Affogato
- August 17, 2023
- Befun Studio
Affogato has a lot of great mechanics for exploration tied into its own coffee brew. There may be some difficulty spikes and a game that ties itself down after opening up, but overall it’s a great time.
"Affogato" is a single-player Fantasy Role Playing Game with exceptional story and sensational game mechanics. As a sorceress running a café, help customers overcome fears by entering their minds in reverse tower defense levels. Experience a wholesome story with beautiful anime graphics, marvelous music, and form special bonds with unique characters.
Reviews
- Innovative gameplay that combines reverse tower defense with barista and social simulation elements, providing a unique experience.
- Gorgeous artwork and a charming soundtrack that enhance the overall atmosphere of the game.
- Engaging character interactions and storylines that keep players invested, with relatable themes and humor.
- Difficulty spikes can be frustrating, especially in boss battles, leading to a lack of balance in gameplay.
- The coffee-making mechanic feels underutilized and lacks depth, often becoming a guessing game without clear guidance.
- Some UI and control issues, including hypersensitive controls and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, detract from the overall experience.
- story215 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of Affogato is a cozy and engaging narrative centered around a witch who runs a coffee shop, intertwining character development with a reverse tower defense gameplay style. While the main plot is enjoyable and features charming characters, some players feel that the coffee shop theme is underutilized, with gameplay often overshadowing the narrative. Overall, the story is well-written and relatable, though it can be hampered by quest management issues and a lack of depth in certain character arcs.
“I absolutely loved the characters in terms of their art, personality, and story development, especially with how each character's life is portrayed and Affogato's involvement in helping them.”
“The mix of genres keeps everything fresh and the story is engaging.”
“The story is relatable and not afraid to touch on serious topics, while combat hits the right balance of challenge and strategy.”
“The quest log only had space for a single quest at a time and would regularly override still active older quests with your rent payment deadline, which makes it hard to keep track of your story deadlines.”
“The story is fully voiced and accompanied by good music and art, but the story itself is quite nonsensical and the characters don't exist outside their own arcs.”
“The cafe management was sorely underused as well; the only time you really are a barista is during character hangouts and story moments, and not all the time either.”
- gameplay136 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Affogato" is centered around a unique reverse tower defense mechanic, which is both innovative and challenging, though it can feel repetitive and lacks synergy at times. While the game features charming characters and an engaging story, some mechanics, like coffee creation and certain level designs, are criticized for being underdeveloped or unintuitive. Overall, players find the gameplay enjoyable, especially on easier settings, but note that it could benefit from improved quality of life features and clearer mechanics.
“The gameplay is really fun, the characters are charming, and the story is engaging!”
“One of the most impressive debut titles I've ever played, Affogato is a game that executes masterfully on its refreshing reverse tower defense deckbuilding gameplay. It's such a fresh title that I feel no matter who you are, if you play it, you will enjoy it.”
“Challenging and unique gameplay, great art direction, decent music, charming and diverse characters.”
“Gameplay leans much more on the reverse tower defense side than the bartending side, and some level gimmicks are a pain to play through (seriously, timebombs are frustrating), but overall not too bad if you play on easy.”
“By the end of general playtime, gameplay feels a little thin, but it's not a chore to get through - figuring out a tough level can still be satisfying.”
“Repetition: battles very quickly begin to feel mind-numbingly repetitive, and while new battle mechanics shake things up a tad, you still follow the same formula 90% of the time.”
- music65 mentions
- 66 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its engaging jazz soundtrack and atmospheric qualities that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the unique blend of styles, including 90s city pop influences, and the adaptive music during battles, which adds an exciting layer to gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's charm and immersion.
“Between the distinct 2.5 dimensional characters and the jazz, neon-like background music, Arorua City comes alive and jumps out of the monitor screen.”
“The characters are charming, the music slaps, and the conversations you have with any of the characters make you care about the NPCs in a way you never thought you would.”
“The music is so good on its own that I bought the soundtrack to support the devs, and now it's my default work music.”
“The music gives off 90s city pop and TVB movie vibes.”
“Soundtrack is small but every single track hits the mark; I caught myself bouncing my head along to the battle theme too many times.”
“Very comfy to play at night with the atmospheric music and art.”
- graphics33 mentions
- 73 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their unique and aesthetically pleasing art style, with many reviewers highlighting the gorgeous artwork and modern vibe. The chibi graphics and tarot card designs are particularly noted for their charm, while the overall visual presentation is described as clean and engaging, reminiscent of popular styles like Arknights. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing the immersive experience alongside its compelling story and gameplay.
“The art style is top notch as well, would recommend.”
“The soundtrack is outstanding, art style clean and interesting.”
“Amazing artwork.”
“The overworld art style feels derived from Arknights while having a certain own take on the style.”
“Within that time, Affogato showcases many positives with its gameplay, visuals, and story, but some of the added content away from its refreshing reverse tower defense strategy gameplay is less fleshed out than it could be.”
- emotional12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game evokes a strong emotional response through its compelling characters and relatable storytelling, creating a cozy atmosphere that balances lightheartedness with moments of deeper, darker themes. Players often find themselves deeply engaged, feeling a mix of comfort and emotional resonance, particularly in relation to the game's focus on personal growth and connection. Overall, the emotional depth enhances the player's experience without overwhelming the wholesome vibes.
“If anything, the game makes me feel comfy, and when the topic of the quest gets dark, I get emotional.”
“I definitely am too emotional, but what's not to like in the story and the characters themselves?”
“Super emotionally compelling characters.”
- humor10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by clever dialogue, fourth-wall breaks, and ironic situations, such as the absurdity of purchasing furniture that becomes irrelevant after the final battle. While the comedic elements, particularly from the character Mephista, provide levity, they can clash with the darker themes of the story, such as suicide. Overall, players find the humor both entertaining and thought-provoking, often evoking strong emotional responses.
“The dialogue includes some very funny shout-outs and fourth-wall leans, and it outright breaks the fourth wall once or twice.”
“Purchasing furniture is also hilarious, because as soon as you finish the final battle, you can never re-enter the store again, which renders buying them quite unnecessary.”
“I'm not sure why, but I find it ironic, funny, and somewhat poetic too.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the character design and user interface are praised for their quality, the standout feature in character development is the use of tarot cards, which adds a unique and engaging layer to the characters' growth and narrative.
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players report that the grinding aspect of the game becomes excessively demanding, particularly after a significant story event, where the difficulty spikes unexpectedly. This leads to prolonged periods of grinding, with some players spending hours on repetitive attempts to defeat challenging bosses.
“I played through on normal difficulty most of the way, and after saving Ema and Moon, the difficulty takes a drastic spike out of nowhere. Standard non-boss story fights took me tens of retries, and the next major boss took 3 hours of constant grinding to try and beat.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its cozy and immersive qualities, enhanced by atmospheric music and art, making it particularly enjoyable to play at night.
“Very comfy to play at night with the atmospheric music and art.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through the ability to unlock secret storylines by paying attention to customer interactions, encouraging players to revisit the game for different experiences. Players can enhance their gameplay by utilizing luck and intuition to discover content they may have missed during their initial playthrough.
“Pay close attention to your customers that you serve it to, and with a bit of luck and intuition, you can unlock secret storylines, adding to the replayability of the game if you didn't get them the first time!”
“The game lacks significant changes in story or gameplay on subsequent playthroughs, making it feel repetitive after the first run.”
“Once you've experienced the main storyline, there isn't much incentive to replay, as the outcomes remain largely the same.”
“While there are some secret storylines to discover, they don't add enough depth to encourage multiple playthroughs.”
Critic Reviews
Affogato
In summary, Affogato manages to offer an experience that does not overstay its welcome, clocking in around 14 or so hours including many battle restarts. Within that time, Affogato showcases many positives with its gameplay, visuals and story, but some of the added content away from its refreshing reverse tower defence strategy gameplay is less fleshed out than it could be. Still, Affogato is a good time, a solid blend of different elements that come together to bring a tasty offering that fans of such genres will most likely enjoy. Affogato is a value-worth, bite-size alternative to the big guns available on the market, and sometimes people just want that from time to time.
70%Affogato Review – Cute, coffee-filled JRPG
Affogato takes the much-loved Persona formula and runs with it, adding its own twists to the story and gameplay to be unique. The time management and character relationships are familiar gameplay elements, but the story and combat truly stand out. The story is relatable and not afraid to touch on serious topics, while combat hits the right balance of challenge and strategy. While there are some minor flaws, they don’t pop up frequently and don’t have a large impact on the experience overall. Just as cafes can turn familiar cups of coffee into unique creations, Affogato takes standard JRPG elements to make an amazing game you won’t soon forget.
80%Affogato Review – Mixing Inspirations Into A Nice Blend
Affogato has a lot of great mechanics for exploration tied into its own coffee brew. There may be some difficulty spikes and a game that ties itself down after opening up, but overall it’s a great time.
80%