Coffee Talk is Still One of the Best Cozy Games Out There

By Yoyo

Next week I’ll be in Seattle visiting a friend for a wedding and every time I think about Seattle, I think about two things: Nintendo and Coffee Talk.

Coffee Talk was peak 2020 covid vibes for me. While everyone was getting back into their Stardew Valley or their Animal Crossing New Horizons, I was playing Coffee Talk.

I recently jumped back into the first game for no real reason aside from nostalgia. It was raining and I was craving something comfy, and that’s exactly what Coffee Talk is — comfy. Between the interesting characters you meet, the relaxing atmosphere of a monster-human hybrid Seattle and the soundtrack…Coffee Talk is probably the coziest game out there.

The gameplay is as simple as can be — you simply make coffee. Your character, the barista, brews cups of joe for the lost and wandering souls that make their way into your late-night coffee shop. With a variety of ingredients, you learn recipes and make coffee for your patrons as they unveil their lives to you. The one thing I love about Coffee Talk are the characters. You meet so many different people like a kpop idol, a vampire and even a werewolf, each and every one of them have their own stories that slowly unravel in your shop (and through social media).

My personal favorite character is Neil the alien astronaut, whose entire purpose is to mate with a human and create another Neil (lol). Their dialogue is funny and silly and they drink their coffee through their finger…how can you not love Neil?! Seeing Neil come in each night and learn to act more “human” is so fulfilling and it kind of makes you sad when they leave (they come back in the second game don’t worry).

Coffee Talk is a well-written visual novel about community and people. As a journalist myself, I cannot help but to feel drawn to each of the characters and their stories. I never finished the second game and Coffee Talk: Tokyo released not so long ago, so I have a lot of catching up to do!

Play some Coffee Talk during this fall season and really dive into the coziness of it all.