VN - Ren'Py - Cosy Cafe [v0.13.1 EA] [Cosy Creator]

Heckin' wholesome harem vibes with a dash of light kink. What's not to like?

The writing is serviceable, I like all the girls - they might be tropey but if it ain't broke and all that.

Visually the game is generally good but if you work with Honey Select you get what you get in terms of the male models all looking some degree of freaky. Also neither here nor there but at least some of the girls have kinda crusty looking elbow textures. Maybe that's just a Honey Select thing and I never noticed it before, but figured it worth mentioning just in case.

Anyway - dig the game and can hardly wait for future updates.

Review of v0.8.1

Just absolutely fantastic. I had no idea that this would blow me away like it did. Wholesome, but with enough edge to keep things interesting. Loved the aesthetic, the visuals, the characters, the plot, everything. Unlike most wholesome games, the mc has a strong dominant streak, and it actually works with his character and kept the sex hot as fuck. I did feel like he could be more romantic, so I'm hoping we see more of that in the coming updates.

In case you don't know what a kinetic novel is, it means the game has no choices which have any lasting effect, they just alter a bit of dialogue. Didn't stop me from loving it.

An interesting novel that goes against the grain compared to the usual stories about a 18yo HoneySelect Harem Hero. While the main genre of the novel may be recognizable as male dominance, the actual story here is about a reasonable protagonist with a secure and dominant personality, who unwittingly, and for reasons that he couldn't even being to guess, has to fill some big shoes and resist the influence of those who want to use him as a pawn.

The main attraction of the novel is the protagonist. I will talk more about him later, but it's important to understand what this VN is so you won't go into it with false expectations.
- It's a linear story so don't expect choices to alter it in any serious capacity.
- While the girls have personality, MC eventually binds them to him and they are more than happy to submit (for the most part)
- This isn't about a young restaurant owner. The restaurant is a wrapper for the political intrigue that happens in that part of the world.
- No skirt chasing. It doesn't matter how big the cast is, the focus is on MC and his harem of select girls who either agree with or submit to him.
- There may be times in the story that MC seems to get preferential treatment out of nowhere. It's not just plot armor.

So what is this game about?
As I said in the prologue, there is a lot of political intrigue here. It's localized in the city that the game takes place and the main actors are the "families". The control many aspects of the local economy, and MC has ties to them without knowing anything about it.
MC is a 18 yo in the last year of high school, although he doesn't care much about it. He attends because he has to, but his goal is to build up the restaurant and follow his grandfather's footsteps.

One thing you will notice quite early, is that MC does not act as the typical 18 yo. The game tries to explain the behavior by adding conflict to his background and having been trained by his grandfather in arbitrary things, mainly including cooking. In my opinion, MC is way too mature and knowledgable for his age. He does everything with a practiced ease, he is on top of things and doesn't allow anyone to coerce him. Perhaps it would be better if he was 5-6 years older, but this is a nitpick.

He has one of the more dominant personalities I've ever seen in a VN. And by dominant, I don't mean it in a BDSM sense. He isn't your typical "alpha male" who always gets into trouble, gets all the girls, fights his enemies head on. He is more of a "sigma" styled protagonist. He is more likely to stay in the sidelines, pick his fights, observe before acting and dismiss anyone who's behavior isn't compatible without compromises. This allows him to be highly resistant to manipulation. He exercises a lot of control over his girls and tries his best to keep them happy once they submit.

This behavior is perfect for the story. While you will have to stomach the upper-class caricatures which are like that by design, there's a fair amount of intellect and scheming, along with a sense of change in the horizon. It's subtle but the story gives the impression that this city has been a boiling pot for quite some time and now that a new player appeared, some of them are trying to control the new narrative, while others try their best to stay in power.

All in all, this is a story about an exceptionally competent young adult who is passionate about his dream and his winning personality is a magnet for a host of repressed girls that he has a talent for "curing". He gives them a patriarchical style of security (mainly emotional, but also financial and physical) and in return he gets help for his restaurant. Through this dynamic, sexual relationships emerge where girls eventually submit to his dominant personality.

What about the girls?
The operating word here is "cute". The main themes behind their personalities is shyness, bullying, mean behaviors, proper behaviors and excessive parental control. The majority of them seem like being wrapped in a shell of of inferiority that the MC will eventually break and mold them exactly as he likes, liberating them and uplifting them depending on their circumstances.


Lucy - The first girl you meet, a shy little thing who is abused by her mother. MC shows her kindness and gives her responsibilities that she is more than willing to accept. She is clingy in a cute way and thanks to MC she is "allowed" to explore the finer points of her personality.
Victoria - She starts of as one of the mean girls but it turns out that this is mostly a facade, although she does have some bitchy behaviors. She wants to be independent so she asks MC for a job, but he drives a hard bargain and forces her to be nice to Lucy, creating problems with her old "friends".
Sarah - The lastborn of a founding family. She has some image issues and the cuttthroat nature of her environment has made her a hard character to approach, as she pushes people away. MC approaches her for help with the waitress uniforms and their relationship becomes a target for her father.
Akatsuki - She meets MC due to her father's schemes to do some "corporate espionage" but things happen in the meantime that make her rethink this whole situation.
Akari - The sister of Akatsuki, a very competent cook who seems to be very well adjusted. She works for her father but she doesn't care too much about his schemes and is supportive of Akatsuki's relationship with MC.
Rachel - The resident feminist, giving MC a lot of grief for no reason. No one takes her seriously and lately this seems to have created chinks in her armor.
Alison - Daughter of a founding family and a complicated character who used her connections to become the headmistress of the school. She wants something from MC but she strings him along for quite a while till MC pressures her into coming clean.
Hannah - Alison's sister who is in an arranged marriage. Alison doesn't like that so she attempts to use MC to get her out of it. Hannah is described as indecisive and fairly quiet but she does have a willingness to excel.
Catherine - An entitled girl who does whatever her rude and intense mother wants her to do. Once MC is known to be a firstborn of a founding family, her mother forces her to tail MC around and make him marry her. Things aren't going to be that easy for her though.
Misaki - The teacher of MC's class, a shy girl incapable of commanding attention and controlling her class. She has a bit of an exhibiotinism kink that MC discovers on accident.


You will like this novel if you like Dominant Protagonists, cute submissive girls in distress and drama driven by political intrigue and power plays.

Not much choices but pretty good story so far, likeable characters, a somehow credible harem (not my favorite tag but this one is good), I'll be waiting for the next updates eager for more of cosy cafe.

Peak visual novel right here!!!

No over-complications and an mc with the ability to think.
it's that type of game where you can relax and just read, without worrying that somehow the mc is gonna let you down because he acts differently to justify the new content or fit the narrative. No. The MC's character is probably a great reference to be a badass. Enough about the MC

Beautiful Models and great story telling. A lot of versatility on the content. Easily one of the best game out there for me

I'm going to review this in no small part to criticize some things constructively.

In general, really enjoyed the whole thing, everything other than the ones that I will write down below:

(Story-Pacing) is kinda odd, especially at the beginning. Some things are moving too fast with some of the characters, sometimes it feels less organic and more because it is a convenient outcome to progress the plot (and the sexy stuffs of course!). We got bitch number 1-3 here, but in 3 days they turn to slave, girlfriend, and fiance-to-be, for example.

(Girls' Faces) are real pretty, but one thing: I hardly ever see them teeth (not my fetish, swear to God). Them titties are great, but with the girls just smiling (and sometimes pouting) instead of more dynamic expressions (like showing them teeth when smiling) can make them much prettier in my opinion.

Tl;dr all peachy, great content. Just wish the plot can be developed more organically and the girls' faces can be more expressive! I really hope the next updates can take a slower pacing (and hey, more content to enjoy), but hopefully can still strike a balance between too slow/fast. Love the work so far!

Story 9/10 : not a s tier story but at least a tier
Great pacing and story of girls

Characters 10/10 : great characters standout eg
Akatsuki

Music 8/10 : not drifty level of music but decent

Romance 10/10 : wholesome as fuck even if it's a
Male domination

Sometimes one just wants to relax with no complex
Choices or high stakes plot hence cosy cafe got you
Covered

Choices do not affect plot hence a simple but satisfying
Experience

Great story, one of few games that I actually read it.

All characters are good, and story is okayish. The only low of this game is the fact of the models in all scenes keeps the mouth closed, which end being a little bit weird, but not destroy your experience.

Also, the game is slow, but when it get started in H content, it goes pretty well.

This is my review for Cosy Cafe [v0.8] [Cosy Creator] .

The good

• Renders are looking good
• Music
• Writing is ok
• Big amount of content 5+ hours
• Animations

The bad

• Nothing

In conclusion, 5 stars worth playing.

The LIs are simply lovely, every single one of them, which in itself is something good. Now the fact that they have each their own personality and own dynamics with MC makes it all the better.

Renders are top notch quality, the models are gorgeous - well, the female ones, but who's looking at the dudes?

Story wise I must admit that I don't find myself that invested, but the girls think it's important, so I get round to it for them. Not a convoluted narrative, not over the top shenanigans, more depth than the average slice of life. But to be honest, it doesn't need to be more than what it is.

Lastly, the wholesome feeling I've got from playing this game is not something I was expecting when booting it up. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. You get the traditional boner, but also a boner in your heart...

I regret sleeping on this masterpiece for so long just because it had the "Kinetic Novel" tag. Cosy Creator is telling a very finely-woven narrative, and now having experienced it I wouldn't have it any other way. There's an overarching plot that our MC is a major part of, but at the same time fluffy moments abound. I absolutely love the balance of romantic/erotic and other content in this novel.

I especially like that the MC isn't just banging brainless dolls and then moving on. We build actual relationships with each girl, both separately and together. I think the novel's single greatest strength is its characters - every single one of the girls is so lifelike, unique, and attractive. My personal favorite is Victoria (the blonde in the preview images), who quickly becomes a playful, loving slave-girlfriend and has massive, perfectly-shaped tits. Our MC is also a character in his own right, determined and dominant, which I think is one of the strengths of this novel being kinetic.

This feels like a love letter to harem fans: all of the main LIs are virgins when you meet them, no other man ever touches them, and since it's a kinetic novel you're guaranteed to get all the girls you're supposed to without having to worry about a wrong choice locking you out of anyone's route. Each girl is also really well-balanced content-wise - once she's in, she's there to stay, and you'll "interact" with her frequently, from a drive-by spanking to full on sex. Nobody ever gets forgotten or left out.

It's also one of the best-looking visual novels I've ever played through; the models are incredibly beautiful and clearly carefully crafted, the lighting/shading is on point, and the animations are smooth and varied. Given the sheer quality of every aspect of this novel, there's also an incredible amount of content. I spent about eight hours reading over two days (split into several sessions as I waited for my stupid refractory period), and by the end of the weekend my dick was sore but extremely satisfied, which I think is what we're all really here for.

In short, for me personally, this is a perfect game. There's nothing at all that I would change, and I hope Cosy keeps the good times coming for years.

this guy cooking, cosy, relaxing, funny and cute.
the way dev handles close up camera is just *chefs kiss* super nice.
emotions delivered by the girls are also nice, probably the nicest one i've seen since Now and Then.

First time reviewing. I could've reviewed one of the juggernauts like Eternum but honestly this game is so true to its name. It's cosy. the characters are fine, the setting is fine and the plot verges on harem power fantasy but that's what we're here for, right?

The girls manag to be just cute and likeable enough not to just be a walking cardboard cutout trope, and the story is just interesting enough that I look forward to each update. It's no Leap of Faith or Artemis, but sometimes you just want something simple and.. wel, cosy, and this game delivers that on all fronts for me.

Wow what a game. Easy 5 star. I enjoy the setting and interactions with the girls so much that I would read this even without any of the H scenes. In fact the H scenes are probably the weak point of this VN. They feel a little out of place in the early game. The MC is so caring and loving to Lucy but then he switches into light BDSM mode out of nowhere. Choices are pretty arbitrary, this story is on rails but that's not an issue for me. Can't wait to see where the story goes.

Updated Review based on 0.12:

Things I mentioned below which made me give only 4 stars have been resolved since then. Characters are not falling that easily for the MC anymore and the character progression of Characters like Hannah or Catherine are great to read.
I also kind of started to like the Founding Family-plot. I still think it is stupid, but in an in-universe-way. If I would live in the game, I would find the founding families a bit laughable, but it makes for a good story point.

This is a 5 star game and it deservers all 5 stars.

Review based on 0.8:

A mixed bag for me. I think the game has things which are exceptionally good, but also some weaknesses which I cannot ignore. Those weaknesses draw me away from giving 5 stars, but I cannot really justify anything less than a (strong) 4 for this game, just due to the writing of the MC and the characters.

I think the characters are pretty well-written (for the most part) so far. There is quite a diversity of LIs, even tho they are not really unique. You have a shy person, a confident girl, a tsundere, some drama and so on. This is nothing new, but a VN does not need to create something new to be well-written.

Characters are attractive, especially the main-LIs.

The things that bother me is how quickly people fall for the MC. I get that this is a Harem game, but they are instantly falling for him. Which is kinda lame. Let alone that they are very quickly fond of the idea to form a Harem, something which usually ends up being Endgame-Content in other games.

I am also not a big fan of the plot around the founding families. I get that it is there to create the story, but it just sounds too far off for me. Because in the end, there is some nobody who does not even have money who is suddenly such an important person. Let alone in a small town and not something big. So, I dont know, looks more like a cult or something similar to me, but nothing which should be taken seriously.

But then again, I cannot say that I dislike the story so far, so the complaints are not that massive.
The one thing that bothers me when it comes to visuals is that facial expressions are pretty rare. A person is shocked and has the same facial expression as before. I think those can get some work.

So yeah, overall, solid game, but I cannot just give it 5 stars because of issues which are bothering me. But I understand the fanbase and why people are able to give 5 stars.

This is an excellent game. Domination stuff is rarely done well, but this is. Everything is fully consensual, and, ultimately, done for reasons of pleasure, not to establish power.
The writing is good, and the story is too.
I do not like the stuff with Ms. Takamura, so I delayed writing a review for a few updates. Ultimately, it's consensual, even if it's not a turn-on for me, so I don't feel any need to knock a star off, even if it's stuff that I would never do.

Edit: I'm starting to kind of like the newer stuff with Ms. Takamura.

It's samey. Stereotypical characters. All the girls fall for the MC for no reason... there's the shy one, the bitch one, the yadayadayada... we've been there a million times.

Some of the humor is actually quite good and the MC is better written than in other games like it - which isn't really hard to do, to be fair. But in the end, it's another male power fantasy with needy one-dimensional women.

Been there.

What a delightful game. The art is good, but the writing is incredible. It's so rare to see such believable, developed (yet individual) characters across any media. I'm eagerly awaiting every upcoming release.

This is a completely shit garbage video game. Well, like any Kinetic Novel. It has no mechanics and pretty much no choices (They are only there to avoid spanking. Like, who the futsch does that!?!).

So since we now have that out of they way we come to the reason why I put up with completely shit video games that don't even have real time rendering.
Because I play games for the story. Whether it be the ingame one or the role playing in my head.

And Cosy Café does deliver what the name implies as long as you like maledom and spanking. Which looking at my rating I apparently do.

You play as a rather refreshing confident but no asshole character that wears a way to large jacket.
And then you begin to build your harem of school girls. For the first few there isn't much convincing needed but I would guess that changes with more girls (its foreshadowed).

The game has light bdsm themes which imo barely make the tag worth it (at this point). Its mostly talking about bdsm stuff. It has a good amount of spanking. That is the main maledom theme.
Sidenote. When you read this Cosy Creator. Ffs if its the only thing aside from the music that has sound, please implement a spanking sound. It can be the same sound every time. Bonus point for a generic yelp afterwards.
Any spanking scene without sound is really weird imo. And if I am actually wrong about this and the game actually has a sound for this then ignore this section. (Since I played 0.8 yesterday I am relativly sure though that I am not wrong.)

In terms of content and progress:
Atm you can get 2 of the girls in the image on top of the main page as your girlfriend and a third in 0.8. The story is very much still in the setup phase. Progress with updates is ok. More on the slow side considering the amount of effort it takes to make a Cosy Café ingame Day vs some other games. But that's just my 2 cents. I may be wrong.

As of V0.7.1

To anyone who hasn't played it yet, just do, you won't be disappointed, that is one of the best game i've ever played.

Story : 5/5, far from over but the plot is really interesting so far and I can't wait for next. Writting is of really good quality (english isn't my language so there might be errors but, still, it's really well written).

Music/sounds : 5/5, really nice sounds overall and properly adapted to places and situations, even the spanking sounds changes.

Characters : 5/5, So many cuties it's impossible to have a fav. There are all clasics tropes you find in AVN (shy, cocky, insecure, etc), but it is really well done and they are all loveable and beautiful (well except this bitch Rachel, I'd hope she wouldn't be a part of it but well, tough life.) AND a nice MC that does not jump on every girls he sees (well, kind of ahah).

Renders : Imho, the game is really beautiful, I mean, just look at the screens and you'll see for yourself. I have no idea the time or skill it takes to make that, but that's really stunning.

H-Scenes : Not available for all LIs yet, but the ones here are of really high quality (just like the rest), and I am really eager to see more.

Finally, this is a dom/sub theme and, even tho I would not have thought i'd like it, it's not over the top (well a bit, but it's really, really, nicely done), and a Kinetic Novel ("nothing" to do as in there are no choice to do, no stat, no shitty sandbox to grind), while that may be a problem for someone, that was just what I was looking for : just a wonderful chilling game (for real, i've discovered it last week and already "played" (feels more like watching a movie if you go in auto mod) it twice.

An amazing job Cosy, and I hope to see more soon !

Edit V0.8 : What an awesome update, couldn't wait for it, and wasn't disappointed. Overall quality of the game is really improving (it was already top tier, but it's getting even better), be it in the renders, the sound effects, everything, and we finally get our little kitten back ! so, couldn't be happier and can't wait for more !