Reviews from

in the past


eu amo tanto coffee talk que lembrar dele me deixa triste

I really enjoyed the first one, but this game introduces a couple of new characters who just aren't likable or interesting, which means less time with the original cast (Freya is barely even in this one) and I found myself rolling my eyes every time I had to interact with them. The soundtrack also just isn't as good or memorable as in the first game which really disappointed me.

Just started playing! Enjoy it with a cuppa :-) Right now on day 4, took about 1.5h. I love Lua, Silver & Amanda.

9 June 2024:
On day 9. Love this quote from Hyde: "As if you could know what's in someone else's heart. Even when you love someone...No, especially when you love someone...You should never presume to know what they need."

16 June 2024: Took a Sunday to finish Coffee Talk 2 & all it's achievements (well I'm left with about 6, but can't be bothered to finish 100%) It's fun!

Here’s the thing about the original Coffee Talk: much like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, with which it shared a release year, Coffee Talk was the dictionary definition of a ‘right place, right time’ kind of game. 2020 was the year for Coffee Talk. As I spent yet another month entirely within my apartment during lockdown, roleplaying as a coffee-serving pillar of a near-future science-fantasy community provided me a level of comfort that would’ve been less potent in a more…sociable kind of year. And that’s not to say the original Coffee Talk wasn’t good, just that it was slight. It was a colorful game with precious few mechanics and a cast of characters who alternated between bubbly and traumadump-y like many contemporary visual novels. And that was fine. Coffee Talk was not ambitious, but it hit its marks.

Coffee Talk is also a game that ended with a bizarre non-sequitur of a twist that left a bad taste in my mouth. Coffee Talk 2 is more of the same on a surface level, but it’s a little twistier than that game, a little more packed with lore and just a little less tuned-in to the real-world. Example: one of Coffee Talk 2’s big new character is a Youtuber/influencer zoomer who is abrasive until he learns how to be a normal person thanks to the power of socially drinking coffee. Something about enduring this guy’s whole pre-scripted character arc set to Coffee Talk’s ‘Lo-Fi Beats to Chill and Study To’ soundtrack made the game feel somehow ancient to me, like it was the product of a time and place in culture that preceded even the first game’s release window. Haven’t we moved on to new forms of post-adolescent mass media sociopathy upon which to project ourselves? Shouldn’t this guy be the most toxic alpha male fake-podcaster you’ve ever seen? Maybe the next one’s music will graduate from Lo-Fi girl to whichever version of Undergraduate Bedroom Hyperpop (Fast Version) has become viral most recently.

Loved the first iteration of this series and was so excited to immediately jump into episode 2! I love the addition of the new characters and a few of the features that were added onto this one. Still felt familiar and comfortable but didn't feel like I was just playing the exact same game again.

I love the sense of calm this game makes me feel while playing! The soothing ambiance with warm, caring characters and their relationships are really the triumph with this series.

All in all, love this series and am excited to play more visual novel-type games.

That being said.... I definitely was disappointed to realize that they chose to do the same post-game style in the way of unlocking alternate storylines/endings as they did in the first game. This time around, I did better with my gameplay and was able to unlock all of the "good endings", but from looking at guides you need to unlock ALL endings in order to unlock the "secret ending" and that just doesn't sit right with me! To me, this is a slow, narrative based, story that deserves attention and intention. The thought of replaying through my save multiple times just to quickly skip through days of dialogue to change minute details in order to fulfill achievement requirements to unlock a mystery ending feels like it would taint the whole meaning and intention of the gameplay! Idk, I am just not about that grind culture and would have rather seen a post game that simply progressed the story with the opportunity for more days.

Felt a little empty ending this playthrough when I realized what the post game looked like. Just felt a little abrupt! I suppose I am harping on this so much because this is such an influential and important game to me with stories I keep close to heart and gameplay that helped me feel calm in an otherwise overwhelming world. I want to end my review by reiterating how much I love this series, because I really do.

Will probably leave it at this and try to remember the good endings I got :)