Cafe of Roses

HOLYY ♥♥♥♥ FINALLY, the original game helped me realise I was gay when I was in a really really ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and emotionally abusive heterosexual relationship, I owe this developer a lot, hence why im buying this. The game is bound to be good, from what I've read so far the art is way better and the story is a lot more interesting than the original, you should give it a go!

[b]Note:[/b] I had the chance to try out this game, thanks to a very awesome friend who gifted me a copy. ^^ [h1]She seems familiar. :o[/h1] [h2]Introduction[/h2] [i]Cafe of Roses[/i] is a yuri, kinetic visual novel developed and published by ebi-hime. Set in the 1990s, you take on the role of Meike, a shy young woman living in Augsburg. Her life would be fine except that she has quite a problem. Walter, a wealthy entrepreneur, has been harassing her in the hopes that Meike will eventually marry him, and he's only encouraged to pursue her by Meike's mother, who wants a financially successful match. To temporarily escape from her problem, Meike visits Cafe of Roses, where her friend Henny works. Upon entering the cafe, though, Meike is surprised to be greeted by Magdalena, who has recently started to work there. Meike feels that she's met her before, but from where and when? As for the gameplay, the story is linear, so no choices are present. There are a total of 4 chapters along with an epilogue as well as a bonus story that's unlocked in the Extras section in the Main Menu afterwards. Lots of beautiful CGs are present as well as a varied soundtrack although no voice acting. Steam achievements are available although they won't count towards a user's global total until the game is out of "Steam is learning about this game". [h2]Review[/h2] I enjoy a well written, yuri visual novel, and ebi-hime has been known to create some of the best in the genre (at least, in my opinion ^^). Probably goes without saying, but I totally wanted to get around to this latest release as soon as I could. XD The story starts off slowly, with Meike working as a librarian and trying to do her job while Walter harasses her. When she's able to escape and she decides to go to the cafe for her lunch break and she meets Magdalena, that's when events start getting interesting. Meike feels drawn to her, especially since Magdalena has red eyes, which is unusual. Also, after meeting Magdalena, Meike begins to have dreams about Magdalena although the setting and circumstances are far away from her daily life. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3713557888 For those who are familiar with ebi-hime's yuri VN, [i]Cage of Roses[/i] (check out my review of it [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/skyeraye/recommended/2993720?snr=1_5_9__402]here[/url]), you can tell that there are lots of similarities. Aside from the characters, there's even a discussion at one point about parallel universes and whatnot. Even though I know that concept has been a bit overused at this point, I like that ebi-hime has it here, and I haven't seen this applied much in the VNs I've read. Getting back to the main story, [i]Cafe of Roses[/i] is quite sweet and there's a bit of drama in regards to Magdalena and her backstory. Christel from [i]Cage of Roses[/i] appears here as well, and thankfully, she has a much happier story. Without going into spoiler territory, I love how the story progresses and how it wraps up nicely, especially with that epilogue between two other characters from that alternate universe. In regards to the writing, it's paced very well. As for any grammatical and/or spelling errors, I only noticed one typo, and any typos tend to be fixed fairly quickly, especially with new releases. All Steam achievements unlocked for me without any problems. With the art, it is beautiful as always. The style feels very similar to that in [i]Cage of Roses[/i], which makes sense since there are very familiar characters from both games. Colors in this game feel a bit on the softer side, which I thought was good since the story here is supposed to be on the lighter side. Of course, the CGs especially are done well. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3713558085 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3713558254 Regarding the music, the tracks convey that Victorian-esque vibe, despite that the story takes place in the late 20th century. However, since Augsburg gives off more of that 19th century vibe, albeit with some modern touches, and the cafe has its employees dress up as Victorian maids and butlers, I thought the music felt appropriate. The tracks vary from the more upbeat tone to the somber, emotional mood. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] Would I recommend [i]Cafe of Roses[/i]? If you enjoy sweet yuri stories, are especially a fan of VNs by ebi-hime, and/or you enjoyed [i]Cage of Roses[/i], then this is worth checking out. Even though there are references to [i]Cage of Roses[/i] here, it isn't strictly necessary to have played it before diving into this story (although it certainly doesn't hurt). For the asking price, it's worth it, but you can always wait for a sale, and it's in a few Steam bundles. ^^ [quote]For more detailed, fully complete, high quality reviews like this, please follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44702020/]The Introverted Gamer[/url], prioritizing heart and soul always. ^^[/quote]

Really enjoyable read with pretty art. It was fun to see the characters from Cage of Roses in a different setting.

Well, I'm physically unable to resist when cute maids are involved, and since this is an ebi-hime yuri visual novel, I couldn't wait to play this as soon as possible. I was NOT disappointed! The prose is one of the things I enjoy the most whenever I read something written by ebi-hime, and this game is no exception. Everything feels grounded, which is, in my opinion, a necessity when telling a slice-of-life stories. The characters, their actions, and reactions are believable, and the story as a whole is pretty nice. 10 out of 10, would be Magdalena's good girl again!! This visual novel was made with the RenPy engine, which is a huge plus in my book, since it includes both DualSense PS5 controller support out of the box and the Self-voicing accessibility feature. I, being visually impaired, appreciate being able to play VNs without extra tinkering from my part. Meike is somewhat of a shrinking violet for most of the story. Though her core personality doesn't change, she more or less learns (is slightly forced) to stand up for herself throughout the plot. Magdalena is the type of girl who would totally top you wearing a maid outfit and being all polite and proper while doing it. What can I say, she's my type. Her backstory is interesting, her struggles are too bloody real, and her goals are admirable. I want her to be happy!! The rest of the cast are developed enough to serve the story and leaving us, at least me, wanting to know a little more about them. I like how ebi-hime, at least in the four visual novels I've read so far, gives us tiny hints and threads that could be part of another story. In this case, that epilogue was evil, and the '(big bad wolf' was ominous AF... Anyway, Café of Roses is a another excellent visual novel from ebi-hime. If you enjoy flirty maids, wholesome yuri, slice of life, or all the above, give it a try. Now if you'll excuse me, I must give Cage of Roses a read...

A very lovely story, i love ebi-hime's writing style as usual The characters were charming, the art beautiful and the story overall was very sweet Once i started reading i did not stop until i finished it, highly recommend

Café of Roses is a wonderful alternate universe story about the main characters from ebi-hime's Cage of Roses, transplanting them into a near-modern world and asking the question of "What if things were different?" with regards to a certain character whose relationship with Magdalena acts as the heart of the story, while most of the story spends time setting up the familiar romance between Meike and Magdalena. The story makes reference to the events of Cage of Roses throughout, and so I would recommend that if you're going to read Café of Roses, you [i]must[/i] read Cage of Roses. The story is set out in such a way that you could read either first and still experience the same impact. It was lovely to see the characters again in a lighter setting, and the very pretty art for sprites and CGs matches the change in tone. It has everything you want in a café AU and it's great to see a lesbian relationship with a child. My only minor complaint is that (mild spoilers ahead) [spoiler]beloved character Henny disappears around the mid-point of the story, it would have been nice to see her one last time at the church so she could learn Meike escaped Walter's grasp and is happy and in a relationship![/spoiler]. Otherwise the story did not leave me wanting. I hope we see more of these characters now that we know Augsburg is a hotspot for AU shenanigans :]

[spoiler]PLSSSSSSSSSS more lesbians raising a child[/spoiler] 10/10

I have only read the first chapter, but so far has been really sweet :3

Cafe of Roses is a really sweet and lovely kinetic yuri story. I like the hints and parallels to Cage of Roses and its interesting to see the characters from it in a different light and situation. The story is pretty captivating once you start reading it, especially if you know the other title. Also I would like to see more novels with the art from the same artist, hopefully another yuri story. The art style is gorgeous. Great work!

It's a fine little kinetic novel, maybe a little overwritten for my own tastes but my tastes are weird. The prose is good and will be a delight to those who are particularly keen on well written descriptions.