COFFEE TALK

Veni, vidi, venti

There’s a certain appeal to games that thrive on stressing you out, but this provides a much-needed refreshment break. It serves an engaging story with barista-based action, as you follow the daily (well, nightly) routine of a café, learning about the regulars and mixing ingredients to provide them with delicious beverages as you help them sort out their lives. 1 The simple narrative is enriched with fantasy elements, and the inclusion of elves, orcs, and more definitely spices things up.

Your ingredients span only two shelves, which might not seem like many to choose from, but it ensures a decent number of combinations, with the sequence you add things in often having an effect on the outcome. There’s enough variety in orders that it’s not at all as repetitive as it might sound, and the game doesn’t punish you for making mistakes, so you don’t need to worry about any particularly tricky requests.

Though the dialogue can be a bit hamfisted and overly meta in places, the cast is personable and the script shows a good sense of humour, though the writers aren’t afraid to get deeper or touch on darker themes. It also perfectly nails that relaxing coffee shop vibe. 2 Despite not being very long, each character’s subplot comes to a satisfying conclusion, and there are even a few sneaky twists. If the brevity leaves you thirsty for more there’s an Endless option, where you can experiment to discover your missing menu items in Free Brew or put your skills to the test in Challenge mode.

While this doesn’t push any boundaries, it’s great to curl up with for a few hours on a cold day, just like a good cup of… you know. Max Williams

FOOTNOTES1 You can add latte art to some orders – it’s harder than it looks! 2 The ‘lo-fi hip-hop beats to solve people’s problems to’ soundtrack definitely adds to the atmosphere.