If your childhood (or actual) dream is becoming a barista, Bad Cafe has some good news for you. Aside from being a full-service cafe that offers specialty coffee and a food menu, they’ve also released their own self-titled barista simulator game.
“Bad Cafe: The Game” takes you behind the Bad Cafe bar as an intern barista learning the coffee making ropes. It’s a first-person point of view game where you get to make some of the cafe’s staple drinks.
The more you play, the higher your position at the cafe gets. You start off as a barista intern, but you can go as high as a coffee sommelier.
A narrator-slash-mentor helps you figure out your way behind the bar by giving you audio cues. The game also tells you what to do and where to press using visual cues.
Just like a real-life cafe, time and money are of the essence.
There’s a countdown timer that represents your tips that tick down while you make drinks. The longer you take, the less tips you make. There’s also an indicator on the upper right hand corner that tells you how much you’ve made so far.
Something surprising about the game is the amount of time and effort a cafe put into a phone game. Your in-game movements are fluid, and the setting is well designed. There’s Bad Cafe logos on some of the glasses and takeout cups, which makes it more authentic. Very much like a grown-up version of “Cooking Mama.”
You don’t see any customers in the game, but your tip counter definitely makes you want to work faster to take in the tips. It’s a fun game that’s easy to play and really lets you take on the barista role from tamping grounds to serving dairy-free lattes.
It’s a great—almost serene—game to play for coffee lovers, former barista wannabes, and anyone looking for a good time.
“Bad Cafe: The Game” is available on the App Store