Coffee Talk is a wholesome game about a barista for orcs and elves

(Image credit: Toge Productions)

Sometimes you want a game that's a warm bath, something that just washes over you and tells a simple story of an elf and a succubus who are very much in love. Or like a warm drink. Or both at the same time. So, here's Coffee Talk, a "coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator" where you serve as barista and also therapist to the needy people of a fantasy Seattle. That is to say, your customers are Orcs and Elves and Succubi and Mermaids, among other things. They come in, they ask for a coffee, you listen to some lo-fi, jazzy beats, you give out some advice. There's also a free demo on offer. Here’s a teaser:

I quite like the look developers Toge Productions have gone with. It has the aesthetic of 90s anime, with rich and deliberate use of shadows and washed out colors. The music is pretty good as well—here’s the OST playlist on YouTube. Coffee Talk reminds me of VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action. Is this a genre now? Genre fiction food service personnel? If so, I am extremely into it. Here’s Coffee Talk's official website. You can play a free demo of Coffee Talk on any of the places it's available, and the full game is $13. It’s on Steam, GOG, Game Jolt, and itch.io.

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Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.