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 :)

This is an incredibly grounding experience for such a short story (~10min). I will be thinking about this piece for far longer than the time I spent interacting with it.

A sort of coming of age story centered around ideas of perception and acceptance. Cannot recommend enough for anyone to take a few minutes out of their day and relax with the calming music, visuals, and story that is "You and I and the Long, Long, Drive".

Much respect for the creator, Caramel, for their art and vulnerability!

This game has been really monumental to me because it has opened up a new genre of games into my backlog that I did not even know I was interested in. Gaming is a hobby that I have only gotten into seriously in the past few years or so, and I am constantly learning about what interests/engages me. Honestly before discovering Coffee Talk, I don't think I even knew this sort of game existed. I have been a long-time lover and supporter of Lofi Girl, as a channel that was a place of calm for me through my four years of college...Now I am finding that same vibe in a quirky visual novel! So fun.

I love all of the characters, and the fantasy beings that they represent. I also appreciate how they wove in social commentary without being too dark or in your face about it. Felt like they stayed on tone with the cozy-vibe, while also being grounded, realistic, and meaningful.

I love the art direction, I love the simplicity of the gameplay, and I LOVE how it made me feel to play!

If I had any gripes to mention... I do wish it was longer! I also unlocked the, I guess you could call it, secret ending... but I did have to look at a guide. I think I may have liked a little more specific instructions/an easier way to unlock new parts of the story without having to skip through tons of dialogue. I also wish there were more opportunities to make drinks so that I could unlock every special drink in story mode rather than doing it at the end!

As far as the post game goes, while there isn't a ton to do, I did love being able to scroll through the official art (including early renderings of characters) as well as comic strips. These additions, along with the daily newspaper, made the small scope of the coffee shop really feel like it was a part of a much larger world.

All in all - beautiful art direction, and a beautiful story. I wish I lived in the Coffee Talk world! Will be starting Episode 2 shortly.

For the sake of full disclosure - I started this game sometime last year and got frustrated at one (what I now know to be easy) puzzle and quit. But... after playing Pikmin 4 I was inspired to restart my save and boot it back up again!

I love the Pikmin franchise! Pikmin 3 feels like a good, middle of the road Pikmin game for me. The graphics are smooth, the gimmick with the 3 characters is fun, and something about playing on the Wii U with the tablet just makes the experience all the more charming (Do people still hate on the Wii U? Is it based for me to praise it?).

What really makes Pikmin 3 stand out to me is the atmosphere changes the devs were able to display with the weather changes. I loved when I would log into a rainy day. This helped break up the monotony of grinding through multiple days in the same area. Just something about the graphics and music was so cozy! Especially for 2013 Wii U capabilities.

Pikmin 3 would be a great starter for anyone looking to get into the series. The performance is clean and it is not too challenging! ... Well except that last area, I struggled with that and recruited the help of my gamer bf :3

But really, it's not that hard I just dislike combat.

Insert Pikmin noises

One of my favorite games is Garden Story and I found myself interested in this game because of the resemblance to each other. What can I say? I love a cute little nonbinary lead that wants to be a warrior and keep their friends safe.

This game was super cozy and relaxing. The theming and music felt really well done and exciting. My biggest complaint is that some of the adventuring felt a little monotonous and repetitive, resulting in me not wanting to explore much unless I had to go somewhere for a quest. That being said, I do feel like there were some really cool artistic and heartfelt moments made... even with the simplicity of the gameplay. I loved the relationship building between the characters. Two moments I felt really wowed by the art direction were definitely during Chorus' dream scape and during the final boss fight. It was so cool!

This was a nice, short game that made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

I haven't done the epilogue yet.

Superliminal solidifies itself as the most important game to me because it is the game that launched me into gaming as an adult hobby in the fall of 2021. At the time, my partner and I were long-distance and alternating free weekends at each other's places. Hi Zach :)

Zach is and has been a big fan of playing games and I, having been interested myself but unsure of where to start, begun to show more interest in sharing this hobby. Of course, we started by playing Mario Kart/Mario Party together, before graduating to Overcooked and It Takes Two. I also spent time watching him play Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley and seeing the joy/excitement/relaxation these titles brought him, I wanted to find that for myself too!

At the time, he was also working long days on most weekends... so I often had time to fill during the days I visited. One weekend, he downloaded Superliminal for me to try out while he was gone. I felt so special that he thought of me and set up this cozy day for me. I LOVED it. I played it in one sitting and then immediately started a replay with the overlayed commentary.

This is less of a review and more of a retelling to as why this game is so meaningful for ME, but seriously, it is so good. You should go play it.

A note - as someone that experiences motion sickness while playing first person perspective, I also appreciated being able to alter the FOV and go at my own pace. That is so important.


EDIT - Can someone tell me why under the genre section of the game page on here it is listed as a "shooter"????

I think there is a lot of good to say about Cozy Grove regarding an interesting premise / gimmick with the ghost characters and the overall atmosphere created. It’s extremely wholesome and heartwarming! I enjoyed picking this up for 20-30 minutes every so often for a little sense of calm within my day.

Unfortunately, despite the things that I enjoyed, I ended up tabling this. I struggle a bit with the cluttered village aesthetic in games that I feel is popular in the indie sphere right now. With such a cluttered screen, everything blurs together and I often find myself wandering around the map multiple times and missing the items I am looking for. :/ This could just be a me problem though!

All in all, this game is cute, cozy, and a positive experience! Maybe I’ll pick it up again someday.

Unpacking presented itself to me at the moment when I most needed it. I was home sick from work with the flu, and two days on the couch meant I needed something to distract me from how rough I felt. Scrolling through Game Pass, I landed on Unpacking and was immediately hooked. The light and creative puzzling juxtaposed with storytelling that needn’t say anything at all kept me engaged while also allowing my mind to wander about the life that I am playing out.

I ended the game feeling so connected to the story and the character’s life. It prompted me to reflect on my own life and the many moves that I have made. I wonder what sort of story my belongings could tell?

WOW!

First, I am so so sorry Oatchi that I did not like your character design when I first saw a photo. That was so wrong of me! You're perfect <3

I love the Pikmin franchise. This game feels like a love letter to games 1-3. I feel like they took everything good from the previous games, and really listened and changed the features that people weren't as into. I cannot express how fun it is to play this game. I even had fun navigating through the menus... its just so satisfying and cute and wonderful.

I am a little ways into the post game and am loving the callbacks to Pikmin 1. Am also just so happy to have more areas to explore!

If I had any complaint... I do wish that we had the opportunity/need to utilize the White and Pink Pikmin more. They felt a bit forgotten at times!

My top two favs are definitely the Blue and Ice Pikmin. They are the cutest to me, and also feel like have the best abilities to play with.