Only a couple of weeks after the release of a new Coffee Talk game, we also get a new Tavern Talk game as well. As the titles suggest, these games are pretty similar from a gameplay perspective, with the latter opting for a more Dungeons & Dragons-inspired fantasy setting. You’ll be mixing drinks for your patrons as you try to help them in the quests they are facing, while lending them an ear to hear about their trials and tribulations.
Tavern Talk Stories: Dreamwalker is a standalone prequel to the original game. It’s set 36 years before Tavern Talk, and once again you take on the role of a tavernkeep. You are the owner of The Drowsy Dragon, a bar on the coast of Borkam, and your gift of mixing the right drinks for your guests has been bestowed upon you by one of the great dragon gods – or has it been acquired through wizardly hubris? Either way, the world around the tavern has been engulfed in a mysterious fog, which seems to be influencing people’s sleep and dreams. Can you and your patrons discover who’s behind this and get to the bottom of the mystery before something bad happens?
Similarly to the aforementioned Coffee Talk, you will be listening to a varied cast of characters whose adventures mostly seem to take place elsewhere. As you are stuck in your bar, listening to these stories is the only way to feel any sense of adventure for yourself, a fate that you are still somewhat struggling to accept. Even your own character feels very human in that way, not being perfect but having flaws and struggles of their own.
As is to be expected after playing the first Tavern Talk, the character work is where, once again, the game shines brightest. The writing in general is of an amazing standard, but it’s the interaction between the people that really brings the game to life. One of my main gripes with Coffee Talk: Tokyo was how easily everything got resolved, and I feel like Tavern Talk Stories: Dreamwalker does a better job with this; there is some conflict, and several characters actually clash with each other.
It doesn’t always work though: in one instance, one of the customers reacts in a way that feels so incredibly out of character for them that it kind of took me out of the story for a while. None of the dialogue options were in line with their previous behaviour, which was odd. But when it does work, it hits home really hard. People won’t always be able to just talk it out on the first try; sometimes we need more time to reflect, to let things sink in, and there won’t be a perfect solution. I feel like Dreamwalker nails that.
Of course it helps that the world of the game feels very fleshed out. Not just through what the characters tell you about it, but you can also find a map of the entire area in your menu, as well as descriptions of your potions, drinks and characters. Even though Dreamwalker isn’t set in the same place as the original Tavern Talk, you still feel like this is part of the same world. There’s so much going on outside the walls of your tavern, and the insights your different patrons give you really make you feel like you’re a part of that world.
I also adored the way making drinks works in the Tavern Talk games. They didn’t change it too much for this sequel, with your potions still affecting a number of stats, similar to ones you have in a typical D&D game. At times, your patrons will ask for a boost to a certain stat, so you’ll know to mix a drink including a potion that will influence it.
Other times, you’ll get more vague requests, like someone wanting a drink that will make them feel hopeful or inspired. That’s when you turn to your menu, where you’ll find the effects of the different mixed drinks. What’s interesting here is that there are usually multiple solutions to how you make these drinks and which ones to serve. In that way, Dreamwalker seems to offer more of an influence on proceedings than other visual novels usually do. It gives you a lovely sense of agency, meaning that whichever of the different endings you get, you’ll have made that happen by yourself.
You also get to create quests for your patrons by listening to their stories and then combining the rumours you pick up. It adds a little of that Dungeons & Dragons flair to proceedings, giving the characters their own goals and motivations and giving you a nice alternative to the main gameplay mechanics.
There’s just a whole lot to love here. Mixing drinks – and giving them to your adorable familiar whenever you get it wrong – is an interesting puzzle; the character designs are beautiful to look at, and the writing is sharp as ever. But once again, like I said before, it’s the characters that really make this game. Despite the game being more D&D-inspired, the focus here is on the characters’ emotions. Even when they’re just talking about their adventures, you get a sense that they are giving you a glimpse into their true personality, ever so gradually. There’s talk about grief, about abandonment, and about purpose, and it all feels very real. They’re not the easiest of subjects to talk about, but they’re brought to life with a lot of feeling and care.
And that’s what makes the difference here in the end. So much love and care has gone into Tavern Talk Stories: Dreamwalker, both for its story and characters as for the feelings of the players. It would have been easy to make this game a bit more focused on the characters’ adventures rather than their emotions, but the developers clearly made the right choice. Despite the topics often being a bit sad, there is still so much beauty to be found here, and I am grateful for it.
