Coffee shop JRPG Affogato gave me Persona 5 vibes at first blush, what with the cafe setting, mind-exploring combat, and jazzy soundtrack, but it was the "reverse tower defense" twist and gorgeously illustrated cast that won me over.
Affogato was released last month on Steam, where it's since accrued 85% positive reviews. It strikes me as one of those two-games-in-one deals, with one half being an opposite-day Arknights and the other looking closer to Necrobarista or Va-11 Hall-A. You play as a young sorceress managing a coffee shop (and a whole load of debt), spending valuable chunks of limited daytime sprucing up the shop, polishing your cafe skills, or investing in the combat side of the game by buffing your spells or party.
I'm a sucker for storytelling and characterization that's woven directly into combat, especially in systems-heavy JRPGs, so I'm immediately into Affogato's blend of conversation and action. You'll chat up customers in the cafe and then leap into their minds to help them face their inner demons through a clever on-rails combat system where you play cards to help your party survive a gauntlet of enemies.
I'm an even bigger sucker for the stunning art that developer Befun Studio cooked up for the main characters. Affogato jumps between cozy environments and cute chibis, but the detailed anime art shown in conversations – which you'll see a lot, with this being a story-heavy JRPG – gives the cast a striking, sharply detailed look. It's an eccentric mix altogether, but weirder ideas have found an audience, and it does my heart good to see another barista RPG.
Elsewhere in 'games seemingly made just for me,' this Nier-inspired open-world game hooked me with six words: "F*** it, you can parry nukes."
