Disney Villains: Cursed Cafe review: A bland concoction

by

In Nintendo’s last Switch-centric Direct, there were some unexpected announcements, one of which was a visual novel from Disney and Bloom Digital Media titled Disney Villains: Cursed Cafe. Given that Bloom is the studio behind games like Later Daters and LongStory, there was a hint of promise for this story about Disney villains socializing at a potion bar. However, despite some effort, I’m afraid I can’t say that Disney Villains: Cursed Cafe left a lasting impression.

A squid lady, a queen, and a fashionista walk into a bar

In this creative retelling, the story of “The Disney Villains: Cursed Cafe” begins as our protagonist, who remains unnamed, responds to a classified ad for an extraordinary cafe. This isn’t your typical coffee shop; it springs to life each morning following the recitation of a peculiar spell from a mysterious book. Once activated, the cafe is filled with familiar faces—Disney villains, but dressed in more contemporary attire. The goal is simple: prepare and serve them their desired potion drinks or offer assistance tailored to their current predicaments.

In this game, players take on the role of “potionists,” a term used to describe their occupation. The core gameplay involves them rummaging through their cabinet for ingredients hidden under the counter and consulting their recipe book to prepare various concoctions. The goal is to serve drinks that match the customer’s desired effect, such as a potion to spark inspiration or erase a particular memory. As the game advances, more ingredients become available, but nothing gets excessively complicated.

Improving your potion brewing skills involves chatting with various characters and gaining insights into their current lives, but there are only so many conversations you can have in a day. This aspect makes the game appealing for multiple playthroughs, given its multiple endings. To clarify later, it’s simple to grasp what motivates each character. The main goal is to uncover the truth behind the mystery of the café’s original owner who appears to be missing.

Lending a cursed ear

In Disney Villains: Cursed Cafe, the gameplay is less central compared to interacting with some iconic Disney villains. Unlike other games that focus on retelling their histories or revisiting familiar territories, this game sets these characters in modern times. For instance, Maleficent aspires to become an influencer, Jafar aims to conquer the world through cryptocurrency, and Captain Hook seeks adventures in the realm of musical theater. While they still retain a level of one-dimensionality, there isn’t much depth to their characters. The conversations are usually amusing and contribute to the gameplay aspects.

Occasionally, players might make mistakes such as messing up an order or saying something that could upset the Evil Queen. However, there’s a chance to correct these errors with a second chance mechanism. Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove offers assistance through a potion called the Do-Over Doppio, which allows players to replay entire days. While this concept seems beneficial at first glance, it comes with a drawback – instead of redoing just a particular part, you must relive the entire day. This means any blunders with other villains, such as Captain Hook, also need to be redone since you’re forced to repeat everything that happened on that specific day. Keep in mind that Captain Hook enjoys talking a lot!

In other words, the problem with this game is that it lacks significant changes to its core structure. Just as making coffee day after day can become monotonous, the same goes for playing this game where you hear characters like Gaston and Cruella repeat themselves too often. It’s disappointing because, despite the vibrant modern-day outfits of the characters, they don’t seem to possess much depth or liveliness beyond their appearances. The overall presentation could also use some improvement, as it relies on still images and voiceovers instead of offering more dynamic interactions.

Open for business

Disney Villains: Cursed Cafe is decent as it stands, offering an engaging twist on classic Disney villains in a visual novel format. However, I found myself engrossed only briefly with several of the characters, and the need to redo days due to mistakes extended my playtime significantly, which wasn’t always enjoyable. While some players may find the daily grind of potion-making appealing, it seems I am not cut out for that kind of work.

Read More

2025-04-09 23:27