When it comes to “slice of life” visual novels, I tend to gravitate more towards those with queer themes. Which is one reason why I didn’t hesitate to back Caramel Mokaccino, as they promise some yuri routes in this otome visual novel. That said, I still wanted to get an idea of what the potential romances are like and how the game looks currently in the demo provided. I’m happy to say that I’ve enjoyed the experience thus far.
As we know in the pitch, you play as Penny as she starts her first year in college, and gets a part time job at the titular cafe to help pay for her living alone. Beyond that you’ve got a number of potential romance partners to choose from, both male and female. The demo doesn’t really delve much into anyone’s sexual proclivities beyond Enzo and his partner Ozzie, but you can certainly tell who might like Penny from some subtle character interactions. Especially if you’re playing nice with them.
With that said, the demo for Caramel Mokaccino does have some functionality missing. Including a lot of placeholder or unfinished art for backgrounds and characters. But, I also knew that going in as they mentioned in the pitch that it’s far from done. Frankly, that’s something that I can live with especially if I can get a feel for the overall plot of the game. Even though it only covers the first two weeks, you still start to get to know everyone a little bit and where they could end up.
The main thing that I miss in the demo is the waitress mini-game. I would have loved to have seen how it plays out in the final game, but not having this in the game already is something I can live with. Particularly that it’s considered a stretch goal for the Caramel Mokaccino campaign. Speaking of stretch goals, at time of writing they’ve already unlocked one and are close to the above-mentioned mini-game. Which means that we should eventually see it as part of the finished game itself.
There are other minor pieces of the Caramel Mokaccino “puzzle” missing in this build, but they don’t really take away from the experience. Outside of not having the waitress mini-game and a good chunk of missing or placeholder art we are limited to only a few options when it comes to figuring out what you want to do with your “free time”. Such as not being able to travel to the town. But, as I said these are minor nitpicks and don’t take away from the narrative.
All in all, Caramel Mokaccino is worth at least keeping an eye on if not outright backing. Especially if you’re a fan of otome visual novels that give you the option of going straight or lesbian with your romances. Sure, the demo is far from being polished but that’s what the funding is for. Having already reached the base goal and is rapidly approaching several stretch goals this is most certainly one to keep track of. The ones I’m looking forward to are the “threesome” paths and the extra yuri game. In fact, I liked the demo enough to want to try out their previous work. Which is what I intend to do.
