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ebeth

ebeth @ebeth9/14/2023, 1:59 AM

kalechipskid @kalechips

kalechipskid @kalechips9/13/2023, 6:06 PM

genuine question for the indie gamers out there

I wanna know what you guys think about Coffee Talk. In detail. It's a game that is very well recieved and very well regarded, I haven't seen any bad reviews of it and it the few complaints came from people who don't even like narrative games in the first place ("too much reading" and such). I would like to ask what you enjoy about and how you feel about it's construction. I'm asking this because I was excited to play it but for a variety of reasons had an extremely bad time. I'm in the minority here but there were too many things that I found genuinely upsetting. Regardless, I want to know the good points, perhaps I was too sour, but truthfully I can't just throw aside my thoughts.

For context I am a Satellite and the game takes place in (fantasy) Seattle. I had trouble with the way it wrote its world view, even if most of those blunders were completely on accident. I played through 1 1/2 times and haven't played the second game (yet) (maybe) (still wondering about that)

I would like to know the ending with the cop character when you give him all his drinks correctly in case there are some reveals I missed, after a certain point I gave him noting but milk in hopes he would shit himself.

#Coffee Talk

ebeth @ebeth9/14/2023, 1:59 AM

i really enjoyed coffee talk but i feel like i was less enthralled by it than some people. i kind of wonder how many people who gush about it have played many other VNs - opinions from my VN-specific communities seem a bit less glowing. i just recently got around to VA-11 Hall-A and i think i prefer that version of a make-drinks-and-chat kind of game. coffee talk was still a solid concept though and i had a great time with it, will probably pick up the sequel eventually but it's not top of my list right now for VNs

#Coffee Talk #VA-11 Hall-A #Visual novels

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in reply to @kalechips's post:

Zakami Tesro @zakamitesro9/14/2023, 1:06 PM

I enjoyed the game because it was simple and sweet, though I've only played the first one. I found the writing charming I enjoyed the idea of being a simple barista listening to these different characters' problems and lives. I thought the 2nd play-through story beats were interesting (finding out your own fantasy identity).

kalechipskid @kalechips9/14/2023, 10:07 PM

I still hafta finish the second playthrough but I appreciate the shorter length (about 4 hours for a single run through?) The music and art I have no complaints with, just a very comfy look all around.

Kyle Labriola @kylelabriola11/8/2023, 5:00 PM

For what it's worth, you're not alone in having critiques about it. I remember critic Austin Walker having really conflicted feelings about it on his old podcast Waypoint Radio, especially regarding the cop stuff and the style of writing in general.

I still haven't gotten around to checking the game out myself though. I imagine if you're someone who thinks about urban politics, it's harder to "look past" stories like this.

kalechipskid @kalechips11/8/2023, 7:06 PM

I ended up writing a long post (ahh the terror https://cohost.org/kalechips/post/2847005-a-bootlicking-coffee) about my issues and I felt like I went quite hard, but the game kinda deserved it. I haven't listened to the podcast but there is some stuff to be concerned about. Basically, it's not maliciously written... Just thoughtlessly written, which ends up having some unintended consequences. I feel like in a narrative game about connection, the words it gave me were pretty sour. If you're not aware of these things I can see it being alright enough.

in reply to @ebeth's post:

kalechipskid @kalechips9/14/2023, 9:57 PM

I had played VA11HA11A beforehand and I very much enjoy that game. So admittedly, when I went in, I ended up comparing a lot of the mechanics of CT to that one (I don't really like the coffee making stuff in CT, or many of the things they emulated...) The writing was something else entirely though.
I agree with the "i kind of wonder how many people who gush about it have played many other VNs" thing, it's good it has its own audience but VN communities seem to have a different opinion.

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