Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly

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When I first played Coffee Talk back in 2020 it was during the…um, extended “staycation” we don’t like to talk about. There was something about it that immediately stuck with me. I’m not sure if it was the strange simplicity of its design and how it meshed with the surprising complexity of the stories, or the unique characters in the neat urban fantasy setting, or the way the experience felt like this dull, cozy roar in the best possible way. I love visual novels and Coffee Talk was just what I needed.

In preparation for reviewing the sequel I replayed it again and my opinions haven’t changed. This time, though, I got to enjoy the comforting low-fi vibes after a stressful day of being back in the office.

via YouTube

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly picks up three years after the end of the first game. You’re back in the saddle as the barista of Coffee Talk, a late-night coffee shop in the rainy city of Seattle that serves a curious clientele. Right off the bat, we see a friend from the first game, Officer Jorji, waiting out a particularly bad rainstorm in the cafe. As he converses with you, a newcomer, Lucas, appears. The storm makes the power in the shop a little wonky and ends up failing, leaving everyone in the dark as another newcomer, Riona, appears. Thus begins a new chapter of serving caffeinated bliss, hearing stories from old and new customers alike, and caring for and handing over items left behind.

Just like the first game, the gameplay consists of two parts: interacting with customers and making drinks. Interacting with customers is pretty self-explanatory. You’ll click through the dialogue of each character as they talk about their lives and read along. This time around you can now get items from characters. They may forget them, lose them, or give them to you to give to someone else; you’ll put them in a drawer to work with when necessary. It’s important to pay attention to dialogue so you can figure out when you need to hand an item over, because you only get one chance.

Then, we have the drink making portion. You’ll usually do this about three times per day in the game. A character will tell you what they want – usually by giving you a general idea of a recipe or ingredients – before you’re faced with a shelf of ingredients. New to this game are hibiscus tea and butterfly pea tea (hence the game’s title,) which allow you to expand your recipe list. Each drink will have three components, consisting of one base (such as coffee, chocolate powder, or tea) and two mix-ins (honey, mint, milk, and the like).

Characters will usually ask for something general like “something colorful and sweet” or “like a pumpkin spice latte.” That last one is real, by the way, and no, you don’t have pumpkin at your disposal. Once you brew your drink, you’ll have a chance to flourish it with latte art – though I wasn’t very good at it – and if necessary, you can trash the drink and start over.

It often takes a few tries to figure out a request that’s more vibe than ingredients, but that’s okay! There isn’t any real penalty for not making what a customer wants beyond them saying they aren’t a fan. You might miss out on a few extra scenes, but you can always go back and try again. After all, Coffee Talk Episode 2 is as short as its predecessor, meaning it takes about four hours to finish, so with another four hours you can find what you missed the first time around.

As with all visual novels, storytelling is key, and many of the storylines and characters carry over from the first game. The setting takes place in an urban fantasy setting where humans, orcs, elves, satyrs, banshees, and all other manner of mystical creatures live in harmony. Or at least, they tolerate each other. Each character has a story to tell. Riona is trying her hardest to combat the discrimination she receives online and in real life on her journey to become an opera singer. Lau and Baileys have resolved their issues from the previous game, but are now struggling to figure out their fast approaching wedding. Officer Jorji is dealing with a string of potentially supernatural vandalism cases while trying to figure out how to connect with and understand his daughter.

Coffee Talk is definitely in the slice-of-life genre, following people living out their day to day lives and coming to you for a warm drink and a listening ear. There are many running themes throughout, with a heavy emphasis on relationships of all kinds and the stresses they come with. We see discrimination against certain groups, such as banshees in Riona’s case and aliens in Silver’s case, and how this impacts the daily lives of the characters. There’s discussions of fame and social media and the impact they have on society. I appreciate the way these themes and ideas are folded into the incredibly mundane dialogue of the cafe patrons. There’s an incredible realism in Coffee Talk that makes it so interesting to play; it really sets itself apart from other visual novels in this regard.

Another great part of the game is the soundtrack from Andrew Jeremy. The first game was well known for its low-fi tracks that absolutely nailed the atmosphere of a little coffee shop in a rainy town in the middle of the night. Coffee Talk Episode 2 continues this trend, with the added bonus of being able to listen to the soundtrack using an app on your in-game phone. Listen to your favs any time while playing and enjoy the serene mix of ambient rain and smooth music. I particularly liked Pardon My Words and Heartfelt Smile, though the entire score is great for easy listening, both while playing and while going about your daily tasks.

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly is a perfectly cozy continuation of its predecessor that keeps everything that made the first game so great with some delicious additions like collecting items and new ingredients. Its deceptively simple story is brought to life with an excellent visual and audio design within a world so similar, yet so unlike, our own. Coffee Talk understands that sometimes, you just want to hear a story over a warm drink with some colorful characters while some chill beats and rain can be heard in the background.