Zipp's Café

The repetitive minigames that occupy a significant portion of the gameplay in Zipp’s Cafe tend to hinder its charm, despite the narrative potential that flickers through its admittedly dry dialogues. While the game succeeds to some extent in immersing players into its expansive setting, the lackluster routine of food and drink preparation, coupled with insufficiently developed characters, makes it challenging to feel drawn into becoming a frequent visitor.

86%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, replayability

93% User Score Based on 126 reviews

Critic Score 63%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

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About

Zipp's Café is a single player action game. It was developed by The Wild Gentlemen and was released on November 15, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

In "Zipp's Café" , manage a cozy café in a noir-like Wilderness world, interact with five eccentric characters, and engage in three diverse minigames focused on cooking, brewing, and dish-washing. Experience the game in either color or NOIR mode, and uncover the connections between the characters while exploring the overarching 'World of Wilderness' brand.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 126 reviews

story28 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

The game features beautiful art and music, creating a relaxing atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
The coffee-making and cooking mechanics are enjoyable and add a unique touch to the gameplay.
Despite its short length, the game offers a simple yet emotionally engaging story that leaves players wanting more.

The game is criticized for being too short, with many players expressing a desire for more content and gameplay depth.
Some players found the tutorial to be non-skippable and tedious, which detracted from the overall enjoyment.
The recipes can be unclear, leading to frustration when trying to achieve higher ratings for the dishes prepared.

story
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
58%
4%
The story is generally described as simple yet emotionally resonant, with a cozy atmosphere and engaging characters, particularly appealing to fans of noir themes. While some players appreciated the narrative's depth and the emotional twists, others found it lacking in complexity and felt it ended abruptly, leaving them wanting more. Overall, it serves as a charming backdrop to the gameplay, though some wished for a more substantial and interactive storyline.
- “The art and music are beautiful; the story is very simple and easy to follow but not without depth and emotional impact.”
- “It is not only a lovely chill game with some really cool jazzy vibes, but also a really enjoyable story that got me interested in the whole world.”
- “The story is solid, the characters are well built, and the atmosphere is smooth.”
- “The story is short, dated, and disappointing; Coffee Talk by Toge Productions is far better.”
- “There are two endings depending on your choice on the last day (Day 3), and both let me down - it is not about good or bad or made believable; the plot just comes to an abrupt end, and the entire game only scratches the surface of some world perspective.”
- “But I can't shake the feeling that the studio behind this game had to make one compromise too many in the blend of the story, the setting, and the particular narrative.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
50%
10%
The gameplay is characterized by a cozy atmosphere and simple mechanics, primarily involving dialogue interactions and food and drink preparation, which many find satisfying despite some repetitiveness. While the game offers a decent story and enjoyable noir elements, players feel it misses opportunities for deeper engagement and more complex interactions. Overall, it provides a relaxing experience, though some reviewers express a desire for more ambitious gameplay development.
- “The coffee and food making mechanic is well done.”
- “Quite relaxing, with good gameplay, good music, good characters and dialogue.”
- “Simple story, simple gameplay, but nice atmosphere with typical characters from noir movies and it's short enough so that the repetitive tasks don't become boring.”
- “I think there was a missed opportunity to make it bigger and add more gameplay interaction, but for the price I certainly can't complain.”
- “That's fine, and it does it relatively well, but the combination of gameplay mechanics, genre, and narrative results in a clash that, personally, makes me want to go much deeper in almost every direction, but allows no such opportunity.”
- “Gameplay is mostly clicking through dialogue, then preparing drinks and food according to recipes and customer requests.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and cozy qualities, often described as jazzy and emotionally resonant. Reviewers appreciate the beautiful art that complements the music, creating an immersive experience, and some even highlight the developers' initiative to share the soundtrack on their YouTube channel. Overall, the combination of good music, engaging gameplay, and appealing visuals contributes to a positive reception.
- “Good music, lovely art, a nice snapshot in the world that Chicken Police takes place in.”
- “What a great game with relaxing jazzy music and mysterious characters.”
- “Music's great, and the devs uploaded some of it to their YouTube channel, which is nice!”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique art style and beautifully illustrated visuals, creating a cozy and relaxing atmosphere. Players appreciate the attention to detail, including the option to play in color or noir, though some express a desire for more flavor text to enhance the experience. Overall, the combination of charming graphics and calming music contributes positively to the game's ambiance.
- “A lovely game with a unique art style, what's not to love.”
- “The beautifully illustrated visuals, small amount of voice acting, and calming smooth jazz is a relaxing backdrop to the story.”
- “The details on the artwork are great (I love that you can play either in color or noir!), as are the bits of lore.”
atmosphere
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
85%
15%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive "coffee-shop noir" setting, enhanced by excellent art and sound design, including smooth jazz that complements the experience. Reviewers highlight the well-crafted characters and solid writing, which contribute to a captivating yet straightforward gameplay experience. Overall, the game's ambiance effectively captures the essence of a dingy diner, making it a standout feature despite its simple story and mechanics.
- “The art and sound design really sell the atmosphere of a dingy little coffee diner as you go about your noir adventure.”
- “A gorgeous slice of 'coffee-shop noir' that absolutely stuns with the level of its writing and pitch perfect atmosphere.”
- “Zipp's café is a really beautiful, atmospheric game with calm smooth jazz playing in the background.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its beautiful art and music, which complement a simple yet profound story that delivers impactful emotional moments, particularly highlighted by a significant twist that resonates with players.
- “The art and music are beautiful; the story is very simple and easy to follow, but not without depth and its emotional impact.”
- “The story and its eventual twist definitely moved me emotionally.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game; while some find the repetitive tasks for achievements tedious, others appreciate that the cooking mechanics are straightforward and do not significantly hinder story progression. Overall, the grinding experience can vary greatly depending on individual preferences for gameplay style.
- “Having to go through that again and again just so you can get the last few achievements became tedious really quickly.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is positively highlighted, particularly through the amusing portrayal of the Tibetan fox and the entertainingly named drinks, complemented by appealing graphics. Players appreciate the blend of visual comedy and clever naming that adds to the overall enjoyment.
- “I enjoyed serving the funny named drinks and cool graphics!”
- “I rate it positive only because the Tibetan fox looks so funny even though he is being serious.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers limited replayability, lasting only around a hundred minutes, which diminishes the incentive for players to revisit it.
- “The fact of the matter is this is a game that only lasts about a hundred minutes, with very little in the way of replayability.”