07/12/2016: It's time to mix drinks and change lives.

"Welcome to Valhalla" are the first words you hear when walking in. You see a bar. A few patrons scattered about in booths, and the bartenders are making banter with a few of the guests. The smell of dog piss lurks the air and jazz permeates the room.

You are now in the comfy world of VA-11 Hall-A.

dokidoki bartender action

Play as comfy
The game advertises itself as a cyberpunk bartending game. However, in terms of actual gameplay and mechanics, the 'game' part comes off as very light. The interactions come from the drinks you serve to your patrons. Mentioned patrons you should, as well as want, to get to know very soon in the next 14 hours of game to optimize the drinks you serve to them. This combination combined with great world building makes this my favorite game of 2016.

Read the comfy

As mentioned before, the game part is very light. The game is in pseudo visual novel format, and the decisions aren't as direct as a question with four answers. Instead, you treat your patrons. Treat them right, as in serve them the right drinks at the right time, and you'll be rewarded to entertaining dialogue and great banter. The world is built around what you read, and catching all the juicy bits of dialogue is worth the 2nd or 3rd play through. I mean this. The level of world building is top notch. I've never been this invested in a world I haven't even seen nor interacted with, yet I wish I was there to see the horde of shiba inu in business suits ordering drinks and making a mess of the bar. I'm not making that up, it happened. In the game. I'm way too invested in this. With everything going on around the bar, the experience becomes that much more personal with the patrons and yourself. I've grown fond of all the characters so far; except for the ginger shit head I hate him he sucks. The writing does a great job of making you care, much kudos to the writer once again. I've already tweeted my thanks to these guys, but I'll mention it here again. I am impressed. There was a time I was even genuinely worried about a character because of the events transpiring in game. Not knowing the whereabouts or even if you're going to see a certain character again was very stressful for me. Bravo.

Hear the comfy

unf

 

The soundtrack is controlled through an in game jukebox, which I thought was very clever. It made sense within the context of the game, and allowed me to choose whatever tracks I wanted. The only problem with it is the 5 second buffer to load the preview for a song. I hated that, but I suppose it was needed somehow. Despite what some say, the music does change to the situation. This happens mostly outside of work whenever the mood changes. Lots of electro beats and whatnot, it is the future after all.

Buy the comfy
tl;dr
For 15$, you get the comfiest game to ever exist. If you aren't into a game because of it's anime aesthetic, then that sucks for you enjoy your stuffy uncomfortable hell.
If you like waifu pandering visual novels with great storytelling and a clever setting that is clearly worth more than 15$, I definitely recommend this. You won't regret reading this ever.
As of now, this is my favorite game of 2016.

the waifu pandering