Today on the blog, we have a tester’s corner from Shiro!
Greetings and salutations, fellow ero enthusiasts. I am back again today to talk about Skyfish Poco’s NyanCafe Macchiato. Upon first glance, I was entirely ready to label this game a “Nekopara” clone from looking at the tin, and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong this time. I can confidently confirm that I consistently had a great time with this title; albeit while hitting some minor bumps along the road. So, let’s talk about it!
First off, I want to address the elephant in the room. Although the game leans quite into the “cat girl” aesthetic it is not a game about cat girls. None of the ladies you can respectfully bone are of the feline category. If you are looking for something in that genre, you would be best suited looking elsewhere and not being fooled by the title screen. That aside, the story follows a struggling part-time teacher looking to make ends meet after his home is burnt down and he is stuck running his grandfather’s café (real cats included!) Along the way, he employees three of his students who all decide to declare their respective love for him and the crazy sexy times ensue. While this set up is nothing particularly new and each of the three girls are walking, talking stereotypes, the game does an amazing job of making you care anyway. Each girl has their own personal struggles and tribulations that you as the main protagonist assist them in overcoming (often with lots of vanilla sex along the way). What can I say? I am a girl who loves a little plot with her porn most of the time. So I can appreciate that this game tries to make you care. Good on them.
However, in regards to the sex scenes I think if you are looking for a truly vanilla experience you should be careful. Most of the routes in the game start out completely “normal” and take a swing for the kinky very quickly. Not that this is a bad thing; if anything, I enjoyed the switch up a lot. It kept things fresh and not boring especially since the sex scenes in this game tend to be on the rather short side. I could see this turning off some folks who would otherwise love this game though, so consider yourself warned. That being said, even the “kinkiest” of the kinks explored in this game aren’t outside the realm of possibility and are pretty grounded in reality (as real as a porn game can be, that is.) That being said, it is wise to keep an open mind in regards to not only the sex scenes but also the girls’ routes. You should really try them all in my personal opinion. One character in particular I was not a huge fan of but grew to love her by the end credit rolls of her route, for instance.
The only true disappointment I had with this game was with the art, but in a very minor way. All the character designs and CGs were serviceable but repetitive. When the sex scenes are short to begin with, at least give me something new to look at. Some of the same CGs are used even more than two or three times. The same could be said for the character sprites as well that are not entirely expressive and only vary in a couple different ways. I do however really enjoy the style and aesthetic of the game. It is cute, very cute. If my only gripe is I want to see more of a good thing, that could be a compliment in a weird way.
Overall, I entirely recommend NyanCafe Macchiato. While nothing entirely special, it was a solid experience. If anything, it could be a nice pallet cleanser after a more plot-driven or intense work. It’s soft and sweet, like a good dessert after a long meal. Is there much substance? No, but you enjoy it anyway. I hope many people give this title a chance and are able to come to enjoy it as much as I did.