Coffee public lecture Episode 2 : Hibiscus and Butterfly continues to be a delicious beverage - brewing visual novel .
It ’s not often that you get the chance to play a plot where not only are the deglutition pip live , but the conversations are too . Coffee public lecture Episode 2 : Hibiscus and Butterflyis the next addition to Toge Productions ’ cozy café simulator and ocular novel crossover voter . If you want an intimate , relax biz with a hint of illusion and pixel art , you ’ve find the right game . Even three years by and by , the income tax return toCoffee Talkis lovely as ever . But of trend , this is far from a perfect game , and deficiency at time features that could make it leading .
Overall although , I had a good time coming back to my best-loved later - nighttime café in this alternative variation of Seattle . If you do n’t know the premise , the world of Coffee lecture brings you to a version of Earth where other illusion races go amongst humans . While set in mod - day , there is a history to this world that unravels throughout your meter execute the café . You play as the possessor of this brass , anonymous except for your chosen name and favorable nature .
Just like the first one , Episode 2 make for over the class of a twosome weeks . The primary feature article of this biz are prompt puzzle and converse with patrons . Coffee Talk‘s heart lies within the conflict and story your customers order , and the friendships and separation that come from them . It ’s also carried by the three - constituent drink making organisation . The puzzles lie within reckon out the great unwashed ’s orders , remembering past one , and experiment with drinks . chocolate talk of the town Episode 2is consummate for players who want more of the first game , and enjoy poor and cozy experience .
Just another rainy night
Each twenty-four hour period — or should I say night — is always a mystery . You ’ll never on the nose know who will be your next customer , or what unexampled story they have to tell . You as the barista in the first secret plan got to have sex a variety of people , and they will make a reappearance throughout Episode 2 . There are a few new faces in this plot , each with their own struggles . commonly , these battle tie in with their vocation , relationships , or the asperity of their fantasy race . People such as orcs , gremlin , satyrs , werewolves , and more will visit you .
What really produce this game particular is the macrocosm it select place in . If there was no phantasy constituent to it , it may have been a little deadening . Their issues are usually very relatable to actual - world issues , but if they are illusion in nature , it is n’t heavy to understand the allegory Toge Productions is making . You understand the vague history of how there was a war between man and phantasy races . But the details of how the world changed from then on are leave in titbit . The worldbuilding is interesting , and there is still a lot left untold , making a possible Episode 3 evermore exciting .
These showery Seattle night make the café atmospheric state even cozier . Not only does the art guidance reflect ’ 90 anime in pixelated form , but lo - fi beats toy in the background knowledge . you could even open up your smartphone and use the medicine app , get you select which song you ’d care best . The phone also has a newspaper app , the Brewpad for all your recipes , and Tomodachill , the societal media app . Interacting with this during gameplay is a squeamish suspension , and gives brainwave into the social lives of your new friends .
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Brewing possibilities
apart from the visual novel face ofCoffee Talk , the most interesting gameplay car-mechanic involve brewing drinkable . Most of the fourth dimension , when a patron get , they ’ll ask for a drink . Sometimes they ’ll ask for something you already have in your Brewpad , like an Espresso . But other times , you ’re task with figuring out what they need . Someone may remember two out of the three ingredients from a drink they sleep together . Another may ask that you remember the drink you first made them . And sometimes , they give a vague description of what wassail they ’d wish and how it makes them feel .
If you get it wrong , there is n’t much downside to it . But it does upraise your friendship level with them on Tomodachill if you get it right . Although it feels good to make it aright , it would be nice to have more of an incentive toward perfecting their social club . Also , as much as I enjoy pick which ingredients should go in what order , I found myself long for more . Not just more ingredients , but perhaps more thing to make a drink unique .
I grew up play time management games on my laptop computer where you ’d figure out in eating place and you ’d have to serve customers quickly with the right orders . So I was n’t surprised that I wanted more choices like the size of it of the deglutition , or more add - ons like the caffe latte art . Perhaps I ’m wantingCoffee Talkto vagabond from its simplistic drink teaser and go towards a café simulator , which is only my belief . But I can understand the vision that Toge Productions wanted , and know that its focus was on the story , not the gameplay . Yet , I still go for that if Episode 3 make out out , there are more gameplay hypothesis to make this café my own unequalled piazza .
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Subtle improvements
Although , there were some things thatEpisode 2added that made the game more interesting . One of those things was the ability to give multitude items from your tray . Sometimes , they ’d be lost item that patrons would incidentally leave behind . And other time , it ’d be something like a business organization card or invitation that a friend require you to give to someone . This was a machinist that not only proceed me involved with the life of my new friends , but made me cogitate of who I could give them to , and what unique things would make out from it .
For instance , without any spoilers , one character left an ID card . This character is n’t ever a customer , but on the off prospect that they would be , I did n’t desire to give it back . I did n’t like this character , so I wanted to give the ID to someone else who could do something utile with it . My decision there seemed to change the story of what happen next , since these two characters were sort of against each other . woefully though , those are the only choices you get to make , since there are no dialogue choices . But my character commonly tell what I wanted them to say anyway .
Episode 2also introduced two new tea types , which are Hibiscus and Blue Pea . With these came many new and interesting recipes , each with its own unique title . They were usually name after who take for the peculiar drinkable , and look like something from a top-notch - fancy restaurant . While it was fun to experiment and seek to figure out what the supporter wanted , sometimes their description was way too vague . This led me to either soften and give them the drink they did n’t exactly want , or googling the right solvent .
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Intimate stories and connections
The true nub ofCoffee Talk , as sound out before , comes down to the committal to writing . In both sequence , each client you meet and befriend goes through their own arc . They chat about their struggle at this café that only runs at night , spill the beans to other customer that share some insight , and get word something from them . By the end ofEpisode 2 , everyone changes in their own ways , and it ’s because of you . Your café is a sorting of safe haven for these troubled individuals , and it ’s lovely to see them connect with other client .
You ’re subconsciously building a found family , helping hoi polloi who involve it most , and seeing how they grow from there . There were some grapheme from the first Episode that re-emerge for brief moments , and I wished that their story lasted a picayune longer . Others had their rightful time to shine , particularly the fresh characters . It only took me about five hour to finish , and lasted around two weeks in - plot . Also , there is n’t much to say about graphics or how it tend . It ’s a humble indie - plot that has a 2D pixelated art style , there ’s no vexation that your microcomputer can care it .
As much as I enjoyed the piddling narrative throughout , there was no bear - out story , or jaw - dropping moments . This game is good , but it did n’t grip me the style other game ’ narratives have . The signification and lessons behind the stories are n’t shallow , but they are n’t entirely deep either . I still really enjoyed my prison term withCoffee Talk Episode 2 , despite some of my gripes . Nevertheless , if you ’re someone who want a relaxing visual novel that let you become a barista , you should by all odds sample this out . Of naturally , act the first one beforehand , since the secret plan assumes you ’ve already done so .
Screenshot by PC Invasion
