Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy | Switch Review

It’s a well known fact by now that I’m a big fan of visual novels. I’m always tempted by the opportunity to become engrossed in a fascinating story, and Kikai Digital and Ratalaika Games have crafted a unique one with Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy. This title blends coffee, romance, magic, and emotions into an isekai story. It sounds like a strange mix, and it is to a degree. It doesn’t nail everything, but it does make for an interesting experience.

A Fresh Cup

You are placed in the shoes of a young man named Taka Knight. He’s searching for his missing mother and decides to fly to Japan to see if she could have returned to the country where she grew up. On the flight, a strange woman gives Taka a thermos filled with mystery coffee (don’t drink coffee given to you by strangers, kids). Taka gulps it down, only for plane-kun to crash. He wakes up in an alternate universe version of Japan. This Japan seems to be in the Victorian era, but there is a major steampunk element going on.

After strangely finding the coffee shop his parents ran together in Victoria (the new Japan), he’s determined to both find his mother and become a barista to help keep the coffee house operational. The hitch? Baristas are highly revered in Victoria, and it takes years of training and passing a rigorous exam to become one. Taka has two weeks to gather all of the needed knowledge and hands-on experience. As you can tell, he’s in a bit of a pickle. To make matters stickier, he also has four gorgeous women that he can choose to romance during this time. The misery!

Perk Up

Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy is head-over-heels in love with coffee and the art of brewing. I learned so much about the different kinds of coffee beans and how to properly brew multiple beverages that I felt like I attended Caffeine University. I was impressed with how deeply the game delved into this subject matter, but it did make me feel like I was reading a textbook and made the experience drag on for way too long. 

Another gripe of mine was the fact that a magic system using caffeine was introduced but quickly thrown to the side and brushed under the rug without expounding further on it. It would have been really cool to incorporate the Caffeine Duels that were showcased at the beginning of the story into the rest of the narrative, but alas, they were seemingly forgotten in the desire to instead pound coffee knowledge into the players’ brains.

A Lingering Flavor

To hop back onto the positives of this visual novel, it has absolutely gorgeous graphics and a cheery, soothing score. There is also some partial voice acting, which is solid. I do wish more lines had been voiced, but that’s a minor nitpick. I really enjoyed the beginning and ending of Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy’s story, and all of the characters felt realistic and made me care about them. All of the romance options are excellent choices, and I genuinely had a tough time choosing whom to woo.

There’s also a decent replayability factor, due to the multiple endings and romance options. Sadly, you can’t skip dialogue you’ve already encountered at this point in time, so to achieve all the endings will take easily 25+ hours. My playthrough took around 8 hours to wrap up, but this time will depend on how fast you read.

The Final Verdict

Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy is an interesting visual novel that manages to jam in romance, coffee education, and emotional beats into its story. Learning so much about brewing and coffee beans became a slog, and I do wish the magic system had been included more and further fleshed out. The narrative is strongest in its opening and closing acts, but it makes up for a weak middle with its beautiful art style, relatable characters, and relaxing score.

 

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy provided by PR Hound for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC via Steam.