Info about Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly: Official game description: In a time where people are isolated from each other, Coffee Talk is a place where we can reconnect over a cup of warm drink. It’s time to revisit your favorite late-night coffee shop and reconnect with your fantasy friends over a warm drink or two. You are a barista, and your customers aren't always humans, listen to their stories and influence their hearts with a warm cup of coffee or two. **The game features:** **Brew Warm Drinks** -------------------- * Mix a combination of ingredients, such as tea, ginger, mint, chocolate, coffee and many more. Experiment and uncover secret recipes, change people’s lives by serving drinks that will warm their hearts. **Create Latte-Art Masterpieces** --------------------------------- * Show your creativity, draw your own latte-art masterpiece with our in-game fluid simulation to decorate your drinks. **Chill Lo-fi Atmosphere** -------------------------- * Immerse yourself in the relaxing coffee shop atmosphere. It’s raining outside, brew yourself a warm drink, play that lo-fi chillhop beats, and listen to the coffee talk. **Urban Fantasy Cappuccinopunk** -------------------------------- * Set in an alternate present-day Seattle where humans, orcs, elves, and other races have been coexisting since the beginning of time. Explore the world through the stories told by your customers one cup at a time. **Hangout With a Diverse Cast** ------------------------------- * Meet quirky and interesting characters, such as; Baileys the elf freelance graphic designer, Lua, the succubus bisdev executive, Myrtle the orc game developer, and more. Listen to their stories and influence them with a warm drink or two! Release date: 20 Apr, 2023 Categories: Visual Novel, Choice-based Narrative, Multiple Endings, Job Simulation, Item Management, Art Creation, Single-player Story - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Excellent and improved sequel (weight 0.99): Players overwhelmingly praise the game as a worthy and improved sequel, noting its successful expansion of the original's story, characters, and mechanics while retaining its core charm and atmosphere. Many feel it surpasses the first game in various aspects. - Relaxing and cozy atmosphere (weight 0.77): The game consistently delivers a deeply relaxing, cozy, and therapeutic experience, often highlighted by its calming atmosphere, lo-fi music, and ability to provide a comforting escape from reality. Players find it ideal for unwinding and reflection. - Engaging story and characters (weight 0.57): The narrative and character development are highly praised, with players appreciating the engaging, warm, and relatable stories of both returning and new characters. The dialogues are noted for their depth and authenticity, making characters feel like real friends. - Well-integrated new characters (weight 0.27): The introduction of new characters is well-received, with players enjoying their fresh perspectives and how they seamlessly integrate into the existing world and storylines. The new characters are often described as charismatic and well-designed. - Improved drink mechanics (weight 0.23): The expanded drink-making mechanics, including new ingredients, recipes, and drink types, are a significant improvement. Players enjoy the increased variety and how drink choices meaningfully impact the story and character interactions. - Beautiful pixel art and visuals (weight 0.16): The pixel art style and overall visual design are highly appreciated for their beauty, detail, and ability to create a charming and aesthetically pleasing experience. Character expressions and animations are also noted as improved. - Outstanding soundtrack (weight 0.15): The game's soundtrack is consistently lauded as amazing, excellent, and perfect, contributing significantly to the overall relaxing and immersive atmosphere. Its lo-fi and jazz elements are particularly highlighted. - Satisfying multiple endings (weight 0.09): Players appreciate the multiple branching endings, which encourage replayability and provide a satisfying conclusion to character arcs. The emotional impact of achieving different endings is also highlighted. - Engaging item-giving mechanic (weight 0.07): The new item-giving mechanic adds an interesting layer of gameplay, allowing players to feel more involved in the story by making choices that can influence dialogues and outcomes. Common complaints: - Inferior to the first game (weight 0.63): Many players felt the sequel's narrative, characters, and overall quality were significantly inferior to the first game. The story was often described as boring, shallow, and lacking the depth and charm of its predecessor, leading to a less engaging experience. - Weak new characters (weight 0.2): The new characters introduced in the game generally failed to resonate with players. Many found them less interesting, charming, or well-developed compared to the original cast, with some storylines, like Lucas and Riona's, feeling overly long or unengaging. - Tedious achievement hunting (weight 0.2): Players found the achievement system and the requirement to experience all endings, including 'bad' ones, to be tedious and frustrating. This often involved replaying significant portions of the game and intentionally making poor choices, which detracted from the narrative experience. - Flawed barista mechanics (weight 0.14): The core barista gameplay, particularly drink making and latte art, received mixed to negative feedback. Players found drink requests vague, the brewing order unclear, and latte art controls clunky and frustrating, hindering the overall experience. - Missing/Underused favorite characters (weight 0.13): Players expressed disappointment with the reduced screen time or absence of beloved characters from the first game, especially Freya. The new focus on characters like Jorji was not as well-received, and some fan-favorite subplots, like Aqua and Myrtle's, felt underdeveloped. - Poor Chinese localization (weight 0.05): The simplified Chinese localization was heavily criticized for using outdated internet slang and Beijing dialect, which negatively impacted immersion and overall player experience for many Chinese-speaking users. - Inefficient dialogue skipping (weight 0.04): Players found the dialogue skipping mechanism inefficient, wishing for faster options. Some also noted that dialogues occasionally felt preachy or like self-help advice rather than organic conversations. - Illogical item delivery mechanic (weight 0.04): The new item delivery mechanic was largely disliked, with players finding it illogical and feeling that it disrupted the game's otherwise chill and relaxing atmosphere without adding significant plot value. Gameplay feedback: - Core Barista Gameplay & Impact (weight 0.35): The core gameplay revolves around the player acting as a barista, preparing various hot drinks for customers. Drink choices and accuracy directly influence character moods, story progression, and ultimately, the different endings. - Expanded Narrative & Replayability (weight 0.33): The game is a direct sequel to the first installment, continuing its narrative and character arcs. It offers a significantly longer story with multiple branching paths and endings, encouraging replayability to explore all outcomes. - New Item Delivery Mechanic (weight 0.13): A new item delivery mechanic has been introduced, requiring players to manage and deliver specific items to characters. Forgetting or incorrectly delivering items can lead to different story outcomes, including negative ones, adding a new layer of challenge. - New Characters & Ingredients (weight 0.13): The game features a mix of returning and new characters, including mythological beings, who frequent the unique night-time coffee shop. New ingredients have also been added, expanding the drink menu. - Achievements & Game Modes (weight 0.08): The game includes an increased number of achievements, encouraging multiple playthroughs. It also features an 'endless mode' and 'challenge mode' for extended gameplay and recipe experimentation. - Tricky Latte Art Mechanic (weight 0.06): Latte art is still present but remains a challenging mechanic for many players. While difficult to master, it does not significantly impact the story's outcome. Performance notes: - Stable, no crashes reported (weight 0.01): A positive technical aspect highlighted is the absence of game crashes, which contributes to a stable user experience. This indicates good underlying stability. - Widescreen support available (weight 0.01): The game offers support for widescreen resolutions, which is a positive for players with wider monitors. This enhances the visual experience for a segment of the player base. - Minor doorbell sound bug (weight 0.01): Based on limited and somewhat ambiguous feedback, there might be a minor bug related to the doorbell sound not accurately reflecting the number of entries. This is a very specific and low-impact issue. Recommendations: - Highly Recommended Sequel (weight 0.72): Players overwhelmingly recommend the game, especially to those who enjoyed the first installment. It's praised for its relaxing, cozy atmosphere and engaging story, making it ideal for unwinding. Many suggest playing the first game beforehand for a better experience. - Gameplay & Quality of Life Suggestions (weight 0.06): Some players suggest using guides for optimal gameplay, especially for achievements or drink recipes. There are also minor suggestions for improving fast mode and drink-making mechanics in future titles. - Ideal for Visual Novel Fans (weight 0.04): The game is recommended for fans of visual novels, particularly those who appreciate chill music, nostalgic pixel art, and engaging characters within a laid-back setting. - Consider Waiting for Discount (weight 0.03): Some players advise waiting for a discount before purchasing, especially if they are not strong fans of the genre or the series. - Desire for Real-Life Cafe (weight 0.02): Players express a desire for the in-game coffee shop to exist in real life, highlighting the immersive and appealing nature of the game's setting. - Excellent Steam Deck Performance (weight 0.02): The game is noted for its suitability and performance on the Steam Deck, with a nomination for the 'Best Game on Steam Deck' category. - Traditional Chinese Localization Preferred (weight 0.01): There's a specific recommendation for using Traditional Chinese localization over Simplified Chinese for a better experience. - Unlock Gallery Artworks (weight 0.01): Players recommend finishing the game to unlock and view all the different artworks in the gallery. Other player notes: - Direct continuation of first game (weight 0.17): Many players view the game as a direct continuation or 'episode 2' of the first Coffee Talk, rather than a standalone sequel. They appreciate the story progression and similar overall experience, suggesting it builds well on its predecessor. - High anticipation for future games (weight 0.13): Players are highly anticipating future installments, specifically mentioning 'Coffee Talk Tokyo' and 'Episode 3'. There's a strong desire for more content and continuation of the series. - Highly enjoyable and satisfying experience (weight 0.12): Overall, players express strong enjoyment and satisfaction with the game, often playing for extended periods or aiming for completion. The experience is described as warm, beautiful, and emotionally impactful. - Deep emotional and thematic resonance (weight 0.12): The game deeply resonates with players by exploring relevant real-world topics and emotions. It's described as a 'healing game' that provides deep, personal connections and encourages reflection on life's complexities. - Tribute to deceased creator (weight 0.07): Players express profound gratitude and condolences for the game's creator, Mohammad Fahmi, who passed away. This tragic event has significantly impacted the community's perception of the game and its future. - Appreciation for developer Toge Productions (weight 0.03): Players express strong support and excitement for Toge Productions, the developer. They are grateful for the game and eager to see what the studio will create next. - Request for more language support (weight 0.02): There is a request for additional language support, specifically Ukrainian and Polish, to make the game accessible to a wider audience. - Player character's ambiguous representation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the player character's ambiguous appearance and lack of defined gender, which allows for greater immersion and personal identification with the role of the barista. Emotions: - Satisfaction (weight 0.31): Players felt satisfied by the game's quality as a sequel, often noting it was as good as or better than the first. This was driven by deeper stories, well-developed characters, new mechanics, and a consistently cozy atmosphere. The game's ability to provide closure to existing character arcs and introduce engaging new content also contributed significantly. - Disappointment (weight 0.09): Disappointment stemmed primarily from comparisons to the first game, with players feeling the sequel had lower quality writing, less impactful stories, and less engaging new characters. Issues like the absence or brief appearance of favorite characters (e.g., Freya), a perceived lack of innovation, and a rushed or cliché plot also contributed to this emotion. - Joy (weight 0.07): Joy was frequently expressed due to the game's overall atmospheric and pleasant qualities, including its beautiful visuals, peaceful nature, and cute story. Players enjoyed meeting new characters, seeing old ones grow, and the addition of new drinks and branching endings, which contributed to a consistently fun and engaging experience. - Frustration (weight 0.07): Frustration arose from several gameplay and narrative issues, including worsened writing, bland plots, and caricatured characters. Players were particularly frustrated by tedious achievement requirements (e.g., needing to intentionally make wrong drinks or replay multiple times for bad endings), clunky latte art controls, and slow dialogue skipping. - Excitement (weight 0.06): Excitement was generated by the game's engaging storyline and anticipation for future installments, particularly 'Coffee Talk Tokyo' or a third season. Players were thrilled by new mechanics, achievements, and the overall quality of the game, often feeling it surpassed the original and left them eager for more content and character developments. - Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoyed the game's chill atmosphere, beautiful art, and interesting characters, particularly liking specific story arcs and new teas. The core gameplay loop of making drinks and listening to character conversations, combined with the overall narrative style and music, provided a consistently pleasant experience. - Calmness (weight 0.03): Calmness was a prevalent emotion, attributed to the game's relaxing and anxiety-relieving qualities, often described as a 'healing game.' The cozy atmosphere, chill vibes, soothing music, and the simple act of chatting with guests in the coffee shop contributed to a therapeutic and peaceful experience. - Appreciation (weight 0.03): Players appreciated the game's accurate portrayal of modern anxieties, humanistic care, and the overall effort put into its script, art, and character design. The depth of the story, its themes, and the developers' dedication, including the memorial for the creator, resonated deeply with players. - Relaxation (weight 0.03): Relaxation was a direct result of the game's calming effect, cozy ambient, and soothing music. The simple, quiet leisure provided by making drinks and listening to conversations in a tranquil atmosphere made the game a very relaxing experience for players. - Comfort (weight 0.02): Comfort was derived from the game's realistic and relatable writing, which made players feel less lonely, and its cozy conversations. The overall atmosphere, described as a warm, relaxing retreat, and the game's suitability for unwinding, especially on rainy days or before bed, provided a sense of familiarity and support. - Love (weight 0.02): Love for the game stemmed from its overall quality, including its pixel art style, therapeutic effect, and how it built upon the first installment. Players particularly loved the engaging characters, their stories, and the consistent high quality of the art and music. - Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration was expressed for the game's excellent depth of dialogues, lifelike characters, and the complementary music and sounds. Players admired the amazing art, writing, world-building, and the evident passion and effort from the developers, especially noting the wisdom of characters like Hyde. - Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness was primarily caused by the game's emotional impact, with players tearing up at certain story points or upon finishing the game. A significant cause of sadness was the passing of the game's creator, Mohammad Fahmi, which also implied a potential end to the series. - Hope (weight 0.01): Hope was centered on the desire for future improvements and, more significantly, for a third Coffee Talk game or future installments. Players expressed a strong wish to see more of the game's world, characters, and stories continue. - Gratitude (weight 0.01): Gratitude was expressed towards the developers for returning and for the game's existence, especially given the passing of the author. Players felt grateful for the emotional depth, connection to characters, and the overall contribution of Mohammad Fahmi and the team. - Amusement (weight 0.01): Amusement arose from humorous situations, such as players realizing they were bad at latte art or the comical impact of drink preparation on characters. The game's ability to incorporate lighthearted moments and allow for playful interactions, like 'trolling Fantasy ICE,' also contributed to this emotion. - Reflection (weight 0.01): Reflection was prompted by the game's philosophical depth, emotional impact, and realistic character conversations. The game's ability to provide comfort, inspiration, and engage players in thoughtful consideration of its stories and character development led to this emotion. - Interest (weight 0.01): Interest was sparked by the game's variety, intriguing stories, and new recipes. Players were particularly interested when characters became more cryptic with their orders, adding a layer of mystery and engagement to the gameplay. - Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement was felt through active involvement in the story, particularly when giving items to characters, and through the compelling character development and customer interactions. The game's core loop and evolving story kept players deeply involved. - Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia was evoked by seeing familiar characters return and the continuation of the first game's story. The atmosphere and music also played a role in bringing back fond memories of the original game, though some nostalgia was also tied to missing specific characters from the first installment.}