Sovereign Tea

I first heard of Sovereign Tea when it went from paid to free. It seemed like an interesting game with a meme-y premise and a somewhat cartoon-y art style, so I went into it expecting something light and unserious; in a word, "cutesy". I was not prepared for the political and interpersonal [i]drama[/i]. In a game about "Tea Princesses" fighting something called the "Coffee Empire" I was [i]not[/i] expecting entrenched classism, personal betrayal, deep introspection, accusations between Tea Princesses of being sent on missions to their death, or a debate about executing a political prisoner of war whom everyone agreed had done nothing wrong but who was worth nothing as leverage and potentially too dangerous to leave alive. I was not expecting Tea Princesses wrestling with the concept of just war theory, the limits of pacifistic isolationism as a normative theory of ethics, or the unfolding of a complicated historical drama as Tea Princesses and Coffee Regents alike struggled with the all-too-human legacy of a dark and painful past that some of them had participated in and others were inheriting. I also wasn't prepared for how it ended. But as the writing got me deeply invested in these fascinating, flawed humans over 40 hours of gameplay, I found it deeply inspiring to watch forgiveness and empathy win out over what initially seemed like irreconcilable differences. And while I've mostly talked about the writing and story, the game is no slouch mechanically either. I used to play more turn-based tactics games when I was young, and I found long-dormant neuronal pathways firing up again as I fought my way through the difficult and varied levels of this game, each of which presents its own unique puzzle to solve with the tools available. (There's a recommended selection of units for each level, but you're free to pick and choose your own too.) There are dozens of units available to both you and the enemy, and carefully understanding them and making use of their many synergies will be necessary for victory. I do have a few minor complaints with the game. I wish unit movement/attacking/healing happened via right-click instead of left-click, as there were plenty of times I accidentally did something I didn't intend while trying to select another unit (barring that, an "Undo" button would be nice). Also, unit ability names are confusing, since they only describe the trigger (e.g., "Prickly" means "when a unit is struck by an enemy"), not what the ability actually does. (So one unit with Prickly could deal damage back to the enemy, while another simultaneously poisons adjacent enemy units and gives regeneration to adjacent friendly ones – you just need to read the tooltips.) Most units (on both sides) also have love attack relative to their hitpoints, so many levels end up being something of a morass of units slugging it out, slowly grinding forward (or occasionally holding the line) until you eventually win. A few "glass cannon" units on the player side with high attack and low hitpoints would help a lot in speeding up gameplay, I think (you finally get one near the end of the game [Star Anise my beloved] and it's really helpful). Overall I would recommend this game, on both the mechanical and story side. It exceeded my expectations on both fronts. Plus, it's literally free now! You have nothing to lose from trying it out!

LET ME GIVE YOU MONEY PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TAKE MY MONEY

【购买需谨慎 智商心态考验多】 谁会想在上了一周的班后来下棋……我也是醉了，第一眼看画风超级像虫虫寓言，然并卵，剧情几乎没有，非常无聊，纯粹的下棋，除非以此为乐，否则一定会被难得掀桌(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻而且最让我想吐槽的不是这个，库中游戏100+每次退款都只需要1小时，只有这款游戏我退了3天，申请撤销了4次才成功……明明只玩了第一关和第二关，20分钟。

Инди-головоломка с элементами расслабляющего приключения, где игроки заваривают чай и решают необычные задачи. Плюсы: Уютная атмосфера — игра создаёт расслабляющую и умиротворяющую обстановку; Оригинальные головоломки — каждая задача уникальна и интересна; Разнообразие чаёв — возможность экспериментировать с различными сортами чая. Минусы: Краткость — игра может быть пройдена за короткое время; Ограниченные уровни — небольшое количество игровых зон; Медленный темп — некоторым игрокам может показаться скучноватым. Итог: понравится любителям расслабляющих и интеллектуальных головоломок. Уютная атмосфера и оригинальные задачи делают игру приятной для тех, кто ищет спокойный и увлекательный досуг.

I suspect it's possible to beat it in less time, but if you're dumb and/or love pretty women talking about war crimes, there's easily 30 hours worth of stuff for a single run. It's got a great cast of characters (very shippable! all women!!), a storyline with a lot of politics, challenging gameplay with kind of unit having their own little mechanic, and the art is so pretty! If you're a fan of Fire Emblem, especially Three Houses, then this is definitely worth a shot.