Os Wanderstop Gameplay Diaries
Os Wanderstop Gameplay Diaries
Blog Article
Wanderstop is a cafe management simulator in which players must learn how to brew a good cup of tea using a mix of different ingredients, serve it to customers, and perform related chores such as cleaning, decorating, and gardening.
It’s a game that made me pause. That made me confront things about myself I hadn’t fully put into words. That made me feel—deeply, achingly, unexpectedly.
"I am hoping very much that you are able to complete everything which is in your power to do so." That’s another one of Boro’s lines. And it hit me after finishing my gameplay just as hard as the first time I heard it.
Wanderstop is a cozy management sim about a burned-out warrior who'd much rather be fighting than running a tea shop
Another thing the game teaches us is that we can’t rely on others to heal us. There is a collective consciousness Elevada meets named Zenith, and immediately, she places everything on her.
It’s all fairly straightforward, but gardening is still a fun little challenge as you puzzle out which color combinations are required for each plant variety.
Elevada is, of course, resistant. Throughout the game she will try to run away, find excuses, distract herself, create needless objectives, and be outright unpleasant to anyone who tries to help. In all her battles against the strongest foes this world has to offer, she evidently never suspected her toughest fight might be against herself and her ceaseless craving for momentum.
He’s patient. He listens. He respects Elevada’s feelings without invalidating them, but also without indulging them in a way that lets her spiral deeper. He is, in every way, the calm in the storm that is her mind.
Unfortunately, the quiet life isn’t for her. Alta used to be a fighter–a world champion at that She longed for action. However, due to certain circumstances, it was an impossible request. She was chained down as a docile shopkeeper, serving tea to her eccentric regulars.
Yes, players can make choices in dialogue and tea orders, which affect NPCs’ reactions to Elevada. However, in the grand scheme of things, these choices do not significantly alter the game’s outcome.
When I saw that the minds behind The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide were also the ones making Wanderstop, I knew what to expect… or, at least, I thought I did. I anticipated its immensely emotional story, wry sense of humor, and at least one strange twist – but while I got all of those things and more, what I didn’t see coming was that a game about making tea and avoiding burn out would force me to grapple with my own hold-ups around productivity in such an intimate way.
And then there’s the Tea Breaks. I already mentioned them before, but I have to talk about how much they add to Elevada’s journey.
And the game makes you feel it. The way the environment subtly changes as Elevada’s Wanderstop Gameplay state of mind shifts. The way the music sometimes grows distant, hollow, as if pulling away from you.
I find joy in the adrenaline rush of horror games, but my thrill-seeking doesn't stop there. Beyond the digital realm, I like to take on the role of designated GM in TTRPGs.