I think this game is pretty underrated, at least as far as renpy VNs go.
I went through the game in one sitting all the way to update 0.8. It honestly surprised me, since games like these usually devolve into something weird and twisted - considering the idea of being the "master" of a cafe.
The story is pretty neat. I don't think it's like god-tier, but the dev understood how to keep the story light-hearted while somewhat serious. You move into a new town, you're heir to grandfather's cafe, and turns out that grandfather also used to be a super important political figure. You get tangled in that mess. I do think that the whole plot with the Founding Families felt a little weird though. It feels sort of out of place after the more wholesome nature that the game started out with. I do understand that there's a need for some sort of conflict to keep the plot interesting and to eventually be conclusive, so I don't really mind it too much.
How I would describe this plot is:
40% Chilling and being cozy
40% Flirting/sex/s&m
20% (being from the more recent updates) Politics and families
I think 80% of this game is my kind of thing - since I don't love drama that much, so that it's kept on the down low in this game feels pretty perfect for me. This game is way more about the girls, not the drama.
I think the main character is fun. Honestly, I went in with sort of low expectations and the writing bordering on insanity. I think MC is honestly kind of a gigachad. He used to be a delinquent and he doesn't take anyone's shit or let anyone walk over him. Definitely a dom, considering all of the light S&M stuff happening throughout the story. I really think he's refreshing, since he hates all of the political bullshit and feels really grounded in reality. He can say some pretty cringe shit at times, but a LOT of games on this site have those sort of weird, "I'm a harem protagonist that thinks I have infinite rizz" lines. I will say that he does narrate and summarize some of the things he's telling other people. And I REALLY appreciate that, I don't need 10 textboxes of him telling other people what the hell happened or what x person told him, I literally WATCHED IT HAPPEN. It's great that all you hear is the people's reactions and nothing beyond that. The harem aspect is sort of out of nowhere to me. Then, you find out that it's really just how this world operates - most of the political families have weird rules and many of the Heads of those families have multiple wives too. I will say that it's a litte weird to see MC's friend group pursue polygamy, regardless of him or them ACTUALLY being apart of those crazy families/hierarchies of power.
The love interests are really cute and distinctive. I think Victoria is my favorite since she has the hottest scenes, but Lucy is probably tied with her since her scenes are adorable. Lucy has a really sweet personality and I think MC being considerate of her trauma is endearing (also her voyeur fetish is hot). Vicky is more of a "coming to terms with her fetishes" sort of gal. I think the other two so far, Akatsuki and Sarah are really interesting too. I kind of like the silent dynamic Akatsuki has going on with MC. I can appreciate it when a VN makes a girl that only speaks in two letters at a time still pretty expressive, despite the fact. Sarah is the typical tsundere, but she isn't harsh enough to the point of being irritating or abusive. She feels like a misunderstood girl that's just awkward with how she expresses herself. I think she's well done and her personality comes through as a result of her upbringing rather than her being a complete total bitch.
The renders might seem a little dated, for sure. But I think they're nice enough to carry scenes and the story. For the most part, they're fine. My only major issue with them are the characters' eyes. I can appreciate that the dev managed to make the characters' faces more expressive through subtle movements with the mouth and eyebrows., but at times, they feel like they have a thousand-yard stare into my soul. It's as if they're not really looking at MC but instead, staring at the wall or ground. I think that really adds to the facial expressions suffering much throughout the VN. It didn't bother me TOO much, but if I wanted one major thing to complain about - that'd be it. The animations are pretty nice. They're not SUPER animated, but they're not stiff either. They're flexible enough to convey the sex and that's good enough for me. That said, if you're looking for some rough, kinky sex - I think this game is more on the "sweeter side" of being in a relationship, rather than the crazy, degraded morals sort.
The music is fine, it's not annoying and changes from time to time. I did end up putting on some random cafe jazz playlist though. There are a couple of sound effects thrown in here and there. I do wish there were some sound effects during the sex scenes - but it ain't a dealbreaker.
Replay gallery is always nice. There's also a character bio menu, in case you're coming back to the game. Pretty good if you can't keep track of faces.
I think it's a 4.5/5. I rounded up a star, since I'm pretty biased for this game. It feels sort of underrated. It's simple, but it does what it sets out for - being about a cozy-ass cafe (with alot of S&M and sex). If the dev keeps up the quality with future updates, it's probably a 5/5.
I do think it's a bit of a shame it'll end soon, with it reaching 0.8 - but that's better than it taking years and years and turning into some irredeemable mess.
P.S. Also, I think that Brian, one of the major antagonists of the story, looks so fucking funny with his eyes crossed normally that I can't take him seriously half of the time he's threatening MC or the girls.
I went through the game in one sitting all the way to update 0.8. It honestly surprised me, since games like these usually devolve into something weird and twisted - considering the idea of being the "master" of a cafe.
The story is pretty neat. I don't think it's like god-tier, but the dev understood how to keep the story light-hearted while somewhat serious. You move into a new town, you're heir to grandfather's cafe, and turns out that grandfather also used to be a super important political figure. You get tangled in that mess. I do think that the whole plot with the Founding Families felt a little weird though. It feels sort of out of place after the more wholesome nature that the game started out with. I do understand that there's a need for some sort of conflict to keep the plot interesting and to eventually be conclusive, so I don't really mind it too much.
How I would describe this plot is:
40% Chilling and being cozy
40% Flirting/sex/s&m
20% (being from the more recent updates) Politics and families
I think 80% of this game is my kind of thing - since I don't love drama that much, so that it's kept on the down low in this game feels pretty perfect for me. This game is way more about the girls, not the drama.
I think the main character is fun. Honestly, I went in with sort of low expectations and the writing bordering on insanity. I think MC is honestly kind of a gigachad. He used to be a delinquent and he doesn't take anyone's shit or let anyone walk over him. Definitely a dom, considering all of the light S&M stuff happening throughout the story. I really think he's refreshing, since he hates all of the political bullshit and feels really grounded in reality. He can say some pretty cringe shit at times, but a LOT of games on this site have those sort of weird, "I'm a harem protagonist that thinks I have infinite rizz" lines. I will say that he does narrate and summarize some of the things he's telling other people. And I REALLY appreciate that, I don't need 10 textboxes of him telling other people what the hell happened or what x person told him, I literally WATCHED IT HAPPEN. It's great that all you hear is the people's reactions and nothing beyond that. The harem aspect is sort of out of nowhere to me. Then, you find out that it's really just how this world operates - most of the political families have weird rules and many of the Heads of those families have multiple wives too. I will say that it's a litte weird to see MC's friend group pursue polygamy, regardless of him or them ACTUALLY being apart of those crazy families/hierarchies of power.
The love interests are really cute and distinctive. I think Victoria is my favorite since she has the hottest scenes, but Lucy is probably tied with her since her scenes are adorable. Lucy has a really sweet personality and I think MC being considerate of her trauma is endearing (also her voyeur fetish is hot). Vicky is more of a "coming to terms with her fetishes" sort of gal. I think the other two so far, Akatsuki and Sarah are really interesting too. I kind of like the silent dynamic Akatsuki has going on with MC. I can appreciate it when a VN makes a girl that only speaks in two letters at a time still pretty expressive, despite the fact. Sarah is the typical tsundere, but she isn't harsh enough to the point of being irritating or abusive. She feels like a misunderstood girl that's just awkward with how she expresses herself. I think she's well done and her personality comes through as a result of her upbringing rather than her being a complete total bitch.
The renders might seem a little dated, for sure. But I think they're nice enough to carry scenes and the story. For the most part, they're fine. My only major issue with them are the characters' eyes. I can appreciate that the dev managed to make the characters' faces more expressive through subtle movements with the mouth and eyebrows., but at times, they feel like they have a thousand-yard stare into my soul. It's as if they're not really looking at MC but instead, staring at the wall or ground. I think that really adds to the facial expressions suffering much throughout the VN. It didn't bother me TOO much, but if I wanted one major thing to complain about - that'd be it. The animations are pretty nice. They're not SUPER animated, but they're not stiff either. They're flexible enough to convey the sex and that's good enough for me. That said, if you're looking for some rough, kinky sex - I think this game is more on the "sweeter side" of being in a relationship, rather than the crazy, degraded morals sort.
The music is fine, it's not annoying and changes from time to time. I did end up putting on some random cafe jazz playlist though. There are a couple of sound effects thrown in here and there. I do wish there were some sound effects during the sex scenes - but it ain't a dealbreaker.
Replay gallery is always nice. There's also a character bio menu, in case you're coming back to the game. Pretty good if you can't keep track of faces.
I think it's a 4.5/5. I rounded up a star, since I'm pretty biased for this game. It feels sort of underrated. It's simple, but it does what it sets out for - being about a cozy-ass cafe (with alot of S&M and sex). If the dev keeps up the quality with future updates, it's probably a 5/5.
I do think it's a bit of a shame it'll end soon, with it reaching 0.8 - but that's better than it taking years and years and turning into some irredeemable mess.
P.S. Also, I think that Brian, one of the major antagonists of the story, looks so fucking funny with his eyes crossed normally that I can't take him seriously half of the time he's threatening MC or the girls.