Wanderstop

This game conveys it's message from the very start, without hiding anything but the way to understand it. The experience of growing up along with the main character is enlightening, and I would recommend this game for anyone who gets a little annoyed by Boro at the start. You might not see it at first, but this game is for you.

Loved my play through of Wanderstop. The dialog is genuinely bizarre and hilarious. I know this is labeled as a cozy game partly because of the planting mechanics, but I didn't really interact with that besides planting what I needed to make tea. I enjoyed the visuals, the voice acting, and the story. The gameplay mechanics felt a bit clunky, but that could be because even at the end of the game I was still pressing the wrong directional button to pull out an item. I put about 15 hours into the game to complete the story.

This was an unexpectedly amazing game. It hit me right in the heart and I loved it.

Non mais quelle pépite ce jeu ! Je ne sais pas si c'est parce que je l'ai dévoré à un moment où j'avais besoin de ce genre de discours, ou juste parce que c'est une masterclass, mais l'histoire a fortement résonné en moi. Il y a des extraits de dialogue qui vont m'accompagner un moment... Les personnages sont redoutablement attachants, les dialogues sont bien écrits, croustillants et bourrés d'humour. J'ai adoré découvrir les nouveaux clients au fil du jeu (mention spéciale à Gerald et Nana <3). Ces rencontres ne sont pas anodines et font progresser Alta, notre héroïne, sur son chemin. Cultiver et servir du thé n'aura jamais été aussi agréable. C'est extrêmement bien foutu, relaxant sans jamais être trop répétitif. Il y a souvent des petits ajouts, des twists pour nous éveiller notre curiosité : une nouvelle graine ! Une nouvelle plante ! Un nouveau thé à goûter !... La machine à thé est particulièrement satisfaisante à utiliser. Les moindres détails du jeu et des explications qu'il donne pour justifier son gameplay sont faites pour qu'on se sente bien. Pour qu'on se sente à l'aise, en sûreté, et qu'on nous invite à expérimenter. On a le droit de "rater" des thés, de les jeter, de s'ennuyer, de ne rien faire. J'ai beaucoup aimé que le jeu nous apprenne à aimer l'ennui : plus d'une fois je n'avais rien à faire et j'ai juste profité des décors, ou planté des fleurs, en me baladant dans le jardin ou en m'asseyant sur un banc. Ça a l'air tout con mais ça fait un bien fou : on ne m'a pas poussée à la productivité (au contraire !), au rendement de mon jardin... à la rigueur, je me suis lancée dans une sacré collection de tasses, ce qui m'a poussée à passer le balais un peu partout. Le jeu m'a réappris à juste profiter d'un jeu sans avoir de "tâches" à effectuer pour progresser. Bref, un jeu qui est drôlement chouette et qui fait du bien.

Great game, overall. Real poignant moments that captured the way burnout can disable you in unexpected and hard-to-explain ways. Game art and sound was engrossing and beautiful. I felt good taking my time with the game at most points. I wasn't feeling the need to "optimize" myself like in a dinner dash game. Additionally, fulfilling drink orders was also never mindless, but a real treat that would reveal new intricacies to the craft with each chapter. There were also recreational parts of the game that truly enwrapped me and added at least 3 or 4 hours to my playtime. It's hard to discuss the writing in a game like this. To quote a friend who I was sharing my initial thoughts when I finished Wanderstop: "the subject matter of the game makes it hard ... not read this as you giving a meta-commentary on you via the main character." So at risk of projection, I want to give my thoughts on the narrative. It deserves much praise. Alta is the star of the show, with great detail given to how her struggle is presented in the forest and how she expressed herself. Even when my own experience with work and burnout didn't align with hers, there was no problem understanding how she felt and the way it manifested in her. This is a game about it, but you don't need to have experienced burnout to appreciate what's here. The presentation of the writing is at its worst 100% serviceable... and at its best I think it is multi-media magic. The choice of when and how to break from normal dialogue presentation is deliberate and always added to the story. It almost never wore out. You notice I say "almost." There is one bit [spoiler]using presentation slides[/spoiler] that didn't land for me and was driven into the ground throughout a chapter in the second half of the game, but thankfully it is doesn't outlast the chapter. It's actually this one chapter were I think I had the most problems. All but one of the customers sparked nothing in me. The only insight about Alta was something you could infer pretty easily much earlier. There were so many customers walking around awaiting drink orders I couldn't look anywhere without getting that "hey there's something you're supposed to be doing" reminder. This was the one chapter I could not help but want to optimize my way to being over with. To be fair to the chapter: the one customer that Alta really interacted with of the bunch I thought was novel and enjoyed, and my favorite of the recreational activities in the game was introduced (I could have figured it out by accident earlier but I hadn't been told till then). I still enjoyed the brewing and planting enough to have some fun and in no way was does this chapter's issues stop the game from being really really enjoyable. Considering the game's subject matter, I imagine there's a chance that for others the customers and content of that chapter may have just gone over my head with what it was trying to say. I think I understood it fine; I just don't want this review to require MLA citations and a giant spoiler tag to pick apart the dialogue here to prove it to you that I understood what it tried to put down. But this game has a lot to chew on, overall, and maybe someone with a different experience or expectations is going to find this one to be their favorite chapter to sink their teeth into. Wanderstop's quite the piece of art. Great game. A real gem. :)

I may have never finished this game because im saving myself up for this full expierience but after chapter 1 i have to say this is a Phenominal Game with an amazing story.

Really boring game the only thing you can do in the tea shop is get fruit and make tea and listen to the SOOO boring costumers talk, this made the game so repetitive. I really hope they add more fruits and dishes to reduce the repetitiveness.