Coffee Talk 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly is a Visual Novel Adventure game developed by Toge Productions and published by Chorus Worldwide Games. This sequel to Coffee Talk has been long overdue, but it’s certainly been worth it.
The title is set in 2023 Seattle. The themes within the story are realistic with elements of fantasy. For example, the game explores racism between succubi and elves, immigration with aliens, and more. But these heavy themes are all explored in a wonderful way, within the walls of a quiet coffee shop late at night.
You play as the sole barista and owner of a late-night coffee shop called Coffee Talk. Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly is set three years after the original, so there are plenty of new faces as well as familiar faces stopping by the cafe to catch up on what’s been going on.
Each night, a set of characters walks in and out of the coffee shop for a late-night break to catch up with friends and ask for advice. Depending on your choices, patrons will interact and become intimate with each other.
This title is just cold. About 90% of the game is reading and the remaining 10% of him is making drinks. Making a drink is very easy. Three materials are used for each. Sometimes, however, patrons will tell you exactly what they want, and other times they’ll be a little more vague. For example, you might say you want a sweet, warm drink. Then it’s up to you to combine several ingredients and hope for the best result. Luckily, the character’s phone has an app that keeps track of every drink they make once they’ve figured out the recipe.
This gameplay is the same as the first game. However, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly adds two more elements. First, in addition to handing out drinks, you can also hand out items to patrons. Sometimes a customer forgets something or asks another patron to pass something on. It’s up to you to decide which item to give the customer the next time they come over for a drink. If you miss the chance, the item will be “misplaced” and you will miss the chance.
I didn’t have as many chances to give things to people as I thought. However, the story takes place over his 15 in-game days, and not all patrons show up every night. Either way, serving your customers with the right beverages and products will help build rapport with them. You can check this in your phone’s social media apps.
This social media app is another novelty. We were able to check the friendship status in the previous work, but this time the character’s status will also be updated. Characters can be seen interacting with each other online, and sometimes their stats give subtle hints about their likes and dislikes.
Building high friendships will give you the best endings. Yes, the game has multiple endings so you don’t have to mess up your drink order too often. Luckily, doing so doesn’t have much impact.
That’s what Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly is all about. Characters and stories. The characters are great, a perfect mix of werewolves, vampires, humans, banshees, satyrs, and more. All their stories are intertwined with each other. It was fun learning about the new characters, and it was great revisiting the old ones and seeing how they’ve grown from their predecessors. I don’t think you need to play Coffee Talk first to enjoy this, but I do think you should play them in order to better understand the characters and their stories.
If you like visual novels and understated gameplay, this is for you. If you enjoyed the first game, you will love this one too. Overall, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly was great to play after his long day at work. I was able to relax and read a wonderful story with fun and relatable characters while listening to the cool, soothing ambient sounds of the coffee shop.
