CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ is a mystery visual novel where you play as a young maid named [INSERT NAME HERE] who has to uncover the truth behind her death over the course of 7 days (though, technically the game's really 6 days, since she always dies on the 7th day). This'll be a pretty short review, but a TL;DR is at the end for those who just want a quick answer.
The gameplay is simple, but at the same time, I have mixed feelings on it. You pick choices at the start of the game that are pretty obviously telegraphed to be for developing relationships between one of the two characters, and then you make appropriate choices that allow you to become closer to the character over the course of the route. The game takes a Yoko Taro-esque route of "getting one ending, doing some parts over, and getting the next ending", but rather than it be just a select part or just an ending that hops off of another ending, you have to replay the whole game over again. Of course, the skip feature makes text you already read not much of a problem and the game isn't extremely long (I clocked in just under 5 hours), but I still found it a bit tedious.
The overall plot is pretty interesting, and I had some real "wow" moments once I put the pieces together, but the gameplay mechanic of replaying the game over and over to unlock the truth + some clunky dialogue bits can really confuse the player. As example, with the first route I had finished, I had absolutely no idea what just happened, and toward the end of the game, it took a bit of repetition to understand some key plot points. I could see these as points where many players might just stop playing/give up. I really advise that you push through these slumps, because I did have a fun time with the story at the end of the day.
Soundtrack and all art are pretty great, and very atmospheric. The characters of the game are pretty easy to figure out just by looking at them, but they're still plenty enjoyable. If you're not a fan of the "European noble house near village" kind of setting/played one too many Fire Emblem games, however, this may feel pretty generic to you.
TL;DR:
Would I recommend you play this game? Yes.
Would I recommend you play all of this game? As the entire plot comes together only when you've finished the true route, it's nearly mandatory you play all of the game. (To get an even fuller experience, I also recommend saving during the final set of choices of the true route.)
Does this game offer a lot of content? A good amount. Not too much, but not too little. The bit of repeating dialogue can be a bit annoying, but new things are still learned in each playthrough.
Is this game hard? It's rather easy to play since the choices are so obvious, but, at least for me, it was a bit tricky to wrap my head around the actual mystery of the game- the true route really helps you out here.
Should I buy this game at full price? A sale would probably be your best bet. $20 feels a little much for a game of this caliber, but half price is about right, and what I paid.
I rate this game an 8/10.
Hope I helped! ❤ lone
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