CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~

[b]Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. - Aristotle[/b] [i]CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~[/i] is RoseVeRte's latest visual novel and the second game in CAFE 0 series so far. Comparing this newest installation to the previous one, it should be an obvious conclusion that RoseVeRte came a long way in five years and acquired a significant achievement in producing [i]CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~[/i]. Following the same concept in a different story, this sequel presents a similar supernatural mystery with astonishing depth this time. Our protagonist and the one to find her way to the strange CAFE 0 after her death is Corliss Green now. She is a young girl who has been working as a maid in the Ashford Mansion, residing on countryside near a village, for a week before her death. Apparently, Corliss came to the village to find her aunt Sophie Evans to fulfill her mother’s dying wish, who was missing for 15 years now and was offered a position as a maid by the household butler of Ashfords, Mr. Barclay. Being the stoic, apathetic woman she was, Corliss accepted the position without a thought since she had nothing else to do around. Apparently, she was always better at following someone else’s orders rather than deciding for her own. When she ends up at the cafe, she is greeted by Noir - another waiter equal in rudeness to Sui, yet less creepier, much scarier I'd say - and informed that she is to relive the last 7 days of her life before choosing a new destination for her afterlife. Oblivious and somewhat insentient to the events of her past and the true story of her aunt's disappearance at first, Corliss is forcefully sent back by Noir. Now she is expected to make choices, relive the week and discover her true self by learning certain emotions. While doing so she will also collect various information concerning the past and the current inhabitant of the mansion to shed some light to the case of the Sleeping Beast. The narrative quality and the event flow in the game are spectacularly good. All characters are fleshed out, with layered personalities, traumas, expectations, personal needs and distinct attitudes. It has been a delight to watch different characters in different probabilities and interactions. I'll state this directly: there are no stereotypes in this game. Every single one of the characters involved are presented with depth, nature and demeanor worthy of a Victorian novel. The whole idea of living through the same time interval affected by different choices and results is a beautifully used narrative tool here. This way, developer also manages to gather all different playthroughs into a single story, establishing a neat narrative consistency, which is a rarely achieved feat in this genre. Watching Corliss to discover about different emotions and grow as a character was a sorrowful delight. The mystery itself and the whole setting is a deeply melancholic one, so if you'd prefer cheerier stories, this might not be your cup of tea. Be warned about probable heartbreak and disturbing insight into human nature. But I know that I appreciated it all. Did someone said artwork? Well, CGs are not various, but the ones that we are presented with are top-notch. I know I'd love to see Ethan, Nathan and Corliss in more CG artworks but hey, I'm not complaining. Compared to the previous installation, [i]CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~[/i] displays a magnificent growth in artwork department. Also, the game soundtrack prepared by Yuang Chen and performed by The Seycara Orchestra is a complete delight, fitting for a glorious anime OVA even. Gameplay itself is somewhere between a choice option VN and a kinetic VN since the choices that we have here around are not various, yet their results reinvent the storyline so massively, you don't get to be bored of reading it. For the first three days, you'll have some choice options, which will effectively make you end up in one of the 4 paths. After that point, you'll just sit back and watch the path itself unfold. In each of these paths, you'll be collecting "hints" through your conversations with the inhabitants of the house. At the end of the day, Noir will use that hint to show you a fragment of the events concerning your aunt 15 years ago. After completing all 4 playthroughs and starting a new game, you'll get the opportunity to play the "true path" to solve the mystery of your death and the mystery of the Sleeping Beast once and for all. Would I recommend it? That is a definite "YES" coming from me. What we have here is a visual novel well-done with all its mechanics, artwork, narrative functions and setting development. Go ahead. This will be a impressive journey! Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ladystoryteller#curation]here[/url] - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!

This second title of the CAFE 0 series from roseVeRte feature a different female protagonist Corliss Green who took up employment as a servant maid for the Ashford villa while searching for her lost aunt Sophie Evans ends up at Cafe 0. With the Cafe 0 waiter Noir, Corliss is sent back to the living to uncover pieces of her past, discover more about herself and the mystery surrounding the Ashford family and eventually find peace in her journey after death which is unavoidable and will always occur within 7 days at the time of returning back to the living world. At the Ashford villa, Corliss is introduced to two members of the Ashford family Ethan Ashford and Nathan Ashford and the family butler Barclay. As Corliss attempts to find out more about her past through each character, she will return to Cafe 0 and back to the living again, reliving the same 7 days prior to her death with additional hints and past memories before eventually choosing an ending without returning to Cafe 0 in a tale of mystery, intrigue, subterfuge, fertility, love, honour, jealousy, duty, loyalty, superstition, witch-hunting, betrayal and vengeance. The game has plenty of save slots to allow different gameplay and dialogue choices to be made during the game, with a different coloured heart(black, blue, green or red) or gold gear popup icon to reach a different storyline branch and the option to skip and fast-forward any part of the game. Soundtracks and overall game presentation are good after factoring in theme song with vocals. Recommended when game with theme song and soundtrack DLC are at discount or in bundle offer as it takes less than 10 hours to unlock all past memories, reach all endings and unlock all CGs and achievements.

This is definitely Roseverte's best game so far, and I will tell you why. First of all, I'd like to say this visual novel isn't really an otome game; rather, it's a mystery game heavily focused on love. But what is love? Love is not only romantic, there are different types of love (such as family love, frienship love, etc) and THIS is what I'm talking about. Cafe 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ is a game about love. You play as Corliss, a maid hired to work for the Ashfords, a noble family living in a modest village. Unfortunately, Corliss is dead by the start of the game and arrives at Cafe 0, a place where "lost souls" gather when they don't know where to go after death (it reminded me of a sort of limbo). Here, she meets the grouchy waiter Noir, who tells her he'll send her 7 days prior to her death so that she can find out why she died...or could there also be something more? Of course there is, it's a mystery game after all ;D The game has a total of 5 routes; 4 of them are for the Ashford twins (2 for Nathan and 2 for Ethan) and the remaining one is the true route, which is unlocked after you finish the other 4. Personally, I recommend this order of playthrough: 1) Nathan Family route 2) Nathan Friendship route 3) Ethan Couple route 4) Ethan Partner route 5) True route Wait, what? Couple? Is this an otome? Well, although there is a route focused on romantic love, remember what I mentioned at the beginning of this review: Cafe 0 is a game about different types of love. Corliss is, how should we put it? A doll-like person, she's not what some people would describe as a 'kuudere'; rather, she's empty and only does as she's told. It's thanks to her interactions with the twins that she'll discover different feelings along the way (or along the routes haha) and, therefore, grow as a person and find herself. Some may think Corliss could be boring because she "doesn't feel anything" but NO, ladies and gentlemen, Corliss is a GREAT heroine who will also make you laugh several times due to her bluntness and, as she starts developing different types of feelings, she'll warm your heart. Then, of course, how can we forget the twins? Nathan, the tsundere yet kind boy and Ethan, the cheerful yet mysterious boy. I don't want to spoil anything because it's really a much better experience if you found out for yourself just how charming and loveable these 2 are. There are also other characters which will make an appearance in the past; this is due to Noir's power, but only when you find a HINT. Another reason why I recommend to play Nathan's routes first is not only because they have the least spoilers, but also because the game gradually gets darker and darker...and I'll leave it at that. So, to conclude, what are this game's pros and cons? Pros: -Beautiful art and GUI -Excellent OST (the developer is thinking of selling it, yay!) -Great story with lots of mystery and twists, but also heartwarming and funny moments -Great dialogue -There are very little repeated conversations, and they actually function as a sort of bookmark to the story -Amazing characters (especially Corliss and the twins) -Incredible japanese voice acting -If you leave the default name 'Corliss', the characters will call her by her name <3 (like in certain otome games) -You can easily go to the menu with just a right click on the mouse Cons: -The descriptions are not as good as the dialogue; many words such as "suddenly" are repeated plus there are certain phrases which are too commonplace (for example, the typical 'tears rolled down my cheeks') -This is not really a con but the birthday scene only changes on the true route, which is ok but I would have liked to see a little more variation of this scene on the other routes as well -This is just personal preference so you can ignore it if you don't agree but, having played a wide variety of visual novels, I've really grown accustomed to skip buttons being on the textbox. It's true that some of them are quite big and, therefore, cover a bit of the screen, but I've seen many visual novels (particularly otome games) where the skip button was small and convenient So, in the end, do I recommend this game? Of course I recommend it! It's a must play!

Café 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ is a melancholic, mystery otome game with a playtime of approx. 10 hours (I betatested this game outside of Steam, so that's why my playtime is just 4 hours). It is very intriguing and has an overall mystery that's hinted at in every single route, which is finally unveiled in the True Route. The characters are interesting and the music is to die for, not to mention the past is dragged directly into the story, thanks to a clever hint system which I'm personally very fond of. The Japanese voice acting is great as well (go, Eva!) and makes the characters come alive. It deals with loneliness, identity, love, death, loss, and many other themes, so it's very melancholic in spirit and left me affected for quite a while afterwards. While many would consider the playtime low for the price, the production quality is high, and the game is miles ahead of its predecessor, The Drowned Mermaid. If you dig mystery and melancholy, you should definitely consider buying it!

只想给差评！！！！如果你单纯是想泡个年下+双胞胎的话，请别购买这款游戏！！！这不是一个乙女游戏……这里没有一个人可以给你攻略！！！！ 先不说这不是个乙女游戏，光是游戏的cg和场景就有点一言难尽，可能资金都去了配音吧（不过配音还不错）。立绘还不错，但是CG有点崩，尤其是女主的，跟立绘有点差别。还有一些小暧昧小甜头的事件，居然没有cg的！！！！！！！！！而且故事内容比较短，这个价钱就算夏促都不值得购买！！！有这个钱还不如购买别的游戏…… 至于内容，真特么……没有好结局…… 在你以为可以攻略其中一个可爱的美少年的时候，作者却狠狠地打了你一脸，不仅如此每个结局ed后还给你一个补刀。终于好不容易有个恋爱点的路线，没想到是be+有补刀就算了，特么的真结局线还给你鞭尸…… 搞不懂作者在想什么，我知道你很有想法，但是，这个故事讲得好失败……悬疑这一点的确很勾人，然而真相就那么一回事，虎头蛇尾……【重点是居然不能攻略两个可爱的小天使。。。。简直难受。】说到底这一切的错都是那该死出轨！！！！该死的渣男！！！！ 本来有点看好作者的，但自从玩了这游戏，估计这辈子都没有勇气玩以后的作品了。心好累……我的小天使们QAQ……我还是去玩点甜度高的乙女游戏来抚慰一下我受创的心灵吧…… I want a refund！！！！！！！！！！！

For those who could read Chinese, 我认为这个游戏绝不值这个价格和需要花费在全通它获取真相的时间！游戏的背景图片真的非常尴尬，令人出戏的尴尬。故事也很神奇，我玩到真相线整个人如鲠在喉，因为真的没想到一堆变态大杂烩最后居然炖出了日式鸡汤。 变态也请变态得彻底一点！！好几次我都很激动觉得“哦哦哦熟悉的日本变态故事的味道我好兴奋啊“，接着下一秒要么就给你轻描淡写一笔带过要么就当场打脸。真的，专心写写变态的爱憎挣扎不是很好吗，为什么否定他们的确是拥有太过庞大的情绪这个事实，而用”你不过是在逃避而已”这种让人犯呕的鸡汤来结尾。好可惜，真的好可惜。 ……不过编剧有的地方我真的挺欣赏的，但是笔力太太太不够了。荒废了九个小时拿到真相成就以后，我终于明白为啥虽然全是好评但评论这么少了。 因为真的性价比超低！ English is not my native language, but I will try to express my opinion as clear as possible. I have to say I am deeply disappointed. I like the OST, the sprites and the game design. However, I just cannot ignore the fact that something is missing in this story. Many reviews say that the characters in this game are complex, and the story is full of pain and melancoly...though in my opinion, this might be what the creators intended to achieve, but not what the real game actually shows. I can feel the effort the creators put to shape the complexity of each character, but the outcome is just shallow and awkward. Yes I DO feel creators are trying. They show me the skeleton of a gorgeous beauty, but stop giving it a life. Can there be anything more disapponting than this? I could sense the morbid yet enchanting personality some characters possess, but there is no further detail to depict it. The text is just like "You know what, this character has this trait, this is all you need to know. I won't give you any further description about how this trait affecting their actions". Why just show a treasure in a few sentences and then cover it up? Why not show more details of the weaknesses of each character, to make the drama caused by them more acceptable than affected? And the last point is, everyone is somehow selfish. Selfishness is the reason behind every individual's every action, so if someone behaves totally different from others, there must be something motivating them other than simply selfishness. This word is not panacea for everything. Its existence cannot deny that some characters in this story are truly HENTAI. If you try to justify HENTAI using a normal logic, it will only humiliate them. Please don't show me a Japanese "you are just being selfish" chiche after giving me so many possibilities of a good story about love crime. As a person who has read a tons of visual novels, I won't say this game is totally bad; it is just not worth the price. I'd rather save the money to buy games like Soulslayer and House in Fata Morgana.

I didn't read the tags as usual (lol) so I didn't realise this wasn't an otome like the previous Cafe 0 so no romantic focus, it's more of a philosophical and mysterious kind of story :3 It's an improvement overall compared to The Drowned Mermaid in all aspects from art to character and story. Definitly recommend if you like VNs in general :D

[h1] "Curiosity might kill the cat" [/h1] [i] The darkness within the Ashford family... Are you ready to find out the truth? Not all people are strong enough to accept the truth. Everyone's fate is part of a large puzzle. Can you solve the Ashford family mystery? [/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2259371712

I love the art, sound track, voice acting, and story. Solving the 15 year old mystery of disappearances in the villa, and how it relates to the MC's own death, was super interesting and engaging. I loved getting to know each of the characters' past, trauma, and experiences. This game definitely does justice to the first game. I really hope there will be more Cafe 0 games in the future.

主人公が死ぬ7日前に戻り、真実を探りながら成仏を目指すお話です。4つのルートを攻略後、ゲームを最初から始めると真相編へ分岐が可能になります。ボリュームはボイスを全部聞きながらでも8時間ほどで終わります。セールで40%オフで買いましたが、定価で購入しても良かったと思える作品でした。