*The small text issue mostly has been fixed in the recent patch.

My Playtime: 32h (48/49 achievement, finished the game)
My First Playthrough: 21.7h
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (~29 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.

Tavern Talk is a visual novel set in a fantasy setting where you run a tavern, serving your customers drinks, listening to their stories, and sending them on a quest. It plays out just like Coffee Talk (my review) and VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (my review) where you stand behind the counter and focus on mixing drinks and reading the dialogues.

Pros:
- Multiple endings, both for the story and the quests
- Fast-forward button to skip already-read dialogues

Cons:
- Most text can be too small in Steam Deck
- Making drinks can feel repetitive and boring

Specs
Steam Deck: AMD Zen 2 4c/8t 2.4-3.5GHz, 16 GB RAM, 8 AMD RDNA 2 CUs

Yes.
If you enjoy a casual visual novel where you listen to fantasy stories, buy it on a sale.

---

Tavern Talk is depicted in 2D visuals. The game tries to make characters look alive by giving them animations, though they are looped, leading to quick repetition. However, they still look stiff to me, as sometimes their expression might not match with the dialogue.

As someone who likes fantasy settings, I enjoyed the story. The dialogues mostly revolve around the main plot and journey that the patrons experienced—their adventures, their worries, and their relationship with the other patrons. Quests will also change the outcome of these adventures, which will be determined by your decision prior to their departure.

I liked to see how the characters had grown. The game might not make it subtle—it might look too obvious, but it's nice to see how they are striving towards the better person in the end. Strangers turn to friends, people fighting through their worries—things like that.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3272292968

On the negative side, the dialogue can be too boring sometimes. Some conversations are made in metaphors to make them look pretty, and you might not even understand what they mean, sometimes because they talk in a lingo that is exclusive to their world. This might also be caused by the fact that the game doesn't explain the worldbuilding well, though. Luckily, you can just skim over these parts and still understand the story.

I like how your actions can influence the ending, especially the quests, but it seems that the result was too predictable and naive. The game seems to paint most quests in black and white, picturing the world to always work in your favor if you always try to understand the other side. Sometimes, this might even result in the story coming off as weird. I wish it would also showcase the dangerous side even if you try to be kind, making the quests to be harder to predict.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3276652944

The ending feels weak. Despite being the finale, what happened during the final act was treated just like another day in the tavern, just like how you solve the earlier quests. It might be because you are not the one doing the actual job, but I wish the conclusion was more impactful to the main character.

Gameplay
You can categorize Tavern Talk as a visual novel with a little bit of mixing drinks gameplay: you'll listen to your customers' stories and give them drinks when they ask for them. That being said, I found the same characters to be asking for the same type of drinks most of the time, with only a difference in the wording.

Drinks
There are different types of drinks with different stat distribution, but the patrons seem not to care about that. The game makes it simpler to know what the customer wants by providing a note with the stat that they need, and that's all you need to know about. Giving drink A or B won't matter as long as it gives the same stat, which makes the drink variation itself useless. You can just introduce one type of drink in each stat and it won't make any difference.

And then there is the infusion mechanic. It allows you to imbue a drink with skills and increase its stats. It can help to force you to choose which drink to aim for, especially since it will decrease other stat, which might make it impossible to make certain drinks. However, the infusions will only be requested during quests—you can add them to non-quest drinks, but there won't be any differences to the story.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3274801994

Speaking of quest drinks, yes, your choice matters. Through drinks. During quests, you'll be given two drink options to serve to your customer. The drink that you give will change the quest outcome. It won't be hard to make the drink that you need—you just need to look at the book for the infusion and stat distribution thoroughly.

Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 21.7h. The rest of my playtime is to sweep the rest of the achievements. The game has four endings which are dependent on the quest results. It can be exhausting to get them all, especially since you need to redo the game from the beginning to reach them. Moreover, there aren’t many dialogues that were covered in the ending and you'll be wasting a lot of time just to read those dialogues.

The game isn't difficult at all—you can even make drinks that the customer doesn't want and they'll still accept it. There is no currency or whatsoever that can make you fail the game early. Heck, even the ending doesn't rely on your drink-mixing skills.

Issues
Some texts, especially the ones in the book, are too small in Steam Deck. Sure, you can adjust the font size in the settings, but that only works for the dialogue.

There is also no option to skip the delay when the characters are speaking with punctuation. I set the dialogue speed to be the fastest, but it's still useless if I had to wait for the delay because the character was speaking with commas or dots.

The game might not have the best dialogues, but Tavern Talk is still a good read for those who like to read fantasy stories. You'll listen to adventurer stories and get along with them—it's as if you are playing an RPG game, but you are not playing as the hero who saves the world. If you like a cozy story in a fantasy setting, you'll like this game, although I'd prefer to recommend buying it at a sale.

This game was reviewed with a key provided by the developer for free through Curator Connect.

Follow our Curator page, Summit Reviews, to see more reviews regularly.

*The small text issue mostly has been fixed in the recent patch. [b]My Playtime:[/b] 32h (48/49 achievement, finished the game) [b]My First Playthrough:[/b] 21.7h [b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] No. [b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (~29 achievements). [b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No. [h1]Intro[/h1] [i]Tavern Talk[/i] is a visual novel set in a fantasy setting where you run a tavern, serving your customers drinks, listening to their stories, and sending them on a quest. It plays out just like [i]Coffee Talk[/i] ([url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198132503739/recommended/914800]my review[/url]) and [i]VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action[/i] ([url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198132503739/recommended/447530]my review[/url]) where you stand behind the counter and focus on mixing drinks and reading the dialogues. [b]Pros:[/b] - Multiple endings, both for the story and the quests - Fast-forward button to skip already-read dialogues [b]Cons:[/b] - Most text can be too small in Steam Deck - Making drinks can feel repetitive and boring [b]Specs[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck]Steam Deck[/url]: AMD Zen 2 4c/8t 2.4-3.5GHz, 16 GB RAM, 8 AMD RDNA 2 CUs [h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1] [b]Yes.[/b] [i]If you enjoy a casual visual novel where you listen to fantasy stories, buy it on a sale.[/i] [hr][/hr] [h1]In-Depth Review[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] [i]Tavern Talk[/i] is depicted in 2D visuals. The game tries to make characters look alive by giving them animations, though they are looped, leading to quick repetition. However, they still look stiff to me, as sometimes their expression might not match with the dialogue. [h3]Story[/h3] As someone who likes fantasy settings, I enjoyed the story. The dialogues mostly revolve around the main plot and journey that the patrons experienced—their adventures, their worries, and their relationship with the other patrons. Quests will also change the outcome of these adventures, which will be determined by your decision prior to their departure. I liked to see how the characters had grown. The game might not make it subtle—it might look too obvious, but it's nice to see how they are striving towards the better person in the end. Strangers turn to friends, people fighting through their worries—things like that. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3272292968 On the negative side, the dialogue can be too boring sometimes. Some conversations are made in metaphors to make them look pretty, and you might not even understand what they mean, sometimes because they talk in a lingo that is exclusive to their world. This might also be caused by the fact that the game doesn't explain the worldbuilding well, though. Luckily, you can just skim over these parts and still understand the story. I like how your actions can influence the ending, especially the quests, but it seems that the result was too predictable and naive. The game seems to paint most quests in black and white, picturing the world to always work in your favor if you always try to understand the other side. Sometimes, this might even result in the story coming off as weird. I wish it would also showcase the dangerous side even if you try to be kind, making the quests to be harder to predict. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3276652944 The ending feels weak. Despite being the finale, what happened during the final act was treated just like another day in the tavern, just like how you solve the earlier quests. It might be because you are not the one doing the actual job, but I wish the conclusion was more impactful to the main character. [h3]The Game[/h3] [b]Gameplay[/b] You can categorize [i]Tavern Talk[/i] as a visual novel with a little bit of mixing drinks gameplay: you'll listen to your customers' stories and give them drinks when they ask for them. That being said, I found the same characters to be asking for the same type of drinks most of the time, with only a difference in the wording. [b]Drinks[/b] There are different types of drinks with different stat distribution, but the patrons seem not to care about that. The game makes it simpler to know what the customer wants by providing a note with the stat that they need, and that's all you need to know about. Giving drink A or B won't matter as long as it gives the same stat, which makes the drink variation itself useless. You can just introduce one type of drink in each stat and it won't make any difference. And then there is the infusion mechanic. It allows you to imbue a drink with skills and increase its stats. It can help to force you to choose which drink to aim for, especially since it will decrease other stat, which might make it impossible to make certain drinks. However, the infusions will only be requested during quests—you can add them to non-quest drinks, but there won't be any differences to the story. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3274801994 Speaking of quest drinks, yes, your choice matters. Through drinks. During quests, you'll be given two drink options to serve to your customer. The drink that you give will change the quest outcome. It won't be hard to make the drink that you need—you just need to look at the book for the infusion and stat distribution thoroughly. [b]Length and Difficulty[/b] I finished the game in 21.7h. The rest of my playtime is to sweep the rest of the achievements. The game has four endings which are dependent on the quest results. It can be exhausting to get them all, especially since you need to redo the game from the beginning to reach them. Moreover, there aren’t many dialogues that were covered in the ending and you'll be wasting a lot of time just to read those dialogues. The game isn't difficult at all—you can even make drinks that the customer doesn't want and they'll still accept it. There is no currency or whatsoever that can make you fail the game early. Heck, even the ending doesn't rely on your drink-mixing skills. [b]Issues[/b] Some texts, especially the ones in the book, are too small in [i]Steam Deck[/i]. Sure, you can adjust the font size in the settings, but that only works for the dialogue. There is also no option to skip the delay when the characters are speaking with punctuation. I set the dialogue speed to be the fastest, but it's still useless if I had to wait for the delay because the character was speaking with commas or dots. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] The game might not have the best dialogues, but [b]Tavern Talk[/b] is still a good read for those who like to read fantasy stories. You'll listen to adventurer stories and get along with them—it's as if you are playing an RPG game, but you are not playing as the hero who saves the world. If you like a cozy story in a fantasy setting, you'll like this game, although I'd prefer to recommend buying it at a sale. [quote]This game was reviewed with a key provided by the developer for free through Curator Connect.[/quote] [quote]Follow our Curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41449676/]Summit Reviews[/url], to see more reviews regularly.[/quote]