Coffee Talk (video game)

The game follows a barista who is the owner and sole employee of Coffee Talk, the eponymous coffee shop, which is located in Seattle, Washington, in a fantasy version of the real world populated by a broad variety of fantasy races, such as elves, orcs, mermaids, and others.[3] Various members of these races serve as the shop's patrons. The game's plot is experienced over the course of two weeks, with each day acting as a vignette in which various characters visit the coffee shop and discuss their concerns with the barista and with each other.[4] The game's characters include Freya, a human woman a journalist for the fictional newspaper The Evening Whispers and an aspiring fiction writer; Rachel, a former member of a girl band who is trying to start a career as a solo musician; Neil, an alien visiting Earth with the mission of breeding with its inhabitants; a young couple consisting of Lua, a succubus, and Baileys, an elf, whose families do not approve of their relationship due to their racial differences; and others.[4][5]

Coffee Talk is a visual novel, and as such, its gameplay consists mostly of reading dialogue. This dialogue is periodically broken up by a minigame in which the player brews various drinks using the ingredients in the coffee shop. Certain drinks give the player the option to create latte art. The drinks made by the player can have an effect on the events of the game's plot, and thus this minigame serves as the chief means of interaction with the game available to the player.[2] The player character can access their smartphone at any time in order to view the social media profiles of the game's characters, reference a list of known drink recipes, read short fiction published in the game's fictional newspaper, and change what song is playing.[4]

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic (PC) 75/100[6] (PS4) 70/100[7] (NS) 76/100[8] Review scores Publication Score Destructoid 6.0/10[9] Game Informer 7.5/10[5] Nintendo Life [10]

Coffee Talk received generally positive reviews from video game critics. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the PC version 75/100,[6] the PlayStation 4 version 70/100[7] and the Nintendo Switch version 76/100.[8]

Writing for Game Informer, Kimberley Wallace gave the game a positive review, calling the game "an interesting experience" while stating that some topics in the game could have been explored more. She also praised the characters in the game.[5] Chris Moyse of Destructoid gave Coffee Talk a mixed review, saying that the game "is very much a mismatched brew", mentioning the lack of focus as a negative aspect of the game. He continues with stating that the game's "casual philosophies can sometimes be hard to swallow, [but] great visuals, fun side modes, and a budget price point suggests that, for some readers, Coffee Talk will still go down smooth".[9] In a review for the Nintendo Switch edition of the game, Dom Reseigh-Lincoln was positive towards the game, calling the gameplay relaxing and satisfying, although criticizing the length of the story-line.[10]

• Official website