Sometimes, it is nice to take a break from the day and go to that one place where everybody knows everyone, and a triple shot espresso is readily at hand. That is the premise of Coffee Talk, a visual novel about serving coffee to customers in an alternate reality Seattle, where humans and fantasy beings walk side by side.
This is a laid-back game with some hygge vibes. The jazz soundtrack eases the barista into the experience, and one cannot help but get attached to the characters and hear their stories. While the gameplay does go at a leisurely pace, here are some tips to make the experience a bit smoother, like a green tea latte.
8 Preview The Drink’s Flavor Before Serving It
The barista of Coffee Talk will have plenty of ingredients available, enabling a variety of flavor combinations. Sometimes, the ingredients chosen do not yield the desired outcome. A beverage may be too sweet or too bitter.
In order to know what flavor profiles the brewed beverage will have, just hover the cursor over the ingredient. The results of said ingredient will flash in the meters on the coffee brewer. And if the final flavor profile is not desired, then clicking the reset button on the brewer will help.
7 Dialogue Speed Is Adjustable
The great thing about visual novels like Coffee Talk is that it is possible to go through them at whatever pace is preferable. If someone is a slow reader, then they can take their time with the dialogue.
At the same time, clicking through each line might get a little tedious. To avoid that, an auto-scroll option is available, allowing the conversations to progress automatically. This makes it easier to kick back and enjoy the friendly conversations. Also, if someone misses a line of dialogue, a log is available for reference.
6 The Phone Comes In Handy
No self-respecting coffee server would be caught dead without their smartphone. Several apps are loaded on it that will assist with operating a successful café.
One of these apps lists the coffee recipes discovered over the course of gameplay, so if a customer orders a beverage, then the way to prepare it is on hand. The phone also includes a music app to shuffle through the game’s mellow tunes, as well as social media with profiles about the visitors that walk through the door.
5 Feel Free To Experiment
Along with the main story, Coffee Talk features an endless mode, which has two options: an untimed mode where the game’s best customer, Freya, will have whatever the player makes, and a timed mode, where satisfying the customers adds extra seconds to the clock.
The endless mode should be used to experiment with different flavors and concoctions. They may come in handy in case a customer orders a specific drink, or doesn’t know the name of the drink but know the flavor profiles. Coffee Talk has thirty unique recipes to discover, so go crazy.
4 The Order Of The Ingredients DOES Matter
The customers of Coffee Talk have distinguished tastes that must be catered to. A customer may want a honey lemon tea, so it is easy to assume that as long as all the ingredients are in there, the order doesn’t matter. It does.
The sequence of ingredients changes how much each ingredient will affect the flavor. Recipes start with the base, which is the foundation of the drink, then a primary and secondary ingredient. So if someone wants a honey lemon tea, it better be honey and lemon in that order.
3 The Fates Of The Characters Depends On Their Drinks
It may be tempting to mess with café patrons and give them something they didn’t order. That is a bad idea.
Coffee Talk’s story has multiple possible outcomes. Relationships are formed or broken depending on the drinks served to customers, so it is wise to keep the customers happy. A werewolf customer may need a specific combination of flavors to keep his wild side in check. The game also has a secret ending with big implications for the player character. This is the one café where anything can happen.
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Read The Evening Whispers
Regular patron Freya writes for The Evening Whispers, Seattle’s top news and fiction website. The phone gives access to a free trial of the site’s fiction. The short stories received daily are worth a read.
They cover subjects ranging from a love story with a shocking twist ending to a room service robot dealing with humans who see him as a novelty rather than something deserving basic respect. They showcase just how great a storyteller Freya really is and what can be expected from that book she is working on.
1 Don’t Stress About The Latte Art
One neat feature of Coffee Talk is that latte art can be made. By applying the right amount of cream and stenciling, one can make some interesting creations.
If it seems a little cumbersome, then there is no need to worry about it. It will take a little adjustment. Doing latte art outside the main campaign is a good way to practice. The Coffee Talk community page on Steam also offers examples of other players’ latte art for inspiration. It also helps to use an actual computer mouse as opposed to a trackpad.
Coffee Talk is available for macOS, PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and the Nintendo Switch.