When I played the Call of Boba demo during Steam Next Fest, I fell in love with the unique gameplay loop. Serve boba by day and shoot boba at office job stress monsters by night? Sign me up! So, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review the Early Access version of the game, which was released on March 10th.
Since launching into Early Access, Call of Boba has already seen a number of patches to improve some of the bugs and respond to player feedback. It’s clear the developer, Tomatoast, is committed to using the Early Access period to make this cute game even better. That also means this review is a little tricky as things kept changing while I played, but that’s not a bad thing – it just means it took me a little longer than usual to get a representative sample of what Call of Boba delivers for players in Early Access.
Key Details
- Developer: Tomatoast
- Publisher: Tomatoast
- Platforms: PC via Steam
- Price: $12.99 (Early Access)
- Review Copy Provided: Yes
A Story that Starts Close to Home
For those expecting fully lighthearted gameplay thanks to the adorable pixel art and boba shop premise, the starting sequence for Call of Boba can be a bit of a surprise. You play as Bobo, a bird whose burnt out from their big job in the city.
After losing said job, Bobo returns home to their small town, but they’re struggling to tell their parents about the whole situation. Luckily, a surprise run-in with an old friend gives Bobo both a home and a purpose. Living with their friend and helping rejuvinate the boba shop they remember from when they were kids? Perfect.
I like that this story deals with the very real disillusionment many people in my generation have with the big-city work dream. It’s a light touch at the beginning, but the layer of the types of enemies you battle during your nightmares adds on in a fun, imaginative way. You battle briefcase-wielding wolves, copy machines, and giant stamps in your nightly dreams, showing that Bobo is still working to recover from corporate burnout and recapture the joy of a slower life in Tapioca Town.
It’s a nice story for a cozy game that combines fishing, farming, and shop management mechanics. And it gives a bit of an explanation for the boba gun shooter element, which is a fun way to mix up gameplay and gather ingredients.
Bunches of Boba Recipes But Limited Shop Customization
Though still in Early Access, Call of Boba offers a great variety of recipes for players to unlock. As you learn each new recipe, you do a practice run to see how the drink is put together. This is different from how you actually make the drink during shop gameplay, which makes it a bit unusual, but it is a fun way to get to know each new drink before adding it to your menu.
Each time you open the boba shop, you set the menu with up to four (eventually five) different recipes. Then, it’s a fast-paced race to make the drinks and serve them up in time. Eventually, you unlock more help delivering drinks, but serving them up remains Bobo’s job alone. It’s a straightforward but enjoyable restaurant management loop.
Pick the cup, the mix-ins, the tea, and any link or toppings, then serve. And repeat. The variety of recipes keeps it interesting, and you’ll also encounter cutscenes that build upon the game’s story at the end of your shop runs sometimes.
As much as I love the actual boba-serving-shop element, the customization of the space is a bit confusing. Tutorials in Call of Boba are mostly pop-ups that you read, rather than actually walking you through things. As such, it took me a while to figure out how to change the decor in my shop. Even when I did, I felt a bit stuck.
One of the quests wants me to get my shop comfort to a certain level, but that seems basically impossible with the available items and the small section of the shop you can customize. It leaves me wondering if I’m missing something about how to redesign that one sad, broken table and chair in the corner.
A Little Bit of Everything for a Fun Cozy Mix
Like a lot of cozy games these days, Call of Boba tries to tick all the boxes. In addition to shop management and the nightly shooter mini-game to collect ingredients, you can farm and fish as well. The farming is straightforward but helpful, as you can grow ingredients to use in the shop. Much of what you grow needs to be processed first to make usable ingredients, giving Call of Boba some light crafting elements as well.
For fishing, the mini-game is unique. You have to match the arrows set to a different tune to catch each type of fish, which is a fun little twist on fishing. That said, aside from selling the fish to get a little extra money for ingredients, there’s not really a purpose for the fishing. It feels a bit like one of those things you add in because you feel like a cozy game needs it. Since you can ignore it if you don’t want to fish, that’s not a huge issue, and the mini-game is pretty fun.
The shops in town also sell a variety of tasty treats. Bobo can eat them to restore stamina, but unless you’re doing a lot of fishing and farming, I find that you don’t really need to. I kind of wish that stamina went down a bit more quickly so I have a good excuse to try all those tasty cakes and dishes. As it stands, this element also feels a bit unfinished, and I’m left wondering why there are so many shops that sell things I don’t seem to need.
Early Access Score – 7/10
In all, Call of Boba combines an adorable art style with a unique twist on restaurant management sim gameplay. It’s still a little bit rough around the edges, and not every feature has found its full purpose just yet, but that’s to be expected in Early Access. Despite wishing that some of the elements, especially farming, fishing, and eating food, were a bit more integrated, I found myself wanting to come back to Tapioca Town again and again.
With a little polish, which I’m confident we’ll see as time goes on, Call of Boba is likely to become a real cozy gaming gem. I look forward to seeing the full release when it arrives.
**Bonus Action was provided with an Early Access PC code of Call of Boba for the purpose of this review**
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