Coffee Talk

Welcome to Seattle, 2020 (the year the game came out). There, you run an odd little coffee shop that only happens to be open late in the evening. Each night, your regular guests come and chat about their day and what’s going on in their lives. You interject and make suggestions from time to time. But most of all, you make their drinks that take the stress and worries of the day away.

Coffee Talk is a visual novel style game where you serve drinks. It isn’t too long of an experience, but the stories and characters are interesting, and the setting is comfy. So brew up a cup and enjoy the evening.

Find it on Steam.

The game is mostly about listening to the customers go on about their lives. Unlike other visual novels, there are no choices to be made here other than what to serve them. Thank goodness, as choices that affect the outcome of people’s lives makes me tense. This is a more relaxing experience. You have a large drink menu of teas, coffees and more. You’ll have to discover them, though. For the most part, the customers will tell you what they want to drink in varying degrees of vagueness. Only one time did a customer ask for something without any hints on what the drink was. Quite a few drinks won’t ever be asked for, either, and you’ll only discover them if you play around with the recipes. As a hint, the order you put ingredients in matters.

Oh, did I mention that this is a fantasy world where elves, succubus and other races live? This is a magical yet mundane world. About half the stories that happens are things you can find in our world. The other half happens as a result of the different races in their world. Everything blends together into a nice, smooth latte. There are a lot of background information that you can pick up, too, that fills out the world more.

And while I say there are no choices except for the drinks you give your customers, the drinks you give them do affect the outcomes of their story. I suppose if you give them good drinks, they are in a better mood and more receptive to the advice being given.

All the conversation, characters and coffee shop is brought together by some chill lo-fi music. The tunes really bring out the mood and atmosphere of the place.

Coffee Talk takes a look at the lives and problems faced by your regular customers. Some are more light-hearted. Others are serious. There is a good blend of characters, and they’re all fun to be around. The fun pixel artstyle creates good expressions and animations. It’s simple, but effective.

Then there are some customers that may completely be out of this world.

See Image.

If the image has somehow been lost. Oh well. You’ll just have to play the game to meet and learn more about them.

Find it on Steam. And if you’re enjoying the vibes, there is also an Episode 2 out.

Also, you can do some latte art. This is mainly for fun, and I’m not good at it. It looks more like I’m trying to summon some eldritch horrors out of my cup.