Café Stella and the Reaper's Butterflies
- March 25, 2022
- YUZUSOFT
- 20h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Café Stella and the Reaper's Butterflies," players navigate a visual novel adventure, helping protagonist Stella run her cozy café while uncovering the mystery of supernatural butterflies that can predict death. Balancing café management with interpersonal relationships, Stella must form bonds, make choices, and potentially alter fates. With a soothing atmosphere, engaging storyline, and a touch of the paranormal, this game offers a unique and captivating experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging character routes with strong emotional moments, particularly in Natsume's and Kanna's routes.
- High-quality art and voice acting, consistent with Yuzusoft's reputation for visual novels.
- Humorous and light-hearted writing that balances slice-of-life elements with romantic themes.
- Some routes feel rushed and lack emotional depth, particularly Nozomi's and Mei's routes.
- The common route is relatively short and may not provide enough buildup for the individual character arcs.
- The main character's frequent horniness can detract from the overall immersion and seriousness of the story.
- story147 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of "Café Stella" is characterized by its light-hearted romantic comedy elements, featuring multiple branching storylines and a focus on character interactions rather than a deep plot. While some players appreciate the engaging characters and emotional moments, others criticize the lack of stakes, plot depth, and inconsistencies across routes, leading to a perception of the narrative as shallow or insipid. Overall, it appeals to fans of slice-of-life and romance but may disappoint those seeking a more substantial storyline.
“This kind of story is always suitable for people who are sensitive, fragile, and easily injured to read, because Yuzusoft always tries its best to showcase the best and most hopeful side of a story - in many cases where gal games like to write dark and cruel stories, this is undoubtedly rare and valuable.”
“Cafe Stella has an engaging story and characters, decision making, multiple routes, good writing and voice acting, mild fan service, high quality art, and lots of extra content, too.”
“The romantic build-up for this pair is by far one of the best compared to the other cast and her story is also rather engaging and well done.”
“Without any stakes and lack of player input, the gameplay/story becomes very shallow.”
“The lack of characterization, the serious differences in the quality of the different branching storylines, the apparent blandness of the plot progression, and the sloppy handling of the worldview all make for a game that most players will probably not enjoy as much as they would like.”
“Unfortunately, progression of the story becomes rather stale after a certain point.”
- music25 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the relaxing soundtrack and character themes that align well with their personalities, creating an enjoyable atmosphere. While some users found the overall soundtrack to be solid and fitting for the café theme, others criticized it as lackluster and generic compared to other titles from the same developer. Overall, the music enhances the experience but may not stand out as particularly memorable.
“The character theme songs in this game are so good and go very well with their personalities.”
“The music is beautiful, fitting, and consistent with the story.”
“The relaxing soundtrack really fits the atmosphere, and the hype soundtracks get the blood rushing during the more intense moments of the route.”
“The OST is alright but nothing to write home about.”
“Every one of their games have some of the most lackluster soundtracks in VNs and fail to bring that vibrance and warmth you want out of these sorts of VNs.”
“The music is pretty forgettable for the most part, but it really fit the atmosphere, so no real complaints there.”
- emotional23 mentions
- 96 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by touching stories, a beautiful soundtrack, and well-designed characters that evoke a range of feelings, from heartwarming to heart-wrenching. While some routes deliver deep emotional moments, others feel rushed and lack sufficient romantic buildup, leading to mixed emotional impacts. Overall, players appreciate the emotional depth in certain characters' arcs, particularly in Kanna's route, despite some critiques regarding pacing and cliché elements.
“Touching stories, amazing soundtrack, outstanding character design.”
“Just a very comfortable game with some great emotional moments (especially in Natsume and Kanna's routes).”
“I experienced a lot of feelings while reading this visual novel; there were funny, sad, and happy moments... you have to know that Café Stella will mainly rely on the tragic side of the characters, which makes the story really touching and sad.”
- character development14 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally viewed as decent, with some standout moments, particularly in individual routes where characters like Kousei and Mei experience significant growth. While the character designs and writing are praised, some players feel that certain characters, such as Kanna, could benefit from more depth and exploration of their personal journeys. Overall, the balance between plot and character development varies across routes, with some characters receiving more attention than others.
“However, there's decent character development and story once you get into the individual routes.”
“Kanna's route ending and seeing Kousei's personal character development were the highlights of the route for me.”
“The writers did a good job balancing the route's plot and character development of Natsume herself.”
“I also wish Kanna herself could have more scenes in her personal character development, particularly the part on her feelings towards Kousei.”
“This is also one route where Kousei himself gains some rare character development and finally resolves one plot point of his.”
“His character development is just not recognizable.”
- humor14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with many players finding it genuinely funny and well-written, particularly through the main character's reactions and quirky dialogue. While the game balances humor with more serious themes, some moments of cringey or over-the-top humor may detract from the experience for certain players. Overall, it is considered one of the stronger offerings in the genre, with a charming cast and a mix of comedic and emotional moments.
“The main character genuinely made me laugh with his reactions and choices, which is a rarity in the visual novel genre.”
“Suzune is a charming and endearing character, with a kind-hearted personality and a quirky sense of humor.”
“The humor is always consistent and well written.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their high quality, featuring detailed artwork and a native 1080p resolution that enhances the visual experience. While some users noted a lack of personality in the art style and expressed disappointment in certain aesthetic choices, the overall visual presentation, including character designs and animation quality, is considered a standout aspect of the game. However, there are mentions of censorship affecting the artwork, which detracts from the overall experience for some players.
“The voice acting and visuals are top notch and this is the game's prime quality.”
“The character designs, writing and artwork are fantastic.”
“Featuring a native 1080p resolution, highly detailed art style and a level of lifeliness that can only be rivaled by 2D animation, Café Stella as usual offers the best in terms of visuals.”
“While the art style doesn't really have that much personality, it is visually pleasing.”
“Almost all visual novels do not require a graphics card to run the game; a processor is more than enough. However, let's not exaggerate, 2000s PCs are not going to run the game.”
“Aesthetic was a bit disappointing.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for being shallow and lacking meaningful player input, primarily consisting of simple clicking with little to no interactive elements. While the romance aspects are noted as engaging, the overall experience feels padded with filler content to extend playtime.
“15 hours of gameplay and 1 Natsume route later.”
“Without any stakes and lack of player input, the gameplay/story becomes very shallow.”
“So the romance is palpable, it's just that once again, it seems that that's all they had, so they just filled out some sort of 'gameplay length quota' with filler.”
“In a visual novel, there is no gameplay to speak of other than clicking.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is enhanced by a fitting soundtrack that complements both relaxing and intense moments, although some users find the music generally forgettable. Notably, certain tracks, like the versions of "Sweetest Bitterness," stand out and contribute positively to the overall experience.
“The relaxing soundtrack really fits the atmosphere, and the hype soundtracks get the blood rushing during the more intense moments of the route.”
“The music is pretty forgettable for the most part, but it really fits the atmosphere, so no real complaints there.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization for the game on Linux has been reported as subpar, requiring specific command line adjustments to mitigate visual glitches, and even with additional tweaks, certain features like the opening movie fail to function properly.
“Performance on Linux was surprisingly bad; it still requires the usual `proton_use_wined3d=1 %command%` command line to avoid any visual glitches. Even after the usual Protontricks with wmp11, the opening movie won't play.”
“The optimization is lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay, which significantly detracts from the overall experience.”
“Despite having a powerful system, the game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, indicating poor optimization for high-end hardware.”
