Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly, the narrative-focused barista sim from developer Toge Productions, is going to be launching in the spring of 2023, according to a recent announcement. A sequel to 2020’s Coffee Talk, Hibiscus & Butterfly will once again invite you to enjoy the cozy atmosphere of brewing coffee and talking to strangers from all walks of life in order to better understand them. It’s also a game whose demo I did briefly try during this year’s LudoNarraCon, and one that I was quite pleasantly surprised by. Back then, I wrote:
“A cozy narrative game with a unique, coffee-flavored twist, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly seems like an average barista simulator at first glance, but there’s a lot more to it than that. For starters, it takes place in a universe where people live side by side with fantastical, supernatural races such as banshees and satyrs, which obviously adds an endlessly fascinating twist to the whole thing. Despite all that, Coffee Talk oozes a sense of modern familiarity, from the social media app on your phone to the way the characters talk and use lingo, it all just feels natural, despite the obviously supernatural/unnatural elements. As for my first impressions: it’s a game about unusual but nonetheless relatable characters sharing their everyday problems with a barista, whose perspective helps untangle how these wildly different lives connect with each other. I had a good time with the demo, even if it made me woefully aware of just how dreadful I am at making latte art.”
