I’m a big fan of Coffee Talk. It’s a game about chilling, making good drinks, and making friends. When I reviewed the first game, it was actually difficult to tear myself away from the game to actually write about it. Its sequel, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly, was announced some time ago (it feels like a decade but for obvious reasons, it’s far less than that); I knew there was a “spring” (Q2) 2023 launch date target, but now the actually release date has been announced.
Revisit the best late-night coffee shop around. The player takes on the role of the barista, and makes delicious drinks while listening to the customers and sometime intervening. The game is set in an alternate present-day Seattle. In this world, humans and fantasy races have been coexisting since the beginning of time. It’s completely normal. Characters includes Baileys the elf graphic designers, Lua the succubus bisdev executive, and Myrthe the orc game developer. And trust that there will be many more interesting people to meet.
The atmosphere is everything in Coffee Talk, and I expect it to be the same in the sequel. Since it’s set in Seattle, rainy nights are common. Just think of curling up on cold nights with a hot drink: that’s the feeling this game should create. (Brief plug: if that’s a feeling you want to create literally, check out the DDNet mugs available at RedBubble!) The music is described as li-fi chillhop, further enhancing the environment.
When it comes to making drinks, it’s relatively simple. Mix a combination of ingredients, including tea, ginger, mind, chocolate, coffee, and more. Experiment to find secret recipes. Most importantly: try remember what people like! In lattes, create fancy (or in my case, very very basic) art in the foam.
Developed by Toge Productions and published by Chorus Worldwide, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly will be released for PC via Steam/Epic/GOG, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and Xbox One on April 20.
