VN - Ren'Py - Cosy Cafe [v0.12.1] [Cosy Creator]

Deducting a point mainly for the lack of meaningful choices (it really is a kinetic novel rather than a game) and to be fair to games with better visuals, but I have very little to criticize. Of course the models all end up looking similar after you’ve played a few games using the same "engine", but I don’t really hold it against them. It leans heavily towards huge breasts, but isn’t as egregious as many in the genre on that front and introduces more reasonable body types as it goes. The variety of outfits is also nice.

The writing is mature and the storyline is sensible considering the premise of a harem VN. As is typical, the MC is inexplicably a chick magnet, but they all develop actual relationships organically and each adds depth to the underlying plot and variety to the slice of life elements. They have different goals and personalities, different reasons for becoming attached to the MC, and continue to play their own parts after joining his "collection". Each warms up to the harem and BDSM aspects at her own pace, and the MC is very respectful and caring towards them, and treats his situation more like a fun kink than some kind of superiority complex towards women. There were several instances where the characters’ issues and their support or attitude toward each other really tugged at my heartstrings.

Even though the premise of a guy opening a cafe and fooling around with his staff seemed superficial on its face, I quickly became invested in the fate of each character, and I am genuinely intrigued by the, well, intrigue creeping up around them and pulling the MC into something much more substantial. It remains to be seen whether the writers can stick the landing and keep things interesting without expanding the harem to the point of absurdity. Hopefully the linearity will help them keep a firm grip on how the story develops and fully utilize each character.

As of 0.9, typos and other errors were also extremely few and mostly concentrated in the more recent releases, which helped keep the experience seamless.

I'm surprised at how much like the story, unlike some other VNs, this one doesn't has an overly complicated world taking or dimensional invasion plot, as far as it goes is very insular and mostly reserved to the city they reside.

The main girls and well developed now jumping to the MC bones at the first 5 minutes , the MC actually take his time to help, develop and even ease into their relationships, and while most scenes and quite vanilla at the beginning this keeps escalating , all the times with the girls willing to do more things as the story goes.

The MC actually acts like he cares for the girls and takes they opinions in account, this isn't your usually Pokemon harem story where the girls are mostly there to be fucked, he never tells them that he loves them but his action speak louder than his words.

The graphics are very good for the girls, I love that most of them look different, have great bodies and personalities that aren´t copied and pasted.

I really like the domination aspect, the good girls and spanking scenes work without feeling forced and awkward, you do get the feeling that the girls find comfort and solace in his treatment of them, being dominated in a light almost playful way and getting the love and attention that most of them lack.

I´d like to seem more of the sisterhood they seem to be developing but, so far it works for me.

The MC isn't a wet noodle, or asshole with a 20 inch horse dick, he actually mostly comes as a more or less normal guy that had a rough life and wants to me the best for himself and those he considers his own, he for a change seems to have a pretty decent idea of where he is and where he wants to go.

Perhaps the only subplot I find hard to believe is the one with the molesting the school teacher in the train, not that I don't find it hot, or like the domination scenes in the bathroom, its just that I don't find hard to believe that the teacher hasn't noticed its him and still seems to believe its an old man, that the only one I really find a really hard to believe.

The MC figure is one of the things I don't really like that much when he´s in his school uniform he looks weird too bulky in mi opinion compared to the lithe guy he usually looks without it, his face loos fine, but his dick looks like a sausage with a meathead most of the time (I know I'm being a little too picky, but it kinda annoying seeing that in the BJ or sex scenes)

Overall I would give it a 8.5 out of 10 with a potential to easily become a 9 or a 10 with some modifications to the MC, and further development of the story.

When I started this game, my thought was this guy gets it. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the bland plot. However, this game never tries to be anything more than some simple fun. There is no grand world shattering plot that so many VNs attempt and fail at. Sure the families are a kind of scheme but even that’s more locally than globally. Realistically this is niche Harem game where the following apply:

1. The MC makes sure to make it known that he is the ruler of his household without being rapey or abusive. Sure he’ll take the others opinions into account but he has final say.
2. The plot is actually going somewhere with there being smaller subplots that get resolved with major ones spread accross several chapters. Too often even excellent writers forget to stop the plot from dragging out. Looking games that are reaching a decade of dev without any end in sight.
3. The Harem doesn’t seem like it will devolve into Pokémon, where the number of girls never stops expanding, and even though there are stereotypical girls that’s fine as long as they have personalities and have not remained shallow. Even the quiet girl speaks volumes with what she doesn’t say.
4. The relatively vanilla male-dom actually works because not every game needs to go full hardcore and this one is actually refreshing since it’s a de-escalation.
5. It’s actually quite formulaic. There’s a lot of criticisms against this, but truthfully, they work when executed as intended.
6. There’s pregnancy planned in the future.
7. The smol (not the type of smol that shall not be named) tsundere.

Overall, I think this game was not made for the type of catch-all audience that many attempt. No this definitely a specific type of audience. Now are there flaws sure there are:

1. A lack of expressions that are needed to fully express and immerse the story.
2. HS engine this is a double edged sword because it’s relatively fast to work with but is also limited to what HS can do.
3. The number of settings/places have been limited so far.
4. There is still seems something holding the MC’s more aggressive nature. Almost akin to a mental block.

Still these flaws aren’t going to make me turn the rating lower. In fact, it serves as a constant reminder that graphics aren’t the number one thing.

This game is ... alright. I don't think it deserves the rating it has right now.
So starting with the sexual themes, it is as vanilla as it can get. You won't find any spice there. I won't be judging the game based on that though.

What I will judge this game on, are things such as poor presentation. Main screen, UI and everything else you would expect from a VN are really bland, no effort put there.
Another thing is the lack of outside world, we are stuck in the cafe, school and train station travelling back and forth. There are 2 times in about 6 or so hours of "gameplay" where we go somewhere else which makes everything really repetitive with time.
There are barely any dialogue choices and even when there are they don't really change anything.
Sex scenes are nothing to write home about same as renders.
Male models are probably the worst looking I have ever seen in a game, fortunately enough our MC's face is not shown.
When it comes to MC he doesn't stand out as well, pretty bland and boring character. Ordinary personality yet somehow attracts all the girls by barely doing anything.

Now for some positives:
Girls are definitely the main good thing about this VN. Pretty hot, each with their unique personality and problems. One thing I have problem with is the lack of expression on their faces, the game is circulating between 2 types, the shy one and normal expression.
Dialogues are coherent, non-cringy, quite well written. The story is okay. Music is pleasant to listen to.
Overall I enjoy the wholesome vibe even though it's not really my thing.

However it's to be expected sadly, a little dose of wholesomeness and your stereotypical harem and people will eat anything.

I rate it 3/5. I was even leaning towards 2/5 with how bland this game is right now but I quite enjoyed the company of Akatsuki, and looking forward to spending some quality time with her sister.

This is a game you will either love or hate... explained below

1) Developed in HS with typical HS models and animations that you will have seen in plenty of games before which could put some people off with how much futher along other games are nowerdays with their graphics.

2) Predicable character set (Shy one, slut but not slut one, angry one, or combos of the traits). This doesnt bother me, but again there is a sense of de-ja-vu as you feel like you have seen these characters in other games sometimes.

3) Girls are all a bit "easy" - dont get me wrong its a porn game so you expect lewd content, but there could be a longer build up considering how active the updates seem to be for this game... most LIs immedately want the MC, and the ones that "dont" you can clearly see do also.

SUMMARY

Do i like this game - Yes
Do i recommend this game - Yes if you like harem games
Could it be improved - Yes (pad out the story a bit more)

I am not a fan of the HS engine myself but this game is extremely playable and i do recommend it for fans of harem games (like me) hence my rating.

I'll get right to the point: Cosy Cafe basically has no redeeming qualities. The plot is poor, the characters are beyond cliche, the self-insert has all the charisma of a sex pest, and the visuals are atrocious. These problems are a dime a dozen in this genre, but the creator doesn't even bother to bake in lighting to at least make it look decent like other Honey Select-based VNs. The only bright spot I can see about the game is that there is a fair amount of it, but I can also also say the same about me taking a massive shit. I cannot fathom why this has such a high review score unless the game's quality in nearly every aspect dramatically improves beyond the first hour or two of gameplay.

This is such a lovely game to play.

The girls all have strong wants and needs, and problems they need to overcome. They're not notably deep, but they are all loveable and effective.

The light BDSM adds a bit of sauce, while still retaining the "cosy" theming.

The story is simple and a little cliche, but has, so far, been very well executed. It remains quite compelling.

The amount of content produced over the course of 20 months is impressive and laudible - however, that does lead me to my only complaint, and why it's not a five.

The author has clearly decided to avoid custom lighting in order to speed up the production process, and left it mostly on default (except for the bed time scenes). There's no depth of shadows, and it makes a lot of the images look quite flat.

Honestly, it might add a few weeks to dev time to set up some basic lights for each scene (with modification on character close ups), but for this reader, it would be worth it.

This is definitely one of the very few titles worth supporting financially. I encourage everyone to drop at least a month on Patreon, or make a donation on itch.

I like and enjoy these types of harem games.
* exceptional main story so far
* best characters
*good MC willing to play tough guy and caring at the same time
* relationships devolvement is not rushed and makes sense
* renders are good
* future tags look promising.

I give in my top 7 out of 100 games I enjoy.
will support dev when completed, been burnt too many times dev abundant game halfway or (unfinished, confusing, rushed) ending

Simply one of the best games I have played!

The story writing tugs to your emotions making you more immersed and invested in the girl's stories!

The only thing that might be odd is the character's mouth not moving while talking as compared to other games but I hardly notice after about 5 minutes into the game

Awesome work Cosy

By far the best game on here. Sure, the models might not be the prettiest, sure the backgrounds and settings might not be the most detailed, but the overall vibes, the comf-cosyness of this game is the best. Sex scenes arent rushed, and everything is paced really nice.

All in all, Peak.
First game I ever put in the cash for. Might be the only one.

An extremly pleasing game, with, as said below many times, very good and realistic characters, design and plot.
It's perhaps not the best game I've played, but it's in the 5 top.
And it's the firt time a game made me support his creator and check every week for the next update !
Many thanks to the dev

Edit after playing v0.12
Plot and characters have deepened in the last 8 months.. And when updates are frequent, they are not so frequent so I always enjoy playing from start each time. I can't think of more than one or two others games that have me hooked like this, even if most of the plot is quite standard.

I agree with reviews pointing out oddities in the renders (elbows!) but the dev is consistent and, yes, HS models aren't a new thing but I don't care: I love, Lucy's shyness, Vicky's pounting, Akatsuki'sq "Hm" and so one.

Please keep the godd stuff running!

Alright, afther 6 months or so without an update I change this review to 1/5 because this reflects the overall experience better. The game starts good, with interesting characters and premise, but after that the developer sinks into nonsentical politics game and after that this game abrubtly ends. And also this review.

10/10

One of the best Adult Game out there when in comes to story telling. If you're looking for a relaxing game with good story and cute character design. Then this game is for you. The scenes in the game comes in naturally and not forced and out of no where and this game just makes you want the MC to have the girls for himself.

A truly outstanding game with a relaxing/cosy vibe that will make you want more.

Surprisingly GOOD and VERY well written for a hentai game, despite of the first bit of the game is a bit bumpy, it guess it could happen when you start a game. However it only get better, I do not say that lightly, dev knows how to write a realistic and interesting story out of a simple background of a game, every girl are rich in personality, every scene are laid out very natural and the reactions/emotions felt like it would actually happen if it was to happen irl. Main character is not a simple guy as well, got some balls, has a standard and not easily get lusted, which you dont see often in a hentai game fs. If this game's dev get a better animation team to produce a better animated scene, they will be very success and be going very far!
Anyhow, do give it a try, it's a good time, i be skipping actual video games to play this, and I read every line in the game.
I love Sarah and Akatsuki~

pretty wholesome story with cute girls and typical honeyselect animations (which is not bad per se but gets kinda boring if you have seen them already in a lot of other games) but the biggest problem for me with this game is that the player can't really choose anything and i know it has a kinetic novel tag but it does not help the game to make it kinetic when in the end of the day every girl has the same fetish, they are all sub, like spankings and talk about the mc as their ‘master’ so you get a bunch of girls that have a different persona but kind of like more or less the same.

furthermore is the main character a bit weird, sometimes he seems well-mannered and relatively grown-up for his age, sometimes rather childish and cringe. to really enjoy this game you should have a bdsm fetish bc it is focused on it and you must be fine with forced LI's (this also includes the less attractive ones) everyone has a different taste but by making a harem game without any choices you have to deal with whatever girl the dev throws at you.

all in all not bad and recommendable for people that don't have a problem with such things, just not my cup of tea .

Nice looking LI models, good interactions and personality development. Well planned out plot and story line. Nice first time sex scenes.
I have not completed the VN yet but I am in the process. While it indicates it is primarily focused on maledom, thus far, it seems to ramp up more and more BDSM (mostly spanking every few minutes) and domination, lots of BJ scenes, catering to those fetishes more so than anything else. I would call this more of a niche VN for BDSM and male dom. fetishists more than anything else. With all the spanking going on it's a wonder any of the girls can sit down. The story begins to show it's true colors when it becomes obvious that the MC is about as bad as the psychologically traumatizing events the LI's already face in their normal lives. Basically, the MC sets himself up as seeming like he cares, then shows that he enjoys humiliating and hurting women, then gives the LI's a non-choice to stay with his manipulative methods of showing he seems to care vs. returning to the already bad circumstances they were already in. It goes a bit over the top for those of us that have absolutely no interest in such things. Would have been nice to have more options for fetish vs. non-fetish (and less ambivalent-territorial manipulative behavior) interactions to hold attention for a larger and more varied audience. Not everyone wants to leave red handprints all over women and be called master while just getting a BJ while making women think they have a choice between a manipulative relationship or a manipulative relationship. It's gotten to the point that I gloss over the spanking and blowjob scenes just to see if anything more interesting is happening later on but now that I have gone further I just find I have little interest in continuing to the end. Other than that, it is a solid story, just not for everyone.

One of the best games on this site. The characters are all well written, and the character growth is unheard of in this format. Each of the characters has their own vibrant personalities and unique charms. The MC is written in a way that makes you root for him and all his girls.

Great novel. You definitely have to go into this game understanding that you're going to be largely reading a visual novel. The game doesn't even attempt to get flashy with features, audio, crazy animations or anything of the like; because that's not what it's about, Cosy Cafe 100% commits to just being a visual novel.

And so with that understood, visual novels have to sell two things very well: visuals, duh', and the uh... novel part. And it does these two really well.

The visuals are honestly pretty simplistic renders with fairly simple meshes, animations and so on, but, the artist takes what is largely just simple tools to craft very charming, unique characters that do so well to draw the eye you frankly couldn't give less of a shit that the background characters are silhouettes and that most of the environments and lighting are butt ugly. If these were fixed and improved, I honestly doubt the VN would improve at all; it'd be a waste of good talent.

Second, and the main meat; the writing is great. Good writing is sort of mandatory for a successful VN, and this knocks it out of the park. The pacing is slow at the start but ramps up quite quickly (a tap quick IMO, but honestly still better pacing than 99% of the stuff out there), the characters each have their own personalities and stories and paces of being drawn into the MC, the MC is cheeky and confident without being too arrogant or haughty, and the story is really focused. The cafe, the girls, the families. That's what is important, and the rest is breezed over without a care (school work, etc.) or is a welcome change of pace (Rachel's garbage, Miss Takamura meetings, etc.)

What really got me was when Akatsuki went missing for a couple days, I straight couldn't put the VN down until we got her back. It was so dead obvious what the writer was trying to do with pulling her out, but it worked so damn well, and she re-integrated quite nicely. Thats when I knew the writing was quality.

Personally, my favorites are Akatsuki and Sarah. I love the cool distant and the feisty tsundere types.

Good job Cosy. 5 stars well-earned.

Wow, I'm really enjoying Cosy Cafe! The story has me hooked, especially because the characters are so interesting. All the girls are definitely standouts; they are gorgeous.

The visuals are also impressive. The character models are beautiful, and the environments are well-designed. The animation is smooth and adds to the overall experience.

Overall, this is a fantastic game! It easily gets a 100 out of 10 from me haha. The characters are engaging, the story is interesting, and the visuals are top-notch. Definitely worth checking out!

Honestly, not a bad read. Like how linear the story is. Which let me just enjoy reading instead of making a million choices. Also quite like the MC and how responsible and take charge he is. Love the respect and value he show to his partner, and how open and communicative he is with them

Early renders i did notice that it was still kinda stiff but it got soo much better. So kudos to the developer cozy creator for coming so far and for their dedication to this project