In this Critter Cafe Switch Review, I’ll share my honest opinion on this cosy title and discuss the main elements I took away after several hours of gameplay.
Critter Cafe opens with a sweet story in an art style I can only describe as enchanting. This is a consistent theme in the game that connects a fantasy realm littered with helpless Critters, to that of a small and humble town home to coffee and cake fanatics.
Player customization felt almost Piccrew-like, with so much attention to detail for the faces, but very limited colour schemes. I tried to build my avatar after the digital singer, Kasane Teto, and it almost looks like her… If you squint.
I’m not suggesting that more clothes should be available in the early game as part of the fun is the exploration to collect recipe cards for new furniture and outfits. However, the mixture of limited palette and proportionally strange chibis threw me off from the get-go.
The resemblance is uncanny (I’ll take any opportunity to show off and talk about Kasane Teto)
My Critter Critique
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of the chibi shapes and this caused me to lose attention, and skip most dialogue to avoid looking at NPCs and cutscenes longer than I had to. This lack of engagement with a core part of the game pulled me out of the immersion. But I’ll admit that that’s mostly my fault. Maybe the real critters were the avatars we made along the way…
The customers and world NPCs also fell flat for me. No connections, just icon orders and immediately being whisked away. I know this is contradictory to my previous critique of not enjoying the models to even talk with them but other players with less nitpicky style preferences would have to consider this before purchase. If they want a simple game with no communications, just work work and upgrade then Critter Cafe might be perfect! But for me, I just wish there was more of a push for completion instead of the game feeling void of motivation.
Back on customisation, having full control over my Cafe aesthetics was a lovely touch and I liked the options given at the start of the game. It beats those other restaurant expansion games that force you into a box with a starter kit that looks like boring white cheap plastic. My only critique of The Cafe Builder was the camera angles struggled to cooperate when placing anything on the far left walls. Sometimes the controls would freeze and refuse to rotate or zoom to allow me a new-angled view of my project. Nothing too upsetting, but worth disclosing nonetheless.
OMG is that Kasane Teto!?
In Critters Conclusion
How have I waffled so much and not spoken about the Critters themselves? Not only do they have cute designs, but as you level up your bond with them, the Critters gain new cosmetics and helpful traits to aid in your Cafe succession.
Rescuing them means entering a portal spawned from a Rift and completing a unique puzzle. I really liked this other world and the level designs, pulling and pushing bricks, smashing amber-encased tiles and figuring out the trick to each room.
In a similar strain, working in the Cafe was fun despite being a touch monotonous. Serving includes a series of minigames unique to each item, which become second nature in no time. Even if I’m not the best at rhythm or memory-based gameplay and overall didn’t feel motivated to run the cafe, I thought it was a fun way to serve. Plus, I didn’t seem to upset any customers so that’s always a bonus.
Still fancy checking out the game after (this perhaps harsh?) Critter Cafe Switch Review you can check out the game over on the Nintendo Store. Or, if you’re here as an opinion-piece fan, check out what Adele thought of Virche Evermore Epic Lycoris in her Switch review.
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