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  • svgMar 14, 2024Reviews

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    Spirittea is a cozy life sim all about helping out mischievous spirits. Developed by Cheesemaster Games, this relaxing sim is perfect for anyone looking to branch out from the usual farming sim. You play as yourself with some customization options, and you’ve just moved to a tiny town in what feels like the middle of nowhere. It’s generally a peaceful town, but the spirits have become restless and lost now that the townspeople have stopped worshiping them. It’s up to you to not only restore the bath house to give the spirits an outlet, but you’ll need to track them down and solve their problems, too!

    Overall, It’s an Enjoyable Game

    I’ve followed the development of Spirittea for a while, because as much as I love farming sims, having something different in the cozy game category is great. Plus, I love the idea of living in a rural Japanese-inspired town and running a bath house for spirits. It’s like my own personal Spirited Away without the consequences and bad guys. 

    The game starts with you meeting all of the townspeople, much like every other life sim out there. This time, though, you have Jan the dog to show you around. Speak to Jan and they’ll lead you to the villager, instead of aimlessly wandering around the town looking for people. It was an enjoyable way to force you to meet everyone and get a chance to see the town as you do it. 

    Being able to sleep at any time of day to advance the day by a few hours, or all night, is seriously one of Spirittea’s best assets. Sometimes you don’t want to open the bath house. Instead, you want to go fishing and catch some bugs, but you also want to do it at night. So, hop in your cozy bed and advance the clock! It was great when I was just done with the day and wanted to move on period. 

    Throw in the spirits with their different storylines and histories, and Wonyan being a sassy bit of comic relief, and it’s an intriguing game overall. Each of the spirits shows up in their own way, and requires some type of help that differs from the last. Plus, they look unique and have some great dialogue of their own. The character designs are done well, so everyone looks different from each other and easy to distinguish. The town is easy to navigate and explore, too. Everything together makes for a delightful experience. 

    There Are Some Cons, Though

    As much as I enjoy Spirittea, there are some problems with the game. I thankfully didn’t encounter any bugs or glitches, so I suppose these are more gripes than anything. However, there’s definite room for improvement in some aspects. 

    My biggest issue is the map. It sways. When you open it, instead of the landmarks, houses, and trees being stationary, the sway and bounce to the music. It was a motion-sickness dilemma that posed a problem throughout my whole play. Plus, trying to find someone in the apartment building can be difficult because the sprites stack on top of each other so it’s hard to distinguish who is who. And if you’re at the apartment trying to see if your target townsperson is there, your marker is huge and covers up a good portion of that stack. 

    I enjoyed Spirittea’s addition of mini-games, and that they were unique. There was no carbon copy with a slight difference. I initially picked the hardest song possible in karaoke and wondered why it was SO hard, until I realized my mistake. The controls for that mini-game are great, though. My problem was with the fishing mini-game. You move your thumbstick the opposite direction instead of in the direction of the circle you want to select. It’s not very intuitive, and it wasn’t very cozy to have to stop and struggle every time I fished. Worse was the drinking mini-game not telling you anything about how to play or what controls to use. You just have to figure it out. Good luck!

    Final Thoughts

    I would still recommend Spirittea to cozy gamers looking for something different than the usual farm sim. It really is a delightful game, despite some of the issues. The storyline is unique, the characters are fun, and the visuals are nice. I really enjoy running my own bath house, too. It was simple and easy, and just overall fun! 

    I give it:

    You can find Spirittea on Steam, Switch, and Xbox!

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  • svgMar 7, 2024Reviews

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    Minami Lane, developed by Doot and Blibloop, is a wholesome little street management game set on a Japanese-inspired street. Build homes to attract new villagers and ensure their needs are met by providing food and entertainment options. Green spaces like parks and hot springs beautify the street, which makes everyone happy, too! Decorate each building by picking from a set of colors, and strategically place your buildings to create an inviting environment. Complete missions or engage in sandbox mode to get creative!

    Gameplay

    Minami Lane is one of those short, but sweet games that lives in your brain just waiting for you to pick it back up and play again. There’s not a lot to the game overall, and it’s about a 2-4 hour playtime type of game. However, it’s so pretty, so cute, and just perfect enough to keep your attention and drag you back for more. It’s easy to pick and learn. You can use only your mouse to accomplish things by clicking. There’s no complicated controls or convoluted mechanics. 

    The game is perfectly laid-back in concept and actuality. You can pause the day, let it run normally, or even speed it up if you prefer. Plus, you can check the missions for the level at any time. What I found really neat was being able to save each villager’s request for a change to the street, which helped me better accommodate them. For example, some villagers prefer more egg in their ramen, and some wanted more daisies at the florist. I could save each of those comments and come back to them after the day ended so I could update the inventories of each shop. No guesswork or having to make use of my trusty notebook! 

    The color palette really adds to the charm of Minami Lane, too. It’s soft and pastel so it’s easy on the eyes, but nothing is muddled looking. This extends to the color choices you can make for your buildings, too. Nothing too bright or flashy is available, though I would love to see a larger color palette option for buildings. You can even pick a color for the park, which changes the colors of the trees so you can go for a cheery springtime cherry blossom look, or fun fall cozy look. Throw in the soundtrack with its peppy, but pleasant sound and it’s a perfect mix of visual and aural. 

    Final Thoughts

    I loved every moment of this game. The simplicity, the adorable graphics, the ease of use. All of it. Plus, you get to pet the cats that show up and they make that great little “brrrt” activation noise. Everything about Minami Lane is charming and wonderful, and I can’t recommend it enough! 

    You can find Minami Lane on Steam now!

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  • svgFeb 29, 2024Reviews

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    I got to experience the closed beta version of this game thanks to the developer and publisher!

    If you missed the last time I talked about Time & Galaxy, then let me get you up to speed! This game is a vibrant, quirky visual novel where you play as the galaxy’s first robot reporter. You’ve just begun your internship at the renowned holopaper, Times & Galaxy, and you need to prove your worth. Take on different assignments and brush up on your journalism skills as you investigate the scene of a crash, interview contestants in a contest, or gather quotes from onlookers. Then, use the Build-a-Story tool to create your piece! 

    Gameplay

    Times & Galaxy is a visual novel, so you just need WASD keys to move, and your mouse to click. Interact with your crewmates, as well as the people you want to interview using the mouse, and that’s it! It’s simple and easy to play, which is perfect for focusing on the engaging dialogue you’ll come across.

    I was immediately captivated by this game. Every single character design is unique. Personalities are different from each other. Plus, you interact with over 100 different characters across the whole game. I experienced a limited closed beta version, so did not encounter all 100+ characters, but if you like visual novels, you need to! The characters I did get to interact with were fun to get to know. Some were grumpy, some upbeat, and every other flavor of personality you can think of. And all of the dialogue was interesting. Not a single conversation made me bored, so there’s clearly been a lot of thought and care put into this game. You can even flirt with people, or robots, or aliens! You, a robot, exhibiting flirting skills was possibly the highlight of interacting with folks, too. 

    I really enjoyed traveling to the different locations in Times & Galaxy, too. Each assignment let me see a small peak at the different planets in the galaxy. Not to mention, each assignment was super unique. One was a shuttle crash site where I examined the shuttle and interviewed people. Another was a cat show fluff piece where I got to visit with the cats and talk to their owners. I don’t think there’s a single thing in this game that I can call boring. It’s quirky, fun, humorous, and overall just great. 

    Visuals and Soundtrack

    If you aren’t as charmed by the beautiful visuals as I am, then we need to talk. They are vibrant without being overwhelming and just fit the story and setting so perfectly. I couldn’t imagine playing this game without these lovely graphics. They’re clever and add so much life to what is ultimately a limited view of the galaxy. You spend most of your time on the ship or at specific places for your stories, often a single room or area. So, it’s important that the visuals (and dialogue) make an impact. And they do! 

    Pair everything with the great soundtrack and Times & Galaxy has really nailed what it was aiming for. The music fits each scene and situation perfectly. It doesn’t overwhelm, either. You’re not listening to the same track over and over again. Nor is anything obnoxious. Each track fits well where it is and sits perfectly in the background like it should. 

    Final Thoughts

    If you don’t have Times & Galaxy on your Wishlist already, what are you waiting for? It’s so charming and funny. The characters and situations are fun. The visuals are gorgeous. The soundtrack is great. What more could you ask for from a game? 

    I give it:

    You can find Times & Galaxy on Steam!

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  • svgFeb 14, 2024Mobile Game

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    Tiny Boutique: Fashion Game by TinyBoxGames is a wonderfully adorable mobile game with pretty pixel graphics. In this game, you run a little boutique that services customers looking for fresh new outfits and accessories. Each customer will have a request for a whole outfit or just some accessories. You can buy the requested items to fulfill the order, or dress each customer in something else. You want to make sure you send them off in something they love, though! As you make sales and earn money, you can buy upgrades to make the boutique comfortable and cuter. Choose different themes for your shop, decorate your home, and customize your character, too! 

    Graphics

    I love how cute and simple Tiny Boutique looks. The pixel graphics lend a nostalgic charm to the game that is enhanced by the varied character designs. Your customers all look unique with different outfits, fun hairstyles and colors, and some really cute clothing requests. The color palette used throughout the game is lovely, too. It’s not quite all pastel, but none of it is super bold or harsh. It’s easy to look at and play.

    Gameplay

    Overall, Tiny Boutique is a delightful app to play. You put together outfits to please customers, upgrade your shop, decorate your home, change the theme of the shop, and that’s it! It’s a simple game that focuses on exactly what it advertises. This isn’t one of those bait and switch types, like is common in mobile games. It’s a breath of fresh air, really. Plus, having a fun fashion game is great. 

    There are some ads in Tiny Boutique. You have the option to watch some ads to get customers into the building faster. You can watch up to 10 ads daily. Each ad brings in 8 customers, which means you can call in a total of 80 customers a day. Otherwise, customers trickle in every 20 minutes or so, making this game a very casual, relaxed experience. There are no time limits or speedy service rewards. Just some good fashion fun!

    Final Thoughts

    While Tiny Boutique is simplistic, it’s perfect for taking some time to just relax with a game. It’s easy to learn, easy to pick up and play, and fun! 

    I give it

    You can find Tiny Boutique on Google Play and the Apple App Store!

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  • svgFeb 8, 2024Reviews

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    A Tiny Sticker Tale by developer Ogre Pixel (the same devs who made Lonesome Village) is a cute and cozy little adventure game with a heartwarming story. Play as Flynn the donkey, as you explore Figori Island. You’re there to search for your father. Things aren’t quite what they seem, though, as everything is a sticker! You’ll complete quests and manipulate your environment to solve puzzles by using the stickers you collect. Move a bridge to get across the river. Find a bird’s egg. Even decorate your very own home with cute decorations! 

    The Story

    There isn’t much of a story to A Tiny Sticker Tale, actually. You start the game by hopping off a boat onto Figori Island. There, you speak to a rabbit NPC who teaches you how to manipulate the stickers in the world, but also mentions you’re looking for your father. That’s it. That’s all the backstory and information you get about why you’re here in the first place. Of course, having a story at all isn’t necessary for a successful game, and I don’t think the lack of story impacts this game. Nevermind that the game is a solid two hours of gameplay, so it’s not bogged down by too much exposition or cut scenes. 

    Gameplay

    A Tiny Sticker Tale is simple to learn and easy to play, which makes it a great little palette cleanser between heavier games. You move around the island, collect stickers, solve puzzles, and complete quests that are often fetch quests. That’s it! There’s no complicated mechanics. Nothing is hard to understand or do. It’s a great game idea that I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s reminiscent of my childhood and using sticker books for entertainment. 

    The characters you encounter add life and warmth to the world. They each have a reason for needing help that makes you feel good about performing good deeds. But what really adds to the overall heartwarming feel of A Tiny Sticker Tale are the graphics and soundtrack. The cartoony nature of the art is charming and adorable. They’re inviting and easy to look at, while the soundtrack sits perfectly in the background accompanying you on your journey. 

    Final Thoughts

    Overall, A Tiny Sticker Tale is an enjoyable experience. It’s a cute little game worth the few hours it takes to play! 

    I give it a

    You can find A Tiny Sticker Tale on Steam and Switch!

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  • svgFeb 7, 2024Reviews

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    It’s February already, and that means it’s Steam Next Fest time! I’ve written about past Next Fest demos that I fell in love with here and here. This time, I’m bringing you an even bigger list of cozy games because this Next Fest is packed full of great ones. From interior design games, farming sims, and creature collectors, to gardening and diorama makers, there’s so much to see this time around. So, without further ado, here’s a whopping 10 different Steam Next Fest demos you need to try this month!

    Make Room

    Make Room is a relaxing little diorama designer game. Use hundreds of different items to craft the perfect spaces in each environment. Set up a charming country kitchen, build a comfy reading nook, or design the coziest living room you can think of. You have total control over where items are placed, so you can make your interior design visions come true. 

    The icons in this game are SO small, but the item options and color choices are perfect for creating some great rooms. The sandbox mode is great for strictly creating on your terms. The objectives mode is easy and relaxed, even though you must build to certain specifications. And creating things on a smaller scale makes creating a lot less overwhelming.

    Critter Crops

    Critter Crops is a gorgeously designed game where you play as Sylvie. She’s a newfound witch who’s been run out of her town because of her abilities. As Sylvie, you arrive on Mutter Island where you discover you can grow magical Critter Crops. These special plants can help you restore the island to its former glory. When you’re not farming, explore the lovely little island you now call home, gather resources, mine, and get to know the people you come across.

    What a delightfully whimsical game! The art is very unique, and the crops are too. Raise creatures by growing crops that are very, very different from what you’re used to. The town and crops and creatures are all slightly spooky, which is perfect for the Halloween-loving player who dislikes actual scary things. The color palette and the music is super pleasing, too. Talk about a farm sim with a twist!

    Everholm

    In Everholm, you play as Lilly, a young woman looking for her lost sister, Melanie. While out searching, you come across a mysterious portal that beckons you to the cute and cozy little island of Everholm. Weirdly, everyone there seems to recognize you, too, like you’re an old friend. So, embark on an adventure full of mysteries, magic, and relationships as this sim game is all about learning new skills and living together in harmony with others. Farm, forage, fish, raise livestock, and more. 

    Here’s another beautiful game. This time, it’s a lovely pixel art style game with a great story behind it. I like that your character actually holds a conversation with the NPCs, too. You’re not just subjected to a one-sided monologue. Plus, the NPCs exhibit some really great personalities through their speech. It’s clear this game was lovingly made. 

    Furnish Master

    Furnish Master is a relaxing interior design game where you furnish apartments, houses, commercial estates, and outdoor spaces. Use intuitive controls to place each piece of furniture and decor how you like it. Painstakingly choose color schemes and materials for your furniture to match the theme of each room. Even resize items so they fit perfectly in a space. As you complete spaces, earn money so you can buy new properties to continue decorating. You can also engage in story mode where you can buy properties across a single city. Even take on some challenges and puzzles in story mode to unlock new items.

    Here’s another diorama-like interior design game, but this time has a far more complex system and more involved missions. Paint the walls to certain specifications, furnish a whole kitchen with specific items, and use your hard-earned money to decorate your own place or buy other properties. There was even a puzzle level in the story mode where you search a room for puzzle pieces and put it together. If the levels have that much variation, I think it’ll be a really fun game. Not to mention the furniture options are varied, there’s a pretty great placement mechanic that includes snapping, and the graphics are nice. This is great for folks who want a little more direction and a more involved interior design game. 

    Botany Manor 

    Botany Manor takes place at a stately home in 19th century England, and you play as Arabella Greene, a retired botanist who lives at the manor. Spend your days exploring the different rooms of your historically accurate manor. Get to know Arabella and her career as a woman in science through your explorations. Discover beautiful gardens and sprawling countryside vistas as you take in the relaxing nature around you. Take care of a variety of plants by finding their seeds and planting them in the appropriate environments. Inspect newspapers, letters, paintings, and more to get a better understanding of the needs of your plants. Care for them and help them flourish by meeting their exact needs, and watch as your efforts are rewarded!

    The visuals are just breathtaking in this game. They’re by no means highly realistic levels of art, but the designs of plants, the architecture, and the dynamic lighting work perfectly together to create such a charming environment. The manor grounds are to die for. I’d love to have my own home with a garden and orchard as beautiful as this one! Searching for clues on how best to grow the plants adds an element of fun beyond simple gardening. It gives you a reason to look around the manor, but also makes you feel like a researcher, which the character you play is! If you play nothing else on this list, play this game. It’s so worth it.

    Minami Lane

    Welcome to Minami Lane! This lovely little life sim lets you build your very own street where you can decorate and manage shops. Build homes to attract villagers to your street. Keep them happy by beautifying the area with decorations, shops, and attractions. Build ramen shops, boba cafes, bookstores, and more. Each shop has its own inventory and effects on the neighborhood. Play missions for a challenge or sandbox mode to focus on the creative side of building. 

    This was such an enjoyable experience. There are goals and missions to complete, but they weren’t super high-stakes or difficult to complete. The overall graphics are gorgeous and soft and adorable. I love the Japanese-inspired architecture and street design. It’s nostalgic for me, and brings a sense of comfort. Overall, this game is perfect if you want a city-builder with more than just creative building. 

    Lightyear Frontier

    Lightyear Frontier is the cozy farm sim set on an alien planet and uses mechs to farm! That’s right, you get to pilot your own fleet of mechs to get things done around the farm or go out exploring the gorgeous world around you. Build your new home and develop a flourishing farm by growing alien crops. Explore your surroundings and restore them by cleaning up pollution and clearing invasive weeds. Discover the secrets of the world, and do it all while playing solo or together with friends.

    What’s better than a farm sim? A farm sim with semi-realistic art where you pilot a mech suit to farm and explore, of course! This is seriously such a fun concept, and the different advanced tools you have access to make things even more fun. Vacuum up some water or seeds. Use your spikesaw to obliterate rocks and bushes. It’s a very modern sci-fi take on farm sims, and I love it! 

    Night Stones

    In Night Stones, you find yourself trapped in a dream in a world full of magic and a rich story. Upon waking, you find yourself still in this world and must discover the secrets of the world and find a way home. Explore the beautiful world of Mythica where you’ll encounter Night Stones. These stones will turn night into day, and vice versa, allowing you to meet new characters. Complete quests to gain new abilities that will help you to further your mission. There’s no combat in this game, but there are enemies you’ll need to outsmart to accomplish your goals!

    This was such a short demo, but I loved it. Movement is smooth. Controls are super easy. The art is cartoony, but lovely. Animations looked great, too. All of it comes together to present such a good demo that makes me excited for the full game!

    Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge

    Kamaeru is an adorable farm sim where you farm, raise frogs, and preserve nature. Transform the surrounding wetland into a hospitable home for your amphibian friends. Meanwhile, feed, breed, and care for a variety of frogs. In fact, there are over 500 frogs for you to collect! You’ll need to figure out how to attract new types of frogs, then breed them together to unlock rare colors and patterns. Take pictures of your cute pals, and decorate the refuge to make the coziest little from rescue! 

    I loved the watercolor-like art in this game, and a comfortable creature collector. Playing is calm and easy. The frogs are adorable, plus restoring the wetlands is a fulfilling objective. Decorations are adorable and fun to place. There is a tic-tac-toe mini game to breed frogs together that adds a fun element, and there are more minigames mentioned to be coming with the full version. This makes me excited for the full version because it ought to be packed with a lot of great things to do. 

    Summerhouse

    Summerhouse is a relaxing building game. That’s it! Build structures on a small scale to create cute neighborhoods. Set your neighborhoods near the sea, in the middle of the city, or nestled in the majestic mountains. There are no rules, no goals, and no objectives to this game. The focus is purely on creative building. So, kick-back and relax with some building!

    This one reminds me a lot of Townscaper. You just simply unleash your creativity and build, but instead of creating whole cities and villages, you’re creating houses, apartment buildings, or shops. The art is beautiful and relaxing, and so is the music. This is a great game if you’re looking to get creative without the constraints of missions or timers.

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  • svgFeb 1, 2024Reviews

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    I’ve had my eye on Little-Known Galaxy by developers Carbon & Kay for a bit now. In fact, I’ve written about it before because it’s so cute and looks like it will be a great farm sim with a different setting. Recently, the game received a demo on Steam, which I took some time to play, and it was such a fun experience. 

    Little-Known Galaxy puts you in the shoes of a brand new space captain-in-training who has been assigned to their first ship by the Space Alliance. It’s your job to work with your crew to solve the mysteries surrounding an ancient alien relic found on the Grey Planet. You also get to do things like build relationships with the crew, take on some new crew members as your progress, explore alien worlds, grow crops, decorate, and more! 

    The Demo

    I’ve been excitedly waiting on the Little-Known Galaxy demo, and played it as soon as I heard it was out. And it did not disappoint. It’s a very introductory look into the game, as most farm sim demos are, but it gives a good feel to many things. You meet the base crew members, who are so unique and so quirky. There’s humans, aliens, old people, young people, and some robots, too. They’re sure to be a ton of fun as you progress through the story. Also, their dialogue matches their personalities and they appear to have actual, real conversations with you. 

    The overall aesthetic of the Little-Known Galaxy is just adorable. You’re plopped onto a derelict ship that’s in need of serious upgrades, but the common areas are pleasant. The shops have personality, and the crew homes match their inhabitants. Nothing is too bright or over-the-top. Everything feels like it has its own place and meshes with its surroundings well. Using robots for the sales bin and the family bots adds to the sci-fi, futuristic too. Throw in container gardening on a space ship and I think the developers have nailed having a farm sim on a spaceship. 

    I found the introduction of the Little-Known Galaxy’s captain’s quarters to be funny in how similar it is to other farm sims. It’s a wreck. There’s debris and trash everywhere, much like your farms start out on Earth! The clean up is far more satisfying, because you receive a cleaner ray to zap away the boxes and debris. It’s an oddly satisfying and comforting start to a game that I really enjoy having. Another fun aspect is finding random sparkly spots throughout the ship where hidden parts or money can be found reminds me a lot of checking the trash cans in Pokemon games for items. It was a touch of nostalgia that added to the charm of the game.

    I can’t wait to experience this game in full. I want to explore the universe! 

    Release Date

    You can find the game, along with the demo, on Steam. You can Wishlist it, but there is currently no release date listed. 

    Galactic Getaway is another life sim set in space!

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  • svgJan 31, 2024Reviews

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    Cat Cafe Manager by developer Roost Games is an adorable and casual cafe management game full of cats, decorating, and fun customers. You return to the little village of Caterwaul Way, home to your grandmother’s old cat cafe. You’ve recently inherited the place and it’s your job to renovate it to get it back up and running. Impress the locals with your business savvy, while befriending and caring for the local stray cat population. Even adopt out the cats to forever homes! 

    Graphics

    I really enjoy the visuals in Cat Cafe Manager. It looks like a hand drawn game, and the backgrounds and character designs all feel unique. They fit in with the sleepy little village vibes and enhance them, even. Every visual works together to create the cozy vibe that this game goes for. The cats are adorable, too. Plus, the main characters each have their own designs and personalities. The regular customers are just carbon copies of each other, which works for this game as they only serve to earn you money. Their designs are nice, though. You can tell who is a fisherman, a witch, and so on. 

    The Gameplay

    Cat Cafe Manager is a fairly short game, clocking in around 10-15 hours depending on your play style. It’s reminiscent of Diner Dash, which I played a ton of growing up, just without the time constraints. Instead of dashing around as fast as possible to appease customers and keep them happy, you can take your sweet time taking orders, preparing drinks and food, and delivering to customers. There’s no reason to rush around. Everyone is there to relax and enjoy their time. Plus, they want to hang out with the adorable cats you’ve collected. However, it is a bit grindy and repetitive. Day in and day out is filled with opening shop, serving customers, buying resources, rescuing cats, and upgrading the shrine’s upgrade trees. That’s it. 

    You get to lay out your cafe’s floorplan yourself, so you can create the perfect little space to suit your needs and design vision. It’s a nice touch to the game to give you almost total freedom from the get-go. Cat Cafe Manager also lets you decorate the space using several different sets of furniture and appliances. However, the decoration options are severely limited. I want spooky, moody wallpaper and flooring to match the harvest and vampire tables, but that doesn’t exist. It’s all up-beat and perky pinks and greens, which are perfect for a plant-heavy cafe, or there are  other unsuitable colors. This type of game should be heavy on the decor options, especially when sets are a thing already. The sets should go all the way into walls, floors, etc. 

    Another element to Cat Cafe Manager is hiring staff to help you in the cafe. This is useful if you’re tired of running around taking orders, making items, delivering to tables, cleaning, and making friends with the local strays. The staff can be tasked with any of those things, taking a load off your plate. However, it really veers into idle game territory once you do that. There isn’t much need for you to do anything besides befriend cats and shop for necessities or decor when you have staff. So, if you’re looking to be more hands-on, don’t hire so many staff members, or any at all. 

    Final Thoughts

    Overall, I did enjoy Cat Cafe Manager. I did struggle with keeping the desired items stocked so customers could order them, but that could just be a skill issue. The different types of customers are very well interconnected with the rest of the game, otherwise. Each type pays in a certain kind of money, which can then be used at specific shops in town. Having different types of currency added a level of necessary management that the game otherwise doesn’t have since it’s so laid-back. Sometimes the item collision boxes were annoying as they aren’t very apparent, but caused me to get stuck on tables and chairs that didn’t appear to be in the way. 

    What really got to me, though, was that upgrading the shrine in town didn’t visually appear to change anything. Cat Cafe Manager emphasizes that you’re restoring the shrine by running the cafe and adopting out cats, and does give you upgrade trees to buy into. However, it doesn’t ever visually look run-down, nor does it look improved as you “restore it”. That would have been a super satisfying addition to the game. 

    This game is cute, but not extremely engrossing. I give it:

    You can find Cat Cafe Manager on Steam and Switch!

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