As many Stardew Valley fans may have heard, its creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone is currently developing another game. When this game will be formally announced is as big of a mystery as what the game itself will be or what its genre is. ConcernedApe only hinted at the new title on Twitter, but that was enough to get gamers wondering about it and asking all sorts of questions.
Rumors claimed that he was working on a magical school game, which led some to believe he might even be somehow involved with Hogwarts Legacy. However, ConcernedApe confirmed that this is not the case, and he isn't developing any kind of magical or wizard-related game at the moment. It's possible that a Stardew Valley sequel will come into play at some point, or Barone could take fans by surprise and go with something completely different. It would be interesting to see the solo developer make a horror game, however, because of how well Stardew Valley subtly tackles the genre.
Stardew Valley's Horror Elements
Stardew Valley might seem like a simple farming sim inspired by the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise, but it goes far deeper. Amid the diligent crop-watering, donating to the Community Center, and romancing the best of Stardew Valley's villagers hides deep dark secrets. Some of them aren't that horrific, but rather just mysterious. For example, based on canonical evidence, it's possible that the Wizard is Abigail's true birth father rather than Pierre.
Then there are theories and secret events like Fall 26 and Dark Shrine of Selfishness. Thanks to Stardew Valley's 1.4 update, players can now abandon their children at a shrine in the Witch's Hut, where they will turn into doves and fly away. If players do so, they can become haunted by an Ancient Doll on the 26th of Fall and even attacked if they return to the Witch's Hut. This could very well mean that Ancient Dolls hold the souls of children-turned-doves, which could explain its eerie description and would be quite sinister, if true.
Additionally, a popular Stardew Valley theory claims that the player died at Joja and none of the events in the game are real. If players recall, at the beginning of any save file, they are working for the corporation Joja and the PC decides to move away from their dead-end job and start their exciting life on a farm. The camera even pans over a skeleton during this introductory scene, and some fans believe that the player died there as well. But this theory would explain various parts of Stardew Valley's lore, such as why nobody ever ages or why the same events and dialogue repeat word-for-word year after year.
Part of what makes Stardew Valley's dark lore so successful is the way it's sprinkled throughout the game rather than being on the forefront, giving avid players breadcrumbs to discover as they play the game. But this is actually a tactic that many horror games use to build tension, such as the EarthBound and Undertale-inspired OMORI and Doki Doki Literature Club. Much like Stardew Valley, both start out as cute, colorful narrative games only to become haltingly terrifying once twists are revealed. Only then do players notice the haunting details from earlier hours, like Yuri's poems and her self-harm.
The horror genre has grown past simple jump scares and now often includes loads of backstory and lore for players to chew on. If ConcernedApe were to drop bits of horror the same way he did in Stardew Valley, weaving it between the kind of strong gameplay mechanics he's known for, it could end up being quite a successful entry to a genre full of hungry fans.
Stardew Valley is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.