A surprise out of the last Indie World direct came in the form of Necrobarista: Final Pour. I had heard good things from our own Keiran McEwen about this particular Visual Novel, which is high praise from someone who generally despises Visual Novel titles. However, it didn’t take me long to figure out why he and others have praised Necrobarista so highly. This enhanced version of the game brings all the things fans loved about the original and adds a few extra things.

It is important to note some things here before we go further. The Final Pour version of Necrobarista is currently only out on Nintendo Switch and will be added to the PC version as a DLC/Update at a later date. This version contains a few additions as well, such as four hours of extra content not included in any other version, all the added side stories, a new Studio mode to craft your own scenes, etc, and a doodle mode, which lets you give the in-game robots faces.

Also, this review will not be giving spoilers of the actual plot or characters. Spoiling a Visual Novel in a written review kind of negates the purpose of you playing it, so I don’t exactly feel comfortable doing so.

Necrobarista is a Visual Novel that tells the story of a café that serves both living and recently dead patrons. The dead patrons have 24 hours to mingle in the café before they must move on to the “next place”. However, this Visual Novel experience delves into all sorts of things. It touches on things like necromancy, the coffee habits of Australian (specifically Melbourne) coffee hipsters, and the idea of moving on and letting go.

The characters in Necrobarista are varied, endearing, and all bring something to the table. One of them is even based on an Australian folk hero known as Ned Kelly, which may please Australian players who are aware of him. The most striking thing about Necrobarista though, is that it uses 3D cel-shaded visuals rather than a static 2D set of dialogue boxes like most Visual Novels. The game also has a built-in keyword glossary to tell you more about things highlighted in yellow.

It has a very cinematic quality that really helps you feel immersed in the story and its characters. It has some great camera work as well. Outside of the main story sections, you are able to explore the café and read memories, which contain anecdotes about the various characters, the café itself, and more. There is a lot of world-building involved, and I find it very effective to create that immersive experience that is often lacking for me in Visual Novels.

Between these story episodes is also where you can enjoy the two side stories that were added after the launch of the original game. These aren’t connected to the main story but flesh out characters and events that make the whole thing seem more complete. The characters are fun, the art style is beautiful, and for a Visual Novel, I actually find it pretty accessible.

There are a variety of options for adjusting the font size, outline, and other things to make it easier to read for the visually impaired. My usual complaint of a lack of voice acting still stands, but these options offset that somewhat. Overall, I think Necrobarista: Final Pour is one of the better Visual Novels that I’ve played. It manages to create a heartfelt, somewhat relatable story, wrapped up in a supernatural narrative.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Necrobarista: Final Pour was provided by Route 59 Games for this review.

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Necrobarista: Final Pour

$21.99

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great Cinematic Visuals
• Fun Characters
• Immersive World and Story
• Lots of Side Content
• Studio Mode Lets You Make Your Own Scenes

Cons

• No Voice Acting