Critter Cafe: Cute Critters and a Cozy Cafe Await You

ign.com:

Critter Cafe embodies coziness. From its rescue cafe premise to its no-holds-barred approach to customization and decoration that encourages players to express themselves, the brief demo I watched and played pointed to a consistent, refined vision that I have a feeling will be a big hit for fans of monster collecting games who are looking for something cozy to sink their teeth into.

Blending monster collecting, management simulation, and puzzle-based dungeon crawling sounds a lot more overwhelming than it actually is in Critter Cafe. That’s not to say that this comfy game from Sumo Digital and Secret Mode is oversimplified, just that it’s chill and approachable. Like any sim worth its salt, customization is the name of the game here.

With in-depth customization options (that can be changed at any time) for my chibi avatar and full-on cafe customization, the world is your aesthetic oyster in Critter Cafe. I was blown away at how much I could do to precisely mold the cafe to my liking. From wallpaper and floorboards to furniture—even the materials it was made from—I felt a sense of control and freedom over the cafe in a way that can often elude some games in this genre.

To give you a proper sense of what I mean, let’s look at Animal Crossing: New Horizons, for example. It’s a stellar game to be sure, but one whose customization suite leaves a lot to be desired. Changing your island or house takes a lot of work. Beyond the steps to actually unlock the recipe for something, you’ll often need tons of resources to craft said piece, which can be gated based on the real-life passage of time. But even without the progressive aspect of unlocking new recipes, clothes, etc. the process of customizing a home gets really tedious really quickly.

Not so in Critter Cafe, where customization options are available to you from the get-go. This allows for other mechanics and parts of the game to shine while still letting you express yourself to the fullest without jumping through extra