Upon playing Sunny Café it doesn’t take long to tell that it’s not your average visual novel. Just like a good cup mocha If you want something sweet then this game is for you. If you so happen to be a coffee enthusiast, then that’s a bonus. In most Visual Novels, players usually have different decisions to make throughout the story but Sunny Cafe has other plans in mind as its plot is somewhat linear.
I Need To Venti
The story begins with coffee enthusiast Bowen Wu who is left in charge of his parent’s coffee shop while they are traversing across the world learning and perfecting their craft about – you guessed it – coffee. A girl named Kathy Gu soon becomes the protagonist’s love interest when asking him how to get to the library. During a rainstorm she makes her return once again signifying our first and only love interest, and yes, ONLY love interest. While it’s nice to see that the option to romance characters is available, to be tied down to one specific individual was a disappointment. Bowen Wu will meet other heroines but will always have a soft spot for Kathy Gu no matter what dialogue option is chosen. Not saying that the romance between the two isn’t there, but my OWN decision to make it so that usually accompanied novels like these were stripped away.
One thing that’s worth mentioning is that Sunny Café is a Tawainese Visual Novel, which means that players will be engulfed in Taiwanese cultural themes and coffee-based knowledge. The atmosphere and mood of Sunny Café pairs so well, that when playing it’s normal to see factoids in my Romance simulator. Another thing worth mentioning is that the game is fully dubbed.
Trouble Brewing
Sunny Café was exactly what it was, a romantic story between two soon-to-be lovers while getting your coffee tidbits to use next time you decide to go out to Trivia. There were a couple of issues however that stopped it from being more than just a story.
The decision to pursue other heroines isn’t available so as I mentioned, players are stuck to get in a relationship with Kathy Gu. The story is romantic and has its cute moments but there just isn’t any excitement. The other characters you meet don’t even add much value to the story themselves. There are no twists or turns or any explosive moments to shake things up. There are coffee-making minigames that provide some sort of engagement but they soon become repetitive.
Conclusion
Sunny Café is a Visual Novel that illustrates the romantic coming-of-age story between two university students, one of them being our Coffee Guru protagonist. The story is straight and to the point while serving up coffee knowledge. As a player, it seemed more like watching the story than playing the story. The coffee minigames were welcomed but became more like a chore as the story went on. Being restricted to one romance option and mixed with no WOW factor in the story took away the engagement.
If you would like a sweet narrative and you’re into coffee, then Sunny Café is your Visual Novel. But if you’re looking for a game to keep you locked in and engaged with the story, you may have to get your caffeine fix somewhere else.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
