Tavern Talk Preview

I've made it a habit that every time there's any sort of festival or special event happening, I go and check out the games being showcased. This began a few months back when I realised I was missing out on a lot of phenomenal games because their ads wouldn't find their way to me. Today's preview is a fantastic example of this! I had never heard of Tavern Talk, but while browsing the Cozy & Family Friendly Games Celebration, I was immediately mesmerised by its unique style! Since I've had a bit of a headache and not much time, it left me with a perfect opportunity to try the demo, and I am so grateful I did.

The Steam page does a pretty good job at telling you what the game is all about in a pretty simple way: you'll run a tavern in a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired fantasy, gather rumours, serve magical drinks, and meet adventurers. What the description fails to mention is how genuinely nuanced and hilarious the game is! Can you tell I'm smitten? I'm even giddy.

In Tavern Talk, you'll be taking on the role of the owner — and bartender — of a tavern where everyone is welcome (even slimes!). While this is a pretty common setting in management titles, this time around, the gameplay is instead a visual novel, where you'll get to meet a cast of characters and influence the course of their lives. As the days go on, you meet more people and continue unravelling the narratives of the ones you already know. While this is a pretty cool idea already, the fact that you can make quests and post them on the notice board by piecing together rumours you hear from your customers is really the cherry on top! I absolutely adored being able to take the role of the NPC who hands out quests and hangs out at the tavern while you return with 10 million bandit scarfs or whatever it is World of Warcraft quest-givers are asking for nowadays!

While I am a big fan of the idea of being a bartender — especially in a medieval setting! — I really don't like games that put pressure on me to cook quickly. I don't do well under stressful situations, and even less so when the NPCs are getting angrier every time I fail the recipe! Thankfully, I didn't let the idea of serving scare me off because in Tavern Talk, you don't have to abide by a timer, and no one is getting angry at you if you take too long or have to throw your potions away. Instead, it feels more like a puzzle, where you'll need to figure out what they want and give them a mixture that'll satisfy their needs, like this gloomy guy who needed something to up his defences. And for anyone who has issues with in-game social anxiety (like I do sometimes), I accidentally messed up the scariest NPC's order, and nothing bad happened; she didn't even seem that mad about it!

While the drinks are stunning and it's very fun to make them (it's so satisfying!), one of my favourite things was that sometimes, you'll need to make a tough decision and make them a drink that will change their fate and determine what happens to them. I know this sounds a bit weird, but it's quite simple in-game! Basically, if a character is stuck between fighting someone or having a diplomatic conversation, you'll need to make the drink you think would fit the situation best, and depending on what you add, they'll either fight or talk. This was very exciting and weirdly nerve-wracking, as giving someone advice feels a lot less hands-on than offering them a drink that you know will have them throwing fists!

Thankfully, for those who might be nervous about that, this visual novel seems to be on the safe side; after all, I did find it in the Cozy Family & Friendly Games Celebration! In fact, it's so lighthearted that it had me actually laughing out loud with its silly dialogue, and the comedy never felt forced or over the top — it was just right.

The last thing I want to touch on is something I don't usually mention in reviews or previews because I think it's only worth including when you have something to say: the graphics. Tavern Talk has one of the best atmospheres I've experienced in a while! Even though it's a visual novel, everything feels very alive as things move in the customer's background, and there are random animations happening every now and again. I also really enjoyed the expressions the characters offered, which brought a lot of layers and life to a game with no voice acting (not that I minded that)!

While the demo was short, it was more than enough to let me know how the game mechanics will work, how the dialogue's going to sound, and what I can expect from the game overall. I am absolutely head over heels for it now, and aside from looking forward to playing the entirety of Tavern Talk, I very much am hyped to see what else Gentle Troll Entertainment has in store for us!