With a format as established as the visual novel, games often try to push the boundaries of text-based storytelling with segments from other game genres, which help break up the monotony of endless tapping through often unspoken dialogue. Some of my favorite games of this style, like VA-11 HALL-A and Coffee Talk, allow you to mix drinks and prepare potions between conversations, and that combination of interaction creates a unique connection to the game and its characters. Tavern Talk takes that formula and places it in a high fantasy world, but with a unique modern and tabletop-inspired voice, making it one of the most unique approaches to the Dungeons & Dragons style of setting in the gaming world.
In Tavern Talk, your humble inn and inn serves as a gathering center for adventurers, warriors, and practically everyone else. Some are looking for a rest after a tough battle, others share tasks they need party members for, and some just need a refreshing drink and someone to talk to.
On the surface, many of these characters are pretty standard fantasy stereotypes — your pale blond elves, your burly dwarf warriors, your aloof assassins, and the like — but what makes them so interesting is that they’re not characterized and written like your typical stoic fantasy heroes. Instead, their relaxed tone and fairly literal adherence to things like the D&D alignment chart make them feel more like actual tabletop game characters during a session. This helps them come to life in a much more interesting way and leads to fun moments where you can see two characters with very different personalities instantly bond over a topic due to their places on the compatibility chart — you can even check this in-game through your journal.
When one of these characters visits your shop, they will ask you to make them a drink. In addition to general taste or style preferences, your guests will also have stat-related needs that your potion must support, requiring you to brew something that boosts strength, charisma, dexterity, intelligence, or defense.
The act of making the drink itself isn’t very complicated, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, the simple nature of the drink mixing game makes it easy to enjoy the story and follow along without interruption, but on the other hand, it gets repetitive very quickly. Despite unlocking new recipes and drink modifiers as the game progresses, your guests will almost always stick to their usual favorite drinks. A more challenging version of mixing drinks would make your connection with your guests and the information and rumors they share with you seem much more earned and meaningful.
Once you get enough information or rumors from different guests, you can compile them and post an open quest on your inn’s bulletin board to allow any of your guests to take on an adventure. This is also not as difficult or open as I would like. There isn’t a lot of variety or significant experimentation that goes into putting these tasks together, or the drinks your guests need before taking them on. The idea that your interactions with your shop’s visitors culminate in these big quests is interesting, but it already lacks some “oomph” since you can’t attend the quests at all — the lack of challenge in putting them together makes the game’s most impressive moments fall a little flat.
Still, Tavern Talk has plenty of charm and wonderful world-building that make it a worthwhile experience despite its lack of gameplay depth. The game is full of diverse, interesting and engaging characters, even the guests I hated because of their disgusting vibes or twisted personalities made the interactions really interesting. The world needs more drink-mixing visual novels, and Tavern Talk is a welcome, if somewhat imperfect, addition to that niche subgenre.
The post Tavern Talk appeared first on ITNetwork.
Source: www.itnetwork.rs
