Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-07-21 18:58 JST)

Singapore indie game publisher Spiral Up Games has announced Affogato. The game is scheduled to come to PC (Steam) in 2023 and will support English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. A demo will be available starting July 29.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaJdISEskCk

Affogato is an RPG that brings together many elements including card-game mechanics, tower defense, and running a café. The game takes place in the city of Arorua which is inhabited by vampires, beasts, spirits, and sorcerers. The protagonist of the game is a sorceress who just arrived in the city and is in a lot of debt. She runs a café that customers with worries of their own visit as players listen to their problems and sometimes solve them using magical powers. Enter the minds of your customers and uncover their deepest secrets through the game’s combat system.

Battles take place when the sorceress barista enters the minds of her customers. While the details are unclear, battles are described as having “reverse tower defense” elements. Like enemies in a tower defense game, you continue along a route and fight enemy units placed along it. There are also card-game mechanics where players will have to consider elements like a card’s cost and attributes along with panels that can change your route. Some enemies can only attack in a fixed direction, so rotating or changing panels and using skill and item cards are the key to victory.

Players will also be working as a barista at the café and making coffee for customers. The game boasts having realistic coffee-making simulation where players will grind coffee beans, operate equipment, and follow detailed steps to make their desired drink. The game features different types of drinks such as espresso, americano, latte, cappuccino, and mocha, and the different flavors will impact the storyline dialogue. Affogato has six different characters players can pursue closer connections to, with each having their own individual scenarios.

Actions in the game also cause time to pass making time management a priority. Will you focus on running your café, building stronger connections, or powering up your deck? It sounds like players will be left to manage their own daily lives.

Affogato is being developed by Befun Studio in Shanghai, China. According to a press release, the studio was founded by a group of magical girl fans in 2019 with the goal of developing even better 2D games. This is the studio’s first title.

Affogato is planned to release on PC (Steam) in 2023, with a demo coming on July 29.