Wanderstop review: a charming tea shop game that welcomes its imperfections

      "Wanderstop is an earnest tea shop management game that embraces its flaws."

      **Pros**

      - Genuine storytelling

      - Strong characters

      - Frequently funny

      - Beautiful visuals

      **Cons**

      - Occasionally cheesy

      - Lackluster puzzles

      - Unfulfilling farming

      In 2017, I hit rock bottom.

      I had just spent a year combating a growing political ideology that threatened to harm my loved ones and many others. Each day felt like a struggle against an overwhelming wave of hatred. This relentless effort culminated in a disappointing defeat at the polls. By January, I was despondent. I felt devoid of fighting spirit, convinced it would never return.

      This familiar sense of burnout resonates with Alta, the relatable protagonist of Wanderstop. Ivy Road's debut game follows a once-invincible warrior who spirals downwards after suffering a loss. Her anguish and self-doubt lead her to a magical tea shop, where she is compelled to learn the lessons I too internalized during my own period of recovery. You can’t win every battle, and you'll certainly struggle to continue winning if you don’t take time to recuperate in between. Legacies aren't solely built on victories, but also on how we evolve from our defeats.

      It's a fitting takeaway for Wanderstop, a debut that doesn’t fully achieve victory. Its limited shop management and puzzle mechanics create a relaxing experience that never quite finds solid footing. What it lacks in complexity, however, it compensates for with heart and authenticity. It’s a meaningful narrative that recognizes that not every game has to be a masterpiece. Sometimes, merely planting a seed is sufficient.

      **Alta’s Journey**

      While Wanderstop markets itself as a cozy tea shop management game, it primarily serves as a narrative adventure. After fleeing through the woods in a panic, Alta awakens in a clearing. She meets Boro, a gentle barista who operates a tea shop in the middle of nowhere. His shop, Wanderstop, acts as a magical refuge for wandering warriors like Alta to relax. Boro invites Alta to help with the shop, an offer she reluctantly accepts since she can no longer wield her beloved sword. This scenario initiates an introspective therapy session, prompting Alta to face the aspects of her personality that compel her to fight when she has nothing left to give.

      This reflective narrative largely succeeds due to Davey Wreden’s witty script. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given Wreden’s work on The Stanley Parable and its exceptional pseudo-sequel. However, it is surprising how different his writing feels here. If you expect an ironic meta twist in Wanderstop, you won't find one. Instead, Wreden tells Alta’s story with authenticity, portraying a genuine depiction of burnout through a fantasy heroine. Her spiral of anxiety is relatable; she believes her identity hinges on her victories. The thought of pausing to reset feels like a death sentence to her. I wish I couldn't relate to Alta, but I undeniably do.

      Wanderstop always retains its emotional core, even during its silliest moments.

      Wanderstop not only embraces the necessity of slowing down, but it also sees it as essential for survival. Alta's personal growth throughout the narrative occurs as she learns to stop and appreciate the tea leaves. Menial tasks like filling a watering can or planting seeds provide a much-needed break from her previously violent lifestyle. Only by resting can she gather the strength to continue her battles. Ivy Road isn’t merely creating a cozy game to ride a trend; the studio engages with the genre meaningfully. It transforms the stress-free enjoyment found in games like Stardew Valley into a commentary on mental recovery. Occasionally, it gets a bit cheesy with platitudes that sound like they come from self-help books, but it always approaches the subject earnestly.

      Wreden doesn’t completely discard the qualities he has mastered throughout his career. Wanderstop still offers some delightfully humorous moments amid bouts of existential reflection. This humor emerges not only from Alta, whose bold demeanor and dry wit make her an ideal annoyed barista, but also from her customers. The narrative is divided into specific segments where two or three characters roam the small clearing around the shop simultaneously. Each character possesses their own multi-step story that unfolds as players fulfill their requests and engage in conversation. This format allows Ivy Road to craft a fully developed cast of characters rather than just a revolving door of anonymous customers.

      These individual narratives can be quite comical. In one segment, a competitive merchant sets up shop in the clearing and aggressively challenges Alta to a battle of commerce. Later, a group of businessmen begins milling around, searching for a venue to present trivial graphs about financial growth. Wreden even injects his signature humor into a series of ludicrous noir novels that escalate in absurdity with each new installment. There is a sense of a broader world outside of Alta’s bubble, a peculiar place populated by eccentric individuals who are somehow