I was immediately reminded of Persona 5 while playing the coffee shop JRPG Affogato with its cafe setting, mind-expanding combat, and jazzy soundtrack at first glance, however, it was the “reverse tower defense” twist and beautifully illustrated cast that made me fall in love with it.
As of last month, the game was released on Steam, where it has since accrued 85% positive reviews. Honestly, it’s one of those two-games-in-one deals, where it’s a game set in the opposite era, one half resembling a two-day Arknights game, while the other side looks like a Necrobarista or Va-11 Hall-A game. The game takes place in the 20th century. You are a young sorceress managing a coffee shop (and a whole lot of debt), spending valuable chunks of limited daytime sprucing up the shop, honing your café skills, or investing in the combat side of the game by buffing your spells.
Mechanics-heavy JRPGs aren’t my cup of tea, but I’m always drawn to storytelling and character development that’s integrated directly into the combat, so I am immediately drawn to Affogato’s blend of conversation and action. In this game, you will chat up customers at the cafe before leaping inside their heads in order to help them face their inner demons through a clever on-rails combat system where you play cards in order to help your party survive a gauntlet of enemies you will face.
It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for stunning art, and I’m particularly enamored with the artwork that developer Befun Studio created for the main characters. There are a lot of cozy environments and cute chibis in Affogato, but the detailed anime art in conversations – which you’ll see a lot of because this is quite a story-heavy JRPG – gives the cast a striking, sharply detailed look because of their detailed looks. It’s a weird mix with an assortment of barista-related ideas, but weirder ideas have found an audience, so it does my heart good to be able to play another barista-related game.