Tailside: Coffee, Coziness, and Cute Critters

 

Tailside: Coffee, Coziness, and Cute Critters

I open up the menu and I’m instantly cozy. This game is already a success and it’s still early in playtesting. The menu sets the tone right off the bat, transporting me into a world with chirping birds, a lovely vista, and a pleasant fox with a backpack on, sitting on a ledge with a coffee in hand, but it doesn’t end there. 

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I sat there on the menu listening for minutes before even going any further, and this is what is so hard to nail with cozy games. You can get the items looking fabulous (which they do) and the pleasant grind running smoothly (which it is), but the vibe has to be right and that can be the hardest thing to execute because, in many ways, it is a feeling not a piece of code. This game nails it. The developer, aptly titled “Coffee Beans”, advertises this game as a “cozy cafe sim” and boy does it deliver. For the purposes of disclaimer, I have only played the current playtest iteration, specifically version 0.12, but this game is only going to get better and it really seems to have the elusive vibe that makes the best cozy games so great. 

Right off the bat this game nails the “cozy” but the coffee sim is also excellent and executed well. It prioritizes the right things. It’s not a stressful kitchen simulator like Overcooked (which I love) or a more in-depth recipe optimizer like Potion Craft (which I also love). It’s really about serving people coffee and capturing the joy of the process. As a coffee-lover IRL, this is important to me. For me, coffee is about comfort and connection. This game seems to be on a path to honoring these points, not trying to make a game that makes the whole vibe and process of coffee something it isn’t.

There’s something peaceful about the sounds of pouring a good cup of coffee and chatting with someone you care about or meeting someone new while the smells drift up from your cup and the mug warms your hands. Five minutes into the playtest I was already obsessed with Toffee, the first animal that you meet who runs you through a tutorial and helps you learn to initially make espresso and macchiato.

This game more than passes what I like to call the “Ratatouille” test, which is quite simple. When I first saw the movie, which is about cooking, my first thought was that I wanted to go cook something delicious. This means the movie succeeded for me. So, with Tailside, it’s a game about coffee. Does it make me want to go brew a hot cup and make latte art? Absolutely. 

I’m excited to see how this game evolves as more content gets added through the playtest. The latest version has basic coffee-making, some VERY cute little customers, and about ten levels and twenty minutes of gameplay, but I can see this game becoming something I could sink hours into just puttering around, organizing my furniture, talking to customers, and listening to the sounds of percolating and pouring.

You should all check out the developer’s X account for updates too at @CoffeeBeansDev. There’s a constant stream of pixel art plants, furniture, and other items, as well as constant updates to the game. In my brief emails with the developer and from being a part of the Discord, they seem like someone I would hope to run into at Toffee’s Coffee. You can also wishlist the game or request access to the playtest here: Tailside: Cozy Cafe Sim on Steam (steampowered.com). I highly recommend it!

There is no announced release date that I am aware of at this point, but this will be one of the easiest pre-orders of my gaming life. I’m already sold and it’s not even finished yet.