Tavern Keeper 🍻

I WAS enjoying this game when I started playing it. It's a cool concept. And a charming art style. Setting things up and seeing them running is fun. However by the second scenario of Halflington, it is not longer fun, but frustrating. You start learning more as time progresses, but Halflington chucks so much at you at once, on top of the scenario goals of trying to win the festival it's ridiculous. Here, suddenly have overnight groups to worry about to win the competition when you've got 10 plus staff already, and no room to add more beds so you can't even run a night shift because your tavern is so small and every single item has such an unreasonably large footprint. The second scenario literally spoiled my entire outlook on the game and I do not want to play it again. And likely wont unless changes are implemented. The AI CHEATS, and not in a fun way you can overcome. Staff get unhappy for seemingly asinine reasons. It's too cold, or not enough light, WHILE SLEEPING. Put heat sources in the room, and despite being cold they don't bother to light them. Just lay there getting angry in their sleep. Placing lights doesn't seem to get rid of the not enough light debuff, but also seems to annoy the people that want darkness. EVERYTHING is so needlessly large, with a ridiculous sized foot print and interaction points that it makes designing a tavern an effort in frustration rather than something that is enjoyable. The space you have to build in is tiny, in comparison to the objects you need to place, and when you need a LOT of objects it just gets tedious. Sure they're adding expandable taverns in the next update that is apparently coming out in Q3, but that doesn't change anything now. I want to run a tavern, not play a puzzle game with furniture just to make something functional. The halfinglington scenario is not enjoyable. It throws too much at you at once, then introduces all night mechanics to you after getting you to fill up your limited space so you cant run a night shift. With everything being so large, this also has the knock on effect of making the designer suck. Everything is massive, and it looks silly. Anchor points on many items are also wrong. Trying to hang paper or pictures on the wall just causes them to anchor to their ends so they're sticking out. I could rotate them to be flush, but trying to do this for multiple items is tedious af rather than enjoyable. Your taverns end up looking like a random mess due to trying to squeeze in the overly large items you have to use into the tiny space the game allows you in each scenario. While you can edit the game before you start in a good deal of ways. Playing on standard, how the devs wanted it. food spoils too quick, and makes you waste money. Deliveries take too long, which means you run out of stock and get lower ratings for food and drink. Because you can't keep a large stockpile of food and drink because there isn't enough space to store it all. Storage options unlock far too late to be useful. Guests will only ever order the highest star items, which means there is no point varying what drinks you sell or what food you sell. Lower star stuff will just sit there and spoil, again wasting money. There is no random variation in what patrons like. The time line across the top gets so full of things it's near impossible to tell what is even happening. Mousing over it does nothing, or doesn't highlight the different events clearly. Having the group requests tucked away in the future sight thing is a pain, whats more seeing the future doesn't seem to help with anything either. It never reveals anything useful, and even after I've read the tooltips and explanations I still don't understand it, or how to read it, so I never use it. I wouldn't even notice if it was removed. The game has a charming art style and it runs well. But it has so many layers of frustrations and basic UI issues that it's just not enjoyable to play at the moment. I really wanted to like it too after recommendations from my friends.

My playtime is for a complete playthrough where I tried to take my time and enjoy the atmosphere. There's nothing else to do aside from the item workshop. The item workshop would be interesting if it made a difference in the game somehow. But there is no mechanical function in the game since custom creations don't have decoration ratings. Map sizes are too small during the campaign to feel any real sense of agency. Simply put, there is no choice in how spacious or cramped the tavern feels. There is barely enough room for the bare essentials. This also eats in your replayability. There's no hiding that this is legally distinct 2-Point Tavern (take their arms off, maybe nobody will notice?). But you've missed the core gameplay loop of returning to previous maps to get more stars and increase the size of the build with your new unlocked pieces. Time between campagin objectives after completing a previous objective is far too long. I found myself sitting for an extended periods of time, literal days in game, with nothing to do while waiting for the next objective to pop. The next objective being: wait some more. Once you get on top of the loop there's nothing to do. "Nothing" also includes any decoration or designing I'd want to do since there's no room to place anything that isn't a flat wall piece, and you can't open the object editing prompt without pausing the game. The third map is especially egregious in both poor pacing and insufficient space. There isn't room to have an intelligently placed kitchen or storerooms with the burden of having rooms to rent which also require a Front Desk is too much. The front desk in particular is just too far. Add a hostess station placeable in the taproom, or just let the barkeeps rent out rooms from the taproom by placing the key rack there. Or, hear me out, make your maps less claustrophobic. Being able to clean out the inside of the map and sell everything at the start of a new mission would be my preferred solution. You have purposefully made frustrating and badly designed spaces, then you punish players for removing the free decorations. So to be clear, I still can do this by moving each object and storing on the map over time. But why should I have to waste so much time cleaning up? It's a single player chill and vibe game. Stop pretending like your layouts aren't intentionally obtuse, have some respect for your players. There are missed opportunities to have the the Vera's quest, and others, physically represented on the map in any way, even through sound design and a slowly changing construction site as objects change. You lean too heavily on the meta-narrator and trite meta-tone of the writing. It's cute, but after a while it becomes fatiguing when so many interactions result in nothing happening. The letters and storybooks just suddenly halt to the game. Followed by a droning 90 seconds of narration per page for text that takes less than 15 seconds to read in its entirety. Your voice actor is great, the writing is ok, but you've done too much of it too densely and it feels cheap when its all crammed back to back to back to back to back to back... Let the game breathe, it's suffering from a perpetual tutorial-cutscene-tutorial-cutscene-deathgrip.

The game focuses way too much on the design tools instead of actual gameplay. It feels like the developers are trying to build Adobe Illustrator inside a game. Snapping is messy, there are multiple snap points that don’t always align the way you expect, so you spend more time fighting the interface than playing.

从第一次玩已经过去4个多月了，期间修修补补的补丁倒是有，但大更新完全没有，也没有新地图，这是在干什么？

Early Access Review (March 8, 2026) Pros: + The atmosphere is fantastic — both the art style and the way the story is told build a really engaging mood. + Chapter intros and outros are strikingly similar to the style of Two Point games, with voiceover, short cutscenes, and narrative closure. A very pleasant and satisfying touch. + Despite being in Early Access, I haven’t encountered any bugs that blocked or prevented gameplay. + The graphic style grows on you, and as you play you start noticing how much attention to detail the developers put in — it really adds charm. + Many interconnected systems that genuinely make a difference in how you manage your tavern. + Built‑in bug reporting system. Well done! + Ability to reset a stuck character (right‑click and expand the options). Cons: – The tutorial is very weak and doesn’t explain things clearly. – Building is unintuitive until you’ve done it several times and explored the options — something you simply can’t afford early on due to limited funds. In the first mission I made a mistake I couldn’t undo because I didn’t have enough gold (I forgot to place an extra door leading to the dock, so I couldn’t receive deliveries). It ended in a frustrating restart. – On the third map, customers kept getting stuck at the entrance. I lost a lot of time and gold trying to find the issue, even with the pathfinding overlay. The problem was only solved when I turned the corridor into part of the bar. This definitely needs fixing. – The maps are FRUSTRATING. I understand that limited space is part of the challenge, but after completing a level in campaign mode, there should be an option to buy additional space for expansion. Especially since there are only three maps so far, and if you want to play sandbox mode with later upgrades, there’s simply no room for it. – Currently, employees have no progression system, which means you’re stuck with either weak workers or good ones with frustrating flaws. I get that it’s part of the difficulty balance, but the training system really needs to arrive sooner — the combination of picky employees and limited space artificially slows down progress. – The stories brought by guests are cute… for the first 20. After that, they become annoying. The inability to skip them is irritating, especially when something important is happening in the tavern. There should be fewer of them, or players should be able to skip non‑essential ones. – At the moment… there’s no real sense of reward. After finishing the third scenario and switching to sandbox mode while waiting for the full release, you hit a wall. Sure, you can design decorations, but not everyone wants to do that. I’d much rather play on a custom map — either self‑designed or outside the campaign — where I can build my dream tavern instead of struggling with campaign limitations and the creeping sense of boredom. Tips: – You can switch the clock from the barely visible classic style to a digital one by clicking on it. – No matter how many cleaners you hire, if there are no brooms nearby, they won’t clean the floors. It’s worth placing a broom in most rooms (they can move them between rooms if the distance isn’t too large). – When planning your layout, consider using narrow, seemingly useless spaces — the kind you’d normally turn into corridors — as storage or part of the bar. You can also place decorations there to increase the room level. At the moment, the game offers around 20 hours of content and is not worth its current price. Polski : Recenzja wczesnego dostępu (8 marca 2026) + Klimat gry jaki buduje grafika, ale i sposób snucia opowieści + Wstępy i zakończenia do rozdziałów łudząco podobne do gier 2 point z lektorem, mini filmikami i zamknięciem opowieści. Bardzo przyjemny i satysfakcjonujący dodatek. + Mimo iż to wczesny dostęp nie trafiłam na żadne błędy jakie zablokowałyby mi, czy uniemożliwiły rozgrywkę. + Do stylu graficznego z czasem można się przekonać a w miarę grania zauważa się, że twórcy naprawdę przyłożyli sie do detali jakie dodają jeszcze uroku. + Dużo zazębiających się systemów jakie pozwalajją rzeczywiście zauważyć róznicę przy zarządzaniu. + System raportowania błedów wbudowany w grę. Brawo! + możliwość zresetowania zaciętej postaci (prawy przycisk myszy i rozwinięcie opcji). + Jak dotąd pomijając parę drobnych błędów pełne spolszczenie wersji tekstowej, więc nawet niepewni swoich zdolności językowych mogą spokojnie grać. - Bardzo słaby samouczek nie wyjaśniający wszystkiego zbyt jasno. - Budowanie jest nieintuicyjne póki się nie zrobi tego kilka razy eksplorując opcje na co na początku w samouczku zwyczajnie nie ma funduszy. Zrobiłam w początkowej misji ucząc się błąd jakiego nie mogłam odwrócić z braku złota (nie wstawiłam dodatkowych drzwi pozwalajacych dotrzeć na przystań i nie mogłam odbierać dostaw) skończyło się frustrującą koniecznością zaczynania od nowa. - Na 3 mapie klienci blokowali mi się przy wejściu. Straciłam masę czasu i złota nie znajdując problemu nawet z nakładką znajdywania drogi. Problem rozwiązało dopiero zamienienie korytarza w część baru. Zdecydowanie przydałyby sie poprawki. - Mapy są FRUSTRUJĄCE. Rozumiem, że ograniczona przestrzeń jest częścią wyzwania, ale po przejściu danego poziomu w trybie kampanii powinna być opcja dokupienia przestrzeni na rozbudowę. ZWŁASZCZA, że póki co są tylko 3 mapy i jesli chce się grać w grze swobodnej ze zdobytymi później ulepszeniami zwyczajnie nie ma na to miejsca. - Brak na chwilę obecną możliwości rozwoju dla pracowników sprawia, że utykamy albo ze słabymi albo dobrymi w tym co robią, ale z wadami jakie utrudniają rozgrywkę. Rozumiem, że to część balansu trudności, ale akurat z opcją nauki u pracowników mogliby się pospieszyć, bo kombo tego i niedostatecznego miejsca na spełnienie wymogów wybrednych pracowników sztucznie spowalnia rozwój. - Opowieści jakie przynoszą goście są urocze... tak do 20 a potem frustrują. Brak możliwości pominięcia ich drażni, zwłaszcza gdy w karczmie akurat dzieje się coś wymagającego uwagi. Powinno ich być mniej, lub gracze powinni mieć możliwość pominięcia tych nieistotnych dla fabuły. - Na chwilę obecną... brak gratyfikacji. Gdy kończy się trzeci scenariusz i próbuje grać w trybie gry swobodnej oczekując na pełną wersję zderza się ze ścianą. Owszem jest możliwość projektowania dekoracji, ale nie każdy chce się w to bawić. Wolałabym pograć w tym czasie na własnej, samodzielnie zaprojektowanej mapie, albo takiej spoza scenariusza gdzie można stworzyć wymarzoną karczmę a nie męczyć się z ograniczeniami kampanii i poczuciem... znudzenia. Podpowiedzi : - Zegar da się zmienić ze słabo widocznego klasycznego na cyfrowy klikając na niego. - Niezależnie od tego ilu masz sprzątaczy, jeśli nie będzie mioteł, najlepiej gdzieś w pobliżu nie będą sprzatać podłogi. Warto powiesić taką w większości pomieszczeń (mogą je przenosić między nimi, jesli nie jest daleko). - Przy planowaniu rozkładu pomieszczeń warto zaznaczyć wąską, pozornie nieużyteczną przetrzeń jaką by się normalnie wykorzytało na korytarze jako magazyny lub część baru. Można tam też wstawić dekoracje podwyższając poziom pomieszczenia. Na chwilę obecną gra ma około 20 godzin zawartości i nie jest warta swojej ceny

I thought to myself "is this worth reviewing after only three hours?" and, you know what? Yeah. It is. Why? Because those three hours were only supposed to be one and felt like six (in the best way). I couldn't put it down. The game very expressly told me "Hey - you can keep playing the tutorial swamp tavern, but just so you know there isn't anything more to unlock gameplay-wise so you might as well move on since you got your one star for the tutorial." Did I stop? No. Because my swamp tavern needed lights. And a better stock of brews on tap. And side menu options to go with my swamp rat skewers. I was addicted. And that was just the tutorial. I'll gladly update this review if I'm proven wrong and the rest of the game isn't worth it; but if you don't see an update to this, you and I both know the answer. UPDATE: Still worth it! I was a little bummed when I reached the end of my leash and completed the third scenario, but it sounds like they have oodles planned for the future and the moment I realized Freeplay offers two alternate (and larger) layouts of each of the existing three maps it was Christmas all over again. This game is oozing with charm. Just play it.

Had high hopes as I've put many hours into Game Dev Tycoon. Sadly, I can't imagine going back to this game. The graphics and narration are fun but the gameplay mechanics are tedious. Progression often relies on little mini quests that are aggravating rather than fun and too much of the game relies on decoration through a hideously awkward decoration interface, I was hoping for a management game but this game doesn't seem to know if it's a story-based adventure, a management game or a SIMS style builder. It attempts all three and is master of none.

**Not Recommended (for now)** I had a lot of fun with *Tavern Keeper* when I first started playing. Building up my tavern, managing staff, and expanding the business was engaging, and it's easy to get hooked on the early progression. The art style is charming, the animations have plenty of personality, and watching your tavern grow is satisfying. Unfortunately, as I got further into the game, I found myself caring less about what I was doing. The sense of progression that kept me hooked at the beginning slowly faded, and the gameplay started to feel repetitive. I gradually lost interest because there wasn't enough new content or meaningful progression to keep me invested. I understand the game is in Early Access, and I don't expect it to be feature-complete. The foundation is solid, and I can definitely see the potential. However, in its current state, I don't think there's enough content to keep players engaged for the long term. For that reason, I can't recommend buying it **right now**. I'd suggest waiting until a few more major updates have been released that add more content, progression, and variety. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on future updates because I believe this game has the potential to become something special.