Coffee Talk 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly (Review)
There’s something comfortable about a quiet coffee shop – the ambiance, the scent of espresso, music in the background… There’s a reason that shows and books seem to love this setting, and I know I’m not the only one who has spent more than a few afternoons and evenings enjoying a calm corner, latte in hand. Having recreated this cozy feeling in video game form, it’s really no surprise that Toge Production’s Coffee Talk is such a popular title.
Now, three years later, everyone’s favourite barista and friends (and new friends!) are back in Coffee Talk 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly brought to us by Toge Productions and Chorus Worldwide.
You absolutely can play Coffee Talk 2 without having played the first – you’ll be missing some context, but you’ll still understand the storylines, and there are plenty of new storylines to follow as well. However, I would recommend playing Coffee Talk before Coffee Talk 2 as someone who did the opposite – it’s fun to see where the characters start, and while getting their backstory after the fact didn’t impede my enjoyment at all, I think it would have been great to see that continuity.
That said, Coffee Talk 2 does a fantastic job of making the player feel like they’re stepping into a comfortable, safe haven from the rainy night, and I love that about it. Set in an alternate version of Seattle filled with all sorts of creatures from vampires to elves, the game takes place in Coffee Talk – a small, often quiet coffee shop run by a mysterious barista.
Gameplay is similar to Coffee Talk – the game is primarily a visual novel, with the addition of taking occasional drink orders (usually a few per night). Some of them will be easy – characters will let you know exactly what they’re looking for. Others will take more guesswork, and over time you’ll build a repertoire of drinks to refer back to (if you’re feeling up to filling out your brewpad, you can also continually craft beverages in endless mode and hopefully unlock some recipes). Coffee Talk 2 also adds a new mechanic – you can now give customers items along with their drinks. Throughout the game, you’ll be entrusted with items to pass along at the right time.
Despite its fantastical setting, the stories you hear are quite relatable – dramatic love stories, work woes, a string of car vandalisms…. Everyone’s got their worries and successes and ponderings to share with you. If you’ve ever watched Tokyo Diner: Midnight Stories, the concept is quite similar – your café will always be drawing an eclectic little crowd, where some stories intertwine and others branch off on their own. You’ll get a different crowd every night, and sometimes customers will ask about those that haven’t been around for awhile or even create new friendships with each other outside of the shop.
Alongside the main stories, you also have your phone available, which gives a fun glimpse into your customers’ lives as you become better friends with them. Each day you can check everyone’s story feed to see what they’re up to, and even start to see how they interact with each other as they meet at Coffee Talk. Like the first game, you also get a subscription to daily short fiction so you’ll have a new piece to read each night. I quickly settled into the comfortable routine of seeing what was going on on social media, reading the day’s post, and then preparing to start my shift.
Coffee Talk 2 continues the comfortable, low-key feeling of the first game – its engaging stories, low-stakes gameplay, and chill lo-fi are perfect to relax into after a long day. All served up as gorgeous pixel art, the result is a little digital refuge that is sure to delight newcomers to the series, and make fans of the first game feel like they’re returning home.