Affogato Review (PC)

Strength is moving down the lane, rhythmically launching strikes at the enemies that are grouped on the right and left. The Chariot is right ahead of her, and the Hermit is behind, creating a conga line of beautiful destruction and mana generation. I want to have a strong reserve in case I need to put in someone else to help out. There’s also a bonus objective linked to it.

It’s easy to pause the action and take a look around. I really want to reach the end of the line, which will probably reveal something about the individual whose head I’m currently in. But the road there is covered with some capable enemies. I right-click to get more info about them and plan a route that will maximize damage output while limiting the number of attacks that reach my group.

I’m also planning to head to the save spot in this mind labyrinth and then get the keys I need to get to the boss. That fight will be hard, so I will bring in The World at some point, a character that will deliver some much-needed healing and stack the odds in our favor. Finally, I might also make a detour to secure a treasure chest, which might get me another piece of furniture for the coffee shop.

Affogato is developed by Befun Studio, with publishing from Spiral Up Games. I played on the PC using Steam. The game offers a new take on the tower defense concept and mixes that with some cafe management and role-playing elements.

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Gamers will play as a young magenta haired (she’s very focused on making sure no one calls her a read-head) sorceress. Her name is actually Affogato but the most interesting thing about the character is her connection to a demon named Mephista. The pair can dive into other people’s minds and souls to explore them, battling malefic forces to free them from possession and worse.

The title offers almost nothing entirely new in the storytelling department, but the execution is solid within the confines of the JRPG tradition. Get ready for tons of giggles, some references that are hard to get, and plenty of emotional moments. Each of the people who come in for coffee have an interesting narrative to uncover.

Each day in Affogato is split into two. Mornings are for barista action and archdemon interactions. The protagonist pair converses with people, learns about their stories, and Affogato herself prepares and serves caffeinated energy. During the evenings, the heroine can move through city sections and when her special vision detects a demonic influence, she and Mephista will engage in some personality spelunking.

When the two enter someone’s head, the game reveals levels constructed of lanes and enemy positions. Using an expanding hand of cards powered by mana, players will have to summon characters and then guide them around those tracks. Each of the magical constructs has a role, determined by its attack power and special abilities. As they move through the level, they will take out opponents, get keys to access new passages, reveal secrets, open treasure chests, and finally, battle a boss to finish the fight.

It’s a reverse tower defense concept that works well. Gamers have to think about who and when to deploy, taking into account that the loss of one summoned character is damaging enough to lead to a restart. It’s important to think what path card creatures will take but gamers cannot choose when to attack, although they can tell their groups to focus on one enemy.

Always check what abilities the enemy nodes have and tailor approaches to minimize their effects. Extra checkpoints would’ve made it easier to experiment without having to retry large sections. During each mind exploration, I tended to revise my strategy after two or three attempts that ended in failure.

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When the duo is not exploring minds, they are trying to run a coffee shop. This mainly involves making drinks when prompted by a character that has stopped by for a chat. The recipes are clearly displayed, with no guessing associated with any of the orders. Gamers will have to grind beans, use an espresso machine, and then add the various other ingredients that lead to the more complex drinks. Some of them sound truly outlandish (chili in an espresso sounds weird enough that I might try it once in the real world) but they do make for great social lubricants.

Focus on one objective at a time to make sure that the game’s time limits don’t become a problem. I favored mind exploration and demon fights over coffee shop work, mainly because the first is more engaging. Don’t forget to upgrade cards, prioritizing those that will perform best for the current battle.

Affogato will not impress with its graphics but has a distinctive style. Fans of manga or anime will be instantly familiar with the look of the various characters, who all communicate their personality via design and the use of color. There’s less detail for the various locations players will visit, which feels generic. Even the coffee shop is forgettable, which is weird given how much emphasis the game’s structure puts on it.

Thankfully, the battle sections are easy to understand, with plenty of visual indicators to help when preparing a tactical approach. I played with the Japanese voice acting and English subtitles and found that the voice actors worked hard but used the classic tropes of the JRPG space. The soundtrack, both during battle and when exploring, lacks variety and has limited impact.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion