Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater

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Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater is a single player casual city builder game with a economy theme. It was developed by DreamWay Games and was released on November 4, 2022. It received very positive reviews from players.

You are the owner of an underwater cafe in Sydney. You must keep your customers happy by serving them delicious coffee and snacks. The goal of the game is to keep the shop running smoothly and efficiently. What's more - since it’s an underwater café you can help raise awareness of the problems related to the sea animals, ocean pollution and producing too much trash. There will be a variety of …

Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater screenshot

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 240 reviews

graphics13 positive mentions

monetization10 negative mentions

Engaging and customizable coffee shop simulation with extensive management and decoration options.
Unique underwater cafe setting with relaxing music and appealing graphics.
Fun and detailed coffee creation system allowing players to design unique drinks.

Graphics and camera controls can be clunky and cause frustration, including blurry visuals and awkward zooming.
Gameplay may become repetitive with limited challenging events or consequences, and some mechanics like snack refills are tedious.
Economic balance issues exist, including unrealistic pricing and lack of small business obstacles, reducing long-term engagement.

graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
53%
9%
The graphics receive mixed feedback, with some praising the game's smooth, hyper-realistic, and visually pleasing style that enhances immersion, while others criticize blurry textures and low-quality interior details that feel outdated. Overall, the visuals are considered solid and fitting for a tycoon game by many, though occasional issues with readability and aesthetic choices detract from the experience for some players.
- “The graphics of the game are some of the best I've seen in a management/tycoon style game.”
- “The graphics are very nice, very hyper-realistic without being cheesy like some other tycoon games.”
- “Good graphics and nice audio design help you immerse yourself in the game and enjoy it; I recommend it.”
- “Even with high resolution the graphics remain blurry, and the text in the speech bubbles is hard to read.”
- “But for some reason they decided to craft the cafe interior graphics in a highly unsatisfactory way.”
- “Such graphics would have been fine ten to fifteen years ago but they are not acceptable today.”
gameplay
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
56%
12%
The gameplay is generally praised for its enjoyable coffee customization mechanics, pleasant atmosphere, and logical progression, though some find the tutorial lengthy and lacking depth. While the core mechanics are straightforward and quick to learn, occasional quirks and limited daily challenges slightly reduce engagement. Overall, the gameplay offers a satisfying and immersive experience, especially as a prologue with promising economy and customization features.
- “The graphics are solid, the gameplay is logical, and the process of building from blank walls and black coffee to a plush shoppe and fancy drinks is satisfying.”
- “Tutorial ran a bit long (~2.5 hours to get 5 beans or stars), however, the actual gameplay is pleasant and I thoroughly enjoyed the underwater aquatic cafe theme.”
- “The mechanics are a little confusing at first, but very quick to get used to.”
- “There are some daily challenges but these don't add much to the gameplay as the ones I had required little effort: choose a different type of music on the jukebox, sell a certain amount of coffee.”
- “The mechanics are a bit wonky - sometimes the barista will spin around in a circle while the line is out the door, and customers get upset.”
- “Although I stated that the tutorial would cover the majority of the gameplay, the tutorial itself is somewhat weak in depth.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The game's story is primarily mission-driven, beginning with a prologue mission that serves as a tutorial and introduces basic cafe management tasks. While some players find certain objectives unclear or difficult, the narrative framework aims to guide players through specific goals rather than providing a full sandbox experience initially. Overall, the storyline is simple but presents potential for future expansion with more missions, customization, and demographic-focused challenges.
- “I've finished the mission after about 8 hours and am still playing to make my cafe more decorative.”
- “For now, there is only one mission that has a few challenges to complete, but other challenges will show up every few minutes, and they offer rewards, such as money or points towards your overall reviews.”
- “I personally liked the prologue of the future game, the game has a future, building a coffee shop with 0 is exactly what you need, but seriously, the prologue is successful, the missions are not complicated; I'm waiting for the release.”
- “The third mission objective was unclear because the items you need are called something else in the store than in the mission objective.”
- “The only criticism I have for the game is there is no sandbox option, you have to do the mission and finish it in order to get far enough to make enough to kinda do whatever you want.”
- “It was pretty easy once I understood how the game worked, but annoying I could not just play without needing a mission.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
35%
18%
The game's music is widely praised for being delightful, relaxing, and well-suited to the overall atmosphere, enhancing the chill and enjoyable gameplay experience. Players appreciate the variety and fun vibe of the tracks, though some request the ability to have jukebox or stereo music persist consistently throughout gameplay to avoid jarring transitions.
- “The music is delightful and varied enough that I haven't decided to mute the sound!”
- “Great sim, you can create your own coffee and coffee shop just the way you like it, tutorial guides you through basics quite nicely and music is amazing!”
- “Good game, pretty chill, lots of options to make coffee and lots of decorations, music is great, the underwater aspect is quite amazing. Love the fish and the goofy stories; good stuff all around.”
- “Devs, if you see this <3 - please for the love of god allow the music you have set on the jukebox/stereo to carry over like background music. It's really disconcerting to pan the camera around outside the shop and have little to no music, then suddenly get blasted if you drop in next to a music source or when you pop into the editor and hear a completely different track playing.”
- “There are some daily challenges but these don't add much to the gameplay, as the ones I had required little effort: choose a different type of music on the jukebox, sell a certain amount of coffee.”
- “If you're looking for a way to make sure guests can hear the music from the source, you can just include an aura around the source when it's selected.”
monetization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization approach is criticized for misleading users by presenting an advertisement as a full game, effectively using the platform for free marketing rather than offering genuine gameplay. This practice is viewed as harmful to both gamers and developers who properly publish full games, as it exploits visibility and marketing space on Steam.
- “espresso tycoon prologue: underwater is not a game, it's an advertisement for another Steam product called espresso tycoon, which, as it says on the box, is a kind of lame coffee shop simulator.”
- “While it might seem like an innocuous mistake, publishing demos and advertisements as if they are full games is misleading and in some ways harmful.”
- “Often developers may choose to incorrectly publish demos/advertisements as separate games as a cheap way to bypass paying Valve for marketing presence on the Steam front page, which may seem clever to them, but it's harmful behaviour and it's not good for gamers.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users generally praise the game's humor, highlighting its clever, lighthearted style and amusing elements like toilet censorship and quirky customer interactions. The cartoonish visuals and humorous scenarios contribute to a fun and engaging atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- “The dev has a cool sense of humor.”
- “I like the ambience, the humor, and the gameplay.”
- “I came to drink coffee with a shark above you, it's very funny; the graphics and the menu are perfect, you just understand everything without learning and very convenient.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game offers a unique and soothing underwater cafe atmosphere, praised for its relaxing vibe, charming visuals, and enjoyable ambiance. Players appreciate the realistic yet calming management experience combined with fun music and creative thematic elements like coffee and cursed coffee combinations. Overall, the atmosphere is highlighted as a key strength that enhances the gameplay.
- “It has a wonderful atmosphere, realistic but soothing management, and best of all, coffee and cursed coffee combinations.”
- “The game looks very cool, the idea of a cafe under water is interesting, there are many opportunities to create a pleasant atmosphere.”
- “It's a really relaxing game to play if you enjoy the cafe atmosphere.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The game generally runs smoothly with no FPS drops even at max graphics and accelerated speed, ensuring stable performance. However, there are some suggestions for improved optimization, such as better shift management and more accessible shortcuts to enhance gameplay efficiency.
- “The game runs smoothly; I had no FPS drops at max graphics with accelerated time speed.”
- “To manage the coffee shop to make it run smoothly, you order stock and staff to run it.”
- “Employees have preferences for their shifts, and their performance varies a lot.”
- “It needs optimization and some shortcuts should be changed.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is seen as tedious and unnecessarily time-consuming, particularly due to awkward controls and oversized, blurry visuals that detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “The croissants are far too big in relation to the case, they are blurry, and putting them in is an unnecessarily tedious process.”
- “Filling the display cabinet with croissants was tedious as well.”
- “So while this game could be a reasonably entertaining (though by no means stellar) light tycoon experience, the controls are simply too tedious in many aspects and the graphics take all of the fun out of the game.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
User opinions on replayability are mixed, with some questioning the game's longevity and others praising its high replay value depending on individual player preferences.
- “The replayability for this game is very high.”
- “As the game currently sits, it's fine, but I don't think it has longevity or replayability.”
- “Not sure about the replayability; I guess that's going to depend on each player.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is mixed, running smoothly initially but prone to freezing and glitches after extended play, especially when customizing with certain cabinets that can cause characters to get stuck. These issues may require force-closing the game via task manager.
- “Also, if you wish to customize your place really detailed, I would advise not wasting the time because it glitches a lot. If you use certain cabinets, people will get stuck in them.”
- “And when it happens, the whole game freezes and I'm unable to click anything, so I have to open my task manager and close the game.”
- “Smooth, no glitches until I reached the 8th hour.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect is highlighted by a heartfelt mission, creating a deep and meaningful experience for players.

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5h Median play time

4h Average play time

1-6h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater is a casual city builder game with economy theme.

Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater.

Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater was released on November 4, 2022.

Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater was developed by DreamWay Games.

Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater for its graphics but disliked it for its story.

Espresso Tycoon Prologue: Underwater is a single player game.

Similar games include Espresso Tycoon, Coffee Shop Tycoon, TasteMaker, Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game, Tavern Master and others.

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