Platforms: Windows PC via Steam
Genre: Indie, Barista, Drink-crafter, 90s Graphics Novel, Halal-version of VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

I walked in my local Starbucks and ordered a Java Chip Frappuccino with an extra shot. Took a seat by the window, overlooking the serene night sky with the bustling traffic. I plugged in my laptop and connected to the internet and downloaded the indie adventure game, Coffee Talk. I figured that Starbucks is a fitting place to check this game out.

I went in blind, not knowing what to expect. I’ve seen the screenshots on the Steam page and I really didn’t know what I was in for, so I went with the flow while sipping my evening drink.

As a heavy coffee drinker, I wasn’t disappointed.

Barista Simulator 2020

The game puts you in the shoes of a barista of the titular cafe, Coffee Talk, and you’ll serve customers by their preferences. Your customers are humans, elves, orcs, succubi and all those fantasy creatures mixed into one joyful concoction. The interesting bit is that they don’t explicitly tell you what they want, but you’ll have to figure out what your customers want and the drink recipes by yourself.

From the demo, you’ll be serving a few customers, and you’ll get the gist of it on the get-go. You won’t get your drinks wrong, trust me.

A triple-shot espresso. That’s simple.

The thing about being a barista is that you’ll get to listen to your customers, and that’s an integral part of this game. The stories are the lifeline of a cafe, and this game has tons of interesting stories that make you look forward to the next piece of dialogue.

A Novel Idea

It’s a visual treat, this game. The charming animation and graphics drew me in, reminiscing of a classic 90s game with lovely music that gives me that strong lofi hip-hop vibes to relax to, which that can be changed to another tune anytime using the iPhone-like menu on the bottom left of the screen.

The game is created by an indie studio located just east of where we live. Yes, our great neighbours of Indonesia has penetrated the indie market with a beautiful gem of a game.

Sneaky fella!

I commend this game, and I urge you guys to try this game out. You won’t regret this one.

The demo is available right now, but there’s no actual release date yet other than a vague one on the Steam page; ‘Before Midnight, sometime in 2019’.