PAX West 2017: Necrobarista Preview
When the trailer released for Necrobarista, I was highly interested based on the presumed narrative and art style. Necrobarista is a visual novel set in an Australian coffee shop that caters to both the living and the dead. At PAX West 2017, I was provided the opportunity to check out Necrobarista, and though the demo was brief, the cinematography and narrative really stood out. Specifically, the premise and narrative of the demo (which will be discussed below) as well as the camera action, which features action shots, slow motion, and awesome text placement were the stars of the demo. Overall, the camera movement, position, and panning helped create a narrative that was immersive and film-like.
The demo features a short, self-contained sequence about a deceased customer wanting to compete for additional time to spend in the coffee shop. Without delving too deeply into the actual story, the gameplay portion allows the player character to move around the environment and view backstory and additional plot points within the narrative. Though the games do not allow for player choices, the game does let players choose how they view certain situations and narratives based on what information they decide to find. The game follows various key characters in the course of the story in order to paint a complete narrative, though time will tell how that narrative will come together.
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The demo was short, sweet, and left me wanting more especially as the announcement trailer featured more character interactions and diversity than was experienced during the brief demo. Of course, the narrative itself that features necromancers, hipsters, and gangsters is intriguing and is in line with the general atmosphere of the game. While the title is set in a coffee shop, the demo had a very shady vibe, taking place in what appeared to be a dark cellar. Though the narrative’s premise is interesting, it will certainly be a test for Route 59 to fully convert the interesting premise into an overall interesting narrative. Though the demo was shown on a PC, the title is also headed, much to fan’s delights, to the Nintendo Switch.
Were you at PAX West? What did you think of Necrobarista if you were able to check it out?
