When I picture my favourite cosy cafés in town, good coffee isn’t the only thing that comes to mind. I think of the local cafés with friendly regulars, tasteful decor, lush plants and soft music. This idea of cosiness is something that the developers at Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim seem to understand extremely well.
Life of a Cafe Owner: Gameplay
In Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim, you step into the shoes of a new café owner. With the help of the locals, your business venture is up and running in no time, sans the pressure. Like many sims, the gameplay loop revolves around a day-night cycle; each day you wake up, set up your shop, work your shift and then go to sleep.
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New shop items, skill points, visitors and upgrades are unlocked as you level up by making coffee, cleaning and interacting with special items. Earnings from sales are used to replenish stock, decorate your café and bedroom, speed up item building or to unlock areas to expand your café, such as the terrace — there’s plenty to do. Each day brings something new by way of narrative, so there is also a good sense of story progression.
A Harmonious Blend of Coffee and Cosy
Don’t get me wrong, the coffee-making is fun in this game. As a coffee lover, there is a good variety of beverage options, ranging from macchiatos to honey lattes. Colouring in the latte art is a mindful, ASMR-like experience.
What really captivates me about Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim is how they have really thought about the true meaning behind the word cosy. The game features a variety of adorable forest sprites that happily drink your coffee. There’s a local writer who starts your day with poetic newspaper stories. Even a peculiar herbalist who can’t help but leave you thoughtful packages.
Also plenty of plants, cute furniture and collectible plushies. Yes, plushies. Let it be known that Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim is a coffee game with a dash of gacha!
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Savour Each Day
Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim is not for the capitalists out there who wish to speed run cafe expansion by churning out a hundred cups of coffee a day. While you do want to make a profit, this game encourages you to slow things down.
Is a ten minute day too fast? Adjust the day length in the options to suit your preference.
Completing the tip bar is optional. Take your time with orders. Step away from your coffee machine at any time to wander around and say hi to your lovely regulars. Whether you brew fifteen or thirty cups of coffee in a day, it’s up to you. There are no angry customers here.
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When is Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim available?
Some refinements could be made for furniture placement and item interactions. I did also come across one particular bug that deleted my save — hopefully that’s resolved sooner than later!
All in all, Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim is coming along nicely in early access. With its beautiful pixel art, wholesome narrative and zen gameplay, I’m sure it will please fans of cosy sims with all it has to offer.
Players can brew up a cup of joe and start running their own café in early access from January 22nd on PC via Steam.
Access to Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim was supplied to Quest Daily by the publisher
