“Coffee Talk” by Toge Productions (Kris Antoni Hadiputra, Andrew Jeremy Sitompul, Dio Mahesa, Hendry Roesly, Fredrik Lauwrensius & Jovan Anggara) & Mohammad Fahmi.
“[A] game about listening to people’s problems and help them by serving a warm drink out of the ingredients you have. It is a game that tries to depict our lives as humanly as possible, while having a cast that is more than just humans. […] [Featuring branching storylines] where the decisions do not come from the dialogue options you choose, but through how you treat and serve the customers of your café[.]”
Full disclosure right ahead:
Sebastian Standke used a free key of “Coffee Talk”, provided by Toge Productions, to play the game and write an article about it.
Some jam games have such a profound premise that even when they get transformed into a full release version, they do not need any changes or additions to their gameplay. “Coffee Talk” – one of the submissions to the COFFEE JAM hold in 2018 as well as one of our Jam Games Of The Year of said year – is such a game. In the jam version you simply had to fulfill your customer’s orders of hot beverages and listen to their stories. That is still the core concept.
However, the development team added a lot of new content and deeper storylines into this mix. You play as the owner of as well as the only barista in a coffee shop, that opens up only at night. Also, the whole plot is placed in Los Angeles in an alternate dimension, where humans share the planet with elves, orcs, vampires, werewolfes and other fantasy creatures.
While that may sounds like a fascinating, magical world to live in, some well-known issues have found their way in there, too: From struggling to find a work-life balance plus individual fulfillment in capitalism to racial exclusion and its impact on personal life stories, everything is in there. The change of perspective realized in “Coffee Talk” is what makes it very interesting. So better grab a hot drink to your liking, wrap up in a blanket and enjoy this little masterpiece, that will not only pleasure you with intelligent storytelling, but also with beautiful pixel art and a bunch of great tracks to listen to. [PLAY]
