the farming life simulator has sold millions of copies and been ported to every platform imaginable. This success will likely be replicated in the next project from developer ConcernedApe: Haunted Chocolatier. For now though, Stardew continues to receive lots of love through a constant audience of players new and old, alongside new content updates and a bustling modding scene. Seven years later, and few games in the world can equal its grandiose appeal.
Past updates have seen the official introduction of multiplayer, new characters, quests, and quality of life improvements which always aimed to keep the core experience intact, merely adding on supplementary features that never intended to reinvent or devalue. Stardew is an industry titan because, even with its small development team, it understands that it has been years since fans took to this game, its world, and the characters who call it home before making it their own. Which wouldn’t have been possible if the base game weren’t so good.
Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone confirmed in a recent tweet that a future update will include a new festival, new items, new dialogue, secrets, and ???. You’d think that last feature would fall under secrets, but apparently it’s mysterious enough to justify the use of question marks instead. It has to be something major, with fans already speculating that it could be a brand new questline or perhaps even an unexplored area being added onto Pelican Town. There’s no way to know, and I love how such a simple tweet has prompted this much discussion.
You get the sense that even with fans eagerly awaiting the release of Chocolatier, Barone still understands the need to keep Stardew updated and ensure it doesn’t fall behind purely because it’s a little older and there’s a new game on the block. We’ve more than proven our patience with years of repeat playthroughs and transforming the game with mods, all while jumping for joy whenever a new screenshot or slither of gameplay footage is surfaced from upcoming projects. We know that games take time, especially those pieced together by small teams, so it’s best to let the passion of its creators take its natural course instead of forcing a rocky launch merely to satiate our own impatience. Haunted Chocolatier will be more than worth it, and it’s not like thousands of us aren’t still playing Stardew Valley anyway.
ConcernedApe’s post has 200k likes and almost no information has been revealed, which is amazing when considering how relatively mundane Stardew Valley is compared to the rest of the gaming landscape. My favourite part is that, even if this reveal amounts to utterly minimal additions to the game, we will still get excited all over again when ConcernedApe teases something new or decides to interact with the community in ways that are beautifully understated. It’s fascinating, Stardew has maintained this humble indie identity despite selling millions of copies and becoming a phenomenon in ways most media properties would kill for. It understands the value of those origins being maintained, both for its own reputation and the happiness of its loyal followers.