Developer: Ivy Road
PS5 Review
*Disclaimer: I was sent the code for this game on PS5 in return for a review, all opinions are mine and mine alone.
Hello, fellow cosy game lovers, today I bring you the ultimate tea-making cosy game that we all need, this beautifully put-together game is not only about tea but also change whilst surrounded by a magical forest. Our main protagonist finds herself here after becoming a fallen soldier, Alta is seen running as fast as she can and finding herself in this magical world, she is given a chance to remain there and recover until she is ready to leave. She unenthusiastically accepts, but this isn't the place she wants to stay, she desperately wishes she was somewhere else.
The tea shop is managed and owned by Boro, he seems like a friendly soul with nothing but good intentions, I found his gentle personality to be calming and give off good energy, Alta doesn't seem to be sold, her head is very much in conflict yet Boro has a way with words that pushes her to carry on working at the shop and learn more. It's clear that Alta is stuck, the more she runs away the more the forest keeps her trapped and stops her from leaving, but Boro is there to pick up the pieces. It's clear that Alta has no choice but to slow down, she may be trapped somewhere she doesn't want to be, but maybe there is a reason for it?
Let's Make Some Tea!
Tea making goes hand in hand with the main story of Wanderstop, there is a lot to learn and we have plenty of time for it. Tea seems like a pretty simple drink to make, right? But when it's made from scratch a lot of heart and soul goes into the process, farming being the main thing, there are no premade teas being delivered here so this means learning the process. I quite enjoyed the learning process, Boro is a big help and the more you progress the more is added to your field guide and library. At times it did feel a lot like a tea-making simulation, this isn't a bad thing though, it made the experience feel more fun.
Players will find that exploration is important, they will come across resources throughout the game which they come in handy for future use especially tea leaves that are growing wild outside of your allocating growing plot, they're always spawning so you have a constant supply to collect. At times I found it was trial and error, I would forget how to do something and have to double-check the right way, slowing down when playing helps me mostly with this, customer requests are not always the simplest of tasks in real life let alone in a magical tea shop.
The process of making tea can be learnt pretty quickly, the one thing that takes the longest is waiting for the tea leaves to turn into balls, growing the fruits and plants to add to the tea is quicker, you just need to work out the right combination to spawn the right plant. The more tea you brew, the more the tree brewing machine will bloom with plants and flowers, it began to look so blooming pretty.
Not everyone wants tea though, those who pass through are just there to tell their own story, others need a cup of tea and I have always found that sitting down and talking with a nice brew has helped calm my nerves and lifted a load off of my chest, in fact as I write this I'm sat here at 7.42am typing away with a lovely cup of tea made by my fiancé that he makes me every morning, tea is pretty much a staple in this house and in my life.
Let's Get Into it!
I wasn't sure what to expect once I got past the basics of the game, but I was pleased to see just how smooth sailing gameplay was, for some the motion of the game may become too much which is why I was so happy to see the accessibility options, Ivy Road have made sure to implement motion sickness options, colourblind settings and dyslexia settings. Why is this important? Well because not everyone has the same needs, simple options like these are the bare minimum games can offer when it comes to accessibility and for indie games to offer these options it just goes to show that AAA developers have no excuses not to implement them.
The wording used throughout the game is clear, when explaining how to farm and brew tea the instructions were easy enough to follow, I've played games that took me a long time to grasp due to how poorly worded the instructions were. The field guide is the biggest help, it has visual instructions which are far easier to follow for me.
I never felt that Wanderstop was repetitive, each time I had to craft up another brew I was excited to do so, the process was relaxing which is the main thing I look for in a cosy game, I was so relaxed I would find myself wondering around just to look at how pretty the graphics in the game were, I loved picking up the puffins and running around with them, I'm not too sure they enjoyed it as much as I did though. They would sometimes be holding on to something and you can shake them to make them let get, great little feature including them like that.
Collectables can be found throughout the game, you can use them to decorate your store and early on you're given a camera to take pictures with and fill the walls of the shop, Boro loves to keep things personal and these touches give it more of a personality and shows how much the community of tea drinkers means to him as a shop owner. Making time for customers is important and taking time out of Alta's day to speak and help them pulls Alta out of her shell and her moody persona.
Switching between tools, seeds, plants and miscellaneous took me a little while to get used to, I would end up accidentally dropping things and wondering where I placed them. Lucky for me the post box returns what is lost and I would just have to click on it to get any missing items back. The feature I love most is highlighting characters with the click of a button, it means I don't have to spend ages looking for the customer or Boro.
Lessons in Life
I found the message within Wanderstop to be very compelling, Alta is clearly struggling and she has hit a wall, she is in a constant battle with herself going around in one big loop, the burnout is real and she needs to learn to slow down as it's getting her nowhere. For many of us in life, this is our reality, we are given no choice but to slow down and often it can lead to not only our mental health deteriorating but also our physical health. The develops (Ivy Road) were able to get this message across in a very clever way, they use Alta's need to keep going and escape the forest whilst being trapped as a way to show players that Alta needs to see she has reached her limit, she needs to make a change.
Wanderstop is a truly beautiful game, it has the right balance of interaction and gameplay, I never felt bored or like the game dragged and always had something to do, even if Boro told me there was nothing to do when I asked him what I do next. I could just simply walk around and find a job that needed doing and for me that was perfect. Why not come and immerse yourself in the tea life and try out Wanderstop it's out now on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox.
Have a cosy day
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