Café Rouge
- July 1, 2020
- Sonya Fung
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Café Rouge" is a simulation game where players run their own French café, serving customers, designing the café layout, and managing finances. The game features a variety of customizable decorations, dishes, and staff to create a unique café experience. Players must balance customer satisfaction with profitability to grow their café and build a successful business.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The art is beautiful and visually appealing, enhancing the overall experience.
- The game offers a variety of romance options, each with unique storylines that can be enjoyable.
- Some characters are well-written and add depth to the narrative, making certain routes engaging.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and crashes, making it frustrating to play.
- The writing lacks polish, with grammatical errors and a shallow plot that detracts from the experience.
- The inclusion of political themes feels forced and out of place, detracting from the intended romantic narrative.
- story58 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its interesting plot and character depth, while others criticize it for lacking substance and coherence, often feeling rushed or poorly executed. Technical issues, such as glitches in the auto-play feature and difficulty in navigating routes, further detract from the experience. Overall, while the visuals are praised, many feel the narrative needs significant improvement to match the game's artistic quality.
“The game and the story are superb.”
“Not only is the story good, but the art is absolutely beautiful and there's effort put into everything.”
“I enjoy the story; it's interesting and not really what I have seen before.”
“The plot doesn't have much substance.”
“There were many twists and turns that lacked a cohesive story flow, and it was often difficult to discern from the writing where routes even branched or what purpose some of the choices had... and not in an alluring, mysterious way.”
“Overall, the story was very lackluster for me and wished that they put as much effort in proofreading and editing their story to match the effort they put into creating their visuals for their characters.”
- stability11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs affecting essential functions such as the main menu navigation and the skip feature, which causes lag and freezing. Users report that the user interface is also problematic, leading to a frustrating experience despite the game's potential. Overall, the game is described as very buggy and unpolished, detracting from the enjoyment of its story and characters.
“The game itself is very buggy, and I encountered many issues such as the inability to go back to the main menu without closing the game completely. Nine out of ten times, the only way I could close the game was to go to my task manager since the close button wasn't working.”
“Overall, it's an average story that has an interesting plot and some nice characters, but it's really, really buggy at the moment.”
“All the essential functions that you need in a visual novel are completely buggy and/or unpolished.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful artwork and professional visuals, which many reviewers found to be the standout feature. However, the lack of a CG gallery and user-friendly design detracted from the overall experience, leading to a sense that the visuals were not enough to compensate for the game's shortcomings in writing and story cohesion. Overall, while the art style is commendable, it is overshadowed by the need for improvements in other areas.
“Amazing artwork (which is why we need a CG gallery).”
“The characters were well written, the story was enjoyable, and the artwork is beautiful.”
“The only thing I can genuinely say is good is the artwork; however, the lack of a CG gallery is a total bummer.”
“This game, despite its professional visuals, needs a serious story and UI overhaul to meet the $20 price point they're asking for.”
“Overall, the story was very lackluster for me and I wished they put as much effort into proofreading and editing their story to match the effort they put into creating their visuals for their characters.”
“Aside from the fact that it's not very aesthetically pleasing, it's not user-friendly.”
- music5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game is limited, leading to frequent repetition that can become tiresome for players. While some found the sound effects acceptable, the overall soundtrack was often barely noticeable, with some players questioning its presence entirely.
“Not many music tracks, so their use is frequently repeated, which can get tiresome.”
“Other than that, the music was fine, the sound effects were fine, if not a bit silly at times, and that's about it.”
“I didn't even know there was a soundtrack because I barely heard any music throughout my hours of playing.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by its sharp jabs at various social norms, which may offend some, particularly American liberals, but many find it to be genuinely funny. A notable comedic moment involves a character's unexpected admission about a date, highlighting the game's blend of absurdity and wit.
“If you are an American liberal, I can totally understand why the game could offend you (since it does take a fair few jabs), but otherwise... it's honestly more funny than anything.”
“When she tells him that he's going to be in trouble because he took her on a 'date', he doesn't even deny that it was one and tells her later that he paid the guidance counselor to keep quiet. It's supposed to be a funny moment because the heroine didn't expect that from him... what. the. hell.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
While some users noted occasional half-second lags during scene transitions due to fades to black, this issue is not seen as significantly detracting from the overall gameplay experience.
“The gameplay is incredibly engaging and keeps you on your toes throughout the entire experience.”
“I love how the mechanics are intuitive yet offer a depth that allows for strategic play.”
“The fluidity of the controls makes every action feel satisfying and responsive.”
“The gameplay feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the controls to be clunky and unresponsive, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
“The pacing of the gameplay is off, leading to frustrating moments that break immersion.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is criticized for being lacking, with players noting that while the art and character designs are visually appealing, they do not compensate for the absence of depth and growth in the characters themselves.
