I found myself enjoying each character more and more, well, almost every character, as they become regulars to the bar and befriend the bartender, Jill. Suddenly you’re having a conversation about the concepts of life and freedom, AIs and how that pertains to the Lillim, the robots in the city, all the while being hit on by that very same brain in a jar. One day you may be serving the chauvinistic editor of a major newspaper, learning about the stress of editing a paper and dealing with the never ending streams of brown nosers, leading to his vague god complex, the next day you might be serving an actual brain in an actual jar. Not every conversation and character is an odd form of exposition where they talk about Glitch City, as if you haven’t lived there for a couple of years, other times you just talk about the lives of those you attend to and their jobs or even delving into larger philosophical conversations. The way you learn about the world and how it’s built is entirely through those you talk to while at your job, mixing drinks and changing lives, as the protagonist announces at the start of most of her shifts. Set in the dystopian city of Glitch City where poverty and inequality run rampant things are beginning to reach a boiling point as waves of terrorist attacks and cyber terrorism take hold of the city, but you continue your life working in a bar serving drinks. It’s filled with robots, genetically augmented people known as “Cat Boomers”, talking dogs and then those with more and more cybernetic enhancements. The cyberpunk world is one of the wonderful things about this game. It pulls off this quiet and relaxed atmosphere incredibly well and I find myself booting Va-11 Hall-A up every now and then after a long and tiring day and just drink myself silly while playing video games, except that I don’t feel like I’m drinking alone like some kind of alcoholic while playing Va-11 Hall-A because I might be drinking with a sex robot or a cat lady… or an actual dog wearing sunglasses. Va-11 Hall-A is designed to be played as you’re relaxing in the evening with a drink and some snacks and for you to just chill out with, the game says just about as much when you start it up. The premise is an odd one, you’re a bartender in a cyberpunk world, but unlike the 1983 arcade game, Tapper, there’s little actual gameplay within Va-11 Hall-A, or Valhalla, can I just call it Valhalla? No? Damn. There’s not really a game quite like Va-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action and I can understand why. While its gameplay might be a little simple, it’s still a wonderfully enrapturing game that had me clicking through one extra day after the next to learn everyone’s stories, as well as more hijinks that permeate throughout the game. Va-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartending Action is a surprising game that’s laid back and filled with wonderful characters to get to know and love. Some may just have small and infrequent appearances, but others will quickly become regulars and you’ll find yourself pouring their favourite drinks without even being prompted.(You can ignore that video if you want, I just get ostensibly smashed off of gin while trying to play a visual novel) They’ll interact with Jill - or the other customers and characters they meet - in their own way, and this may shift over time as the events of the story unfold. The characters have their own histories, careers, personalities and quirks. Each one would be a big player or background character in other games, but here they are all fully fleshed out and detailed.

It’s a simple concept, but it’s strengthened by the characters that Jill will encounter on a day to day basis. You mix the drinks from the ingredients on offer to suit the customer’s needs or requests, and depending on the drink you serve, the dialogue may end up changing drastically. Whereas the typical visual novel will offer branching dialogue trees and allow the player to pick conversation options, however, the gameplay here instead comes from your drink selection.

The game plays primarily as a visual novel that focuses on Jill as she goes about her daily work at Valhalla.

Robot bartender visual novel