Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Review | A Grind Indeed｜Game8 (2024)

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic is a cozy simulation that takes you back to the days of the COVID-19 pandemic, all within the warm and inviting atmosphere of a quaint Tokyo coffee shop. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Review Overview

What is Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic?

Set in the middle of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, play as the barista and coffee shop owner as you struggle to make ends meet in the middle of the global infectious virus that brought the world to a halt. Despite everything, a handful of customers still manage to make their way to your cafe, so you, having been on your lonesome for so long, decide to strike up conversations with all sorts of patrons, with whom you can build and raise your relationships.

Maintain your cafe and build meaningful friendships and relationships, even if it means going against restrictions and secretly opening at night!

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic features:
　⚫︎　Interactive First Person Sim
　⚫︎　CoffeeBrewing Gameplay
　⚫︎　Covid-19 Trivia
　⚫︎　Jazz and Blues Music
　⚫︎　Cozy Atmosphere

For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic's gameplay and story.

Digital Storefronts
Steam
Price		$9.99

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Pros & Cons

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Overall Score - 62/100

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic tries to romanticize the COVID-19 era in a cozy coffee shop setting, but much like an over-extracted brew, it quickly loses its flavor. While it has its pros, the game ultimately feels like a cheap cup of joe—forgettable and bland.

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Story - 5/10

The game's story is set during the pandemic, where you play as a barista encountering various customers in your coffee shop. Unfortunately, many of their stories are dull and forgettable, with the characters serving merely as exposition dumps about the pandemic.

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Gameplay -6/10

The gameplay is relaxing and simple, requiring minimal input, but it quickly becomes repetitive. With little variety to keep things fresh, it starts to feel like a real 9-to-5 job—just doing the same tasks over and over.

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Visuals - 7/10

It’s not the most visually striking game, but it nails the cozy coffee shop vibe with its muted colors and warm atmosphere. However, it would have been nice to see the faces of the customers to enhance the experience.

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Audio - 6/10

You like jazz? If not, then you might want to hit the mute button, because that’s what you’ll hear 99% of the time. While the music perfectly captures the coffee shop vibe, I just wish there was more variety to keep things interesting.

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Value for Money - 6/10

At $10, the price is fair, but it raises the question: who is this game really for? As a former barista, I can say it feels like a lackluster simulation that doesn’t quite capture the essence of the job.

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Review: A Grind Indeed

It's hard to believe that nearly four years have passed since the pandemic began, and we’re now living in a mostly mask-free world. While there were some positive outcomes, like the rise of remote work, the COVID-19 pandemic was overwhelmingly devastating, with countless people losing jobs, homes, and even their lives.

COVID-19 still lingers, affecting lives in various ways. So, it raises the question: why would this game choose to remind people of such a difficult time, and why do so through the lens of a barista? Does it attempt to romanticize that period?

To begin, let me explain what this game is all about. Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic is a first-person barista and café owner simulator. You'll have complete control over your shop, preparing and serving a variety of drinks for your customers. You can choose different coffee beans, grind them to perfection, and create the ideal brew for you and your patrons. Beyond the business side, you'll also engage in conversations with a diverse array of customers who come to your shop in search of comfort and a good cup of joe.

While the concept sounds intriguing on paper, the execution sadly falls short, making the game quite forgettable. First off, the gameplay isn’t your typical first-person simulator. Everything is fixed; you don't have control over the camera, and brewing coffee follows a repetitive, step-by-step process every time.

It would’ve been much more engaging if you could fully immerse yourself, moving the camera around and using your hands to grind the beans and brew the coffee. Instead, it feels like a fixed loop where you just press buttons. A more realistic barista experience, where mistakes were possible and part of the learning process, would have added depth.

At first, the gameplay feels awkward, but over time, the monotony becomes somewhat relaxing and cozy—you don’t have to worry about messing up, and if you do, you can just try again. This creates a pleasant, almost meditative pace as you go through the motions of serving customers and fulfilling their coffee or tea orders day by day.

However, the lack of variety quickly makes the game repetitive, and it becomes far too easy. The limited coffee bean options are another letdown, especially since the shop only offers pour-over coffee. It would’ve been nice to have more choices, like making espresso or iced coffee, to add variety and challenge to the experience.

The monotony could have been alleviated if the stories you hear were more engaging, but unfortunately, they’re rather dull. While I appreciate that the game provides insights into the COVID-19 situation in Tokyo, the customers often feel like mere mouthpieces for trivia, lacking any compelling story arcs to accompany their dialogue.

I hate to sound like a coffee snob, but this game still needs some time to brew before it can offer a truly satisfying experience.

Pros of Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic

Relaxing Gameplay

Despite my issues with the gameplay, its simplicity can actually be quite relaxing—it’s a turn your brain off kind of experience, and I mean that in the best way. The goal is to create the perfect cup of joe for your customers by meeting specific criteria, like achieving a certain evaluation score or hitting a bitterness level. There's a meter at the top to help guide you through this process.

Brewing coffee in the game is a straightforward, step-by-step process focused on pour-over techniques. You start by choosing your beans and then select the amount—normal, large, or small—which affects your final score.

Next, you grind the beans by tapping the space button at the correct speed, aiming for the best grind quality. The final step is pouring the water over the grounds, where you’ll carefully bloom the coffee by hitting the space button at just the right intervals to achieve the ideal brewing ratio. It's actually pretty cool that the game teaches you this technique, even if it’s in a simplified form.

Very Educational

It’s refreshing to see that while the game does romanticize the pandemic in some ways, it also acknowledges real-life events and their impacts, like the cancellation and postponement of the Olympics and the closure of conventions affecting manga artists’ incomes. Additionally, the game provides useful information about coffee beans, offering insights that can be valuable both in and out of the game, especially if you're interested in brewing or becoming a barista.

Cons of Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic

Repetitive to a Tee (tea)

The game quickly turns into a grind, much like a real-life job, which isn’t exactly what I look for in a simulation. This is primarily due to the limited options available, especially when it comes to making coffee. It’s always pour-over, with no other methods like French press or espresso shots to add variety. I love a good cup of joe, but a bit more variety would have been a welcome addition.

Mostly Forgettable Stories

The customer stories are unfortunately quite forgettable; I never felt invested in any of them. I found the facts and trivia much more engaging than the customers’ tales. In fact, I don’t even remember their names, partly because we can't see their faces—not just due to masks, but because the game doesn’t show their upper halves at all.

Is Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Worth It?

Might not be your Cup of Joe

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic is priced fairly at $10, but if I were to compare it to coffee, it would be like a very dark and bitter brew—not for everyone, though some might appreciate it. Ultimately, there are still many better options available in the market.

Digital Storefronts
Steam
Price		$9.99

Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic FAQ

What Type of Coffees are Featured in the Game?

In the beginning the game features three types of coffees, Colombian, Guatemala and Ethiopian.

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Tokyo Coffee: Grinding in the Pandemic Product Information

Title	TOKYO COFFEE: GRINDING IN THE PANDEMIC
Release Date	August 9, 2024
Developer	Heaviside Creations
Publisher	Heaviside Creations
Supported Platforms	PC(Steam)
Genre	Simulation
Number of Players	1
Rating	NA
Official Website	Heaviside Creations Official Website