After co-designing both The Stanley Parable (2013) and The Beginner’s Guide (2015) in the span of two years, Davey Wreden found himself stuck in an emotional rut. Eventually, as he explained in an interview with PC Gamer, he set his sights on creating something “simple and peaceful”: a cozy game. This being said, when Karla Zimonja, co-creator of Gone Home and Tacoma, and Daniel Rosenfeld, a.k.a. C418, probably best known for being the original composer for Minecraft, joined forces with Wreden, the latter decided to shape the narrative of said cozy game around depression and burnout.
In 2021, during the Annapurna Showcase, the recently troubled Annapurna Interactive announced that they will be publishing Wreden, Zimonja and Rosenfeld’s game, who, in the years since, have rallied together to form a new studio by the name of Ivy Road. Besides the fact that it would involve tea somehow, the team, who, at the time of writing, has grown to include 17 full-time members, remained cagey about what it was that they were working on.
Ivy Road’s Wanderstop, a “narrative-centric cozy game about change and tea”, was finally revealed during Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest 2024. The initial trailer caught many by surprise because, but, while it showed that Wanderstop would include many of the trappings of the cozy game genre, it also implied, in the last 30 seconds or so, that there was maybe something sinister brewing behind the curtain.
“Taking everything into account, Wanderstop strikes me as a game at odds with itself: a compelling narrative about overcoming trauma, overburdened by uninspiring and repetitive gameplay systems.”
With The Stanley Parable, Gone Home and Minecraft all being among some of my favourite games ever made, Wanderstop piqued my interest immediately. Now, after a total playtime of 11 hours, throughout which I unlocked all of the Steam achievements, I’m of the opinion that, whereas Wanderstop is not quite the game I expected or even wanted it to be, it is still one deserving of at least a tepid recommendation.
Let me start sharing my impressions by first covering what I liked best about Wanderstop: the story. No spoilers here, but, just to set the stage, Wanderstop tells the tale of Alta, a previously undefeated warrior desperate to put an end to a recent and damaging losing streak. To do so, she convinces herself that she needs to study under the tutelage of Master Winters – a legendary hero who’s retreated deep into an enchanted forest.
On the way to find Master Winters, however, Alta, perhaps under the influence of the forest’s magical properties, is overwhelmed by fatigue. Her trusty sword becomes so heavy that she leaves it behind and despite pushing herself to the limit—as she often does—she collapses not long after.
Alta then wakes up in a clearing, on a bench, next to a seemingly friendly giant named Boro. Boro explains that he was the one who found and brought Alta there, and he subsequently suggests she rest at a tea shop he manages—a tea shop, as you may have guessed, called Wanderstop.
Alta vehemently refuses to have anything to do with Wanderstop, but, much to her chagrin, she realizes she is in no position to leave the forest either. Bit by bit, this once-fierce warrior, clumsily and begrudgingly, takes charge of the tea shop and everything that comes with it: collecting tea leaves, tending to customers, and more. I will not reveal much more except to say that Wanderstop’s story is as often hilarious as it is touching and that the game’s core theme—about how taking a breather can sometimes be one of the toughest things a person can do—is so well executed that it hits uncomfortably close to home.
What also works for me about Wanderstop is the overall presentation. I love the painterly—perhaps impressionist—aesthetic of the world and was constantly impressed by the individual models, especially the behemoth contraption that is the tea-making machine. I also loved decorating the tea shop with trinkets and other ornamental items—it really made me feel like I was making a home out of the tea shop.
Similarly, I loved everything about the bewitching piano soundtrack, masterfully put together by C418 – you can listen to the title track on Spotify here. I also really appreciated how it reflected Alta’s mood at any given time. On the topic of audio, though, I was a bit disappointed by the limited voice acting: only select lines are voiced, and these are few and far between. Moving on, performance on both PC and Steam Deck has been exemplary, the latter only needing some minor graphical tweaks to run smoothly.
“As someone who enjoys storytelling in video games, I really admire this decision, but at the same time, as a player, I also wanted a carrot on a stick to chase.”
Unfortunately, it is with regard to Wanderstop’s gameplay that my impressions stop being so glowing. To succinctly summarize what’s at play here, Alta’s primary goal—one she imposes on herself—at the tea shop is, of course, to brew tea for whomever decides to stop by. To do so, she must collect tea leaves and process them into tea balls, plant, water and collect the fruit needed, and then, finally, operate the tea machine: pour the water, boil it, toss in the ingredients, and serve the resulting concoction in a clean cup. Beyond the first few times I completed this routine, it all felt like busy work.
What’s more, the accompanying systems in Wanderstop are simply uninspiring and repetitive. To give just one example, some of the fruit that Alta needs to fulfill customer requests can be obtained only by planting the right seeds in a specific order. This would, theoretically, create a light puzzle experience, but what’s here is so superficial that I hesitate to even call it that. And, of course, in keeping with the game’s central story theme, you can’t fail a puzzle or a request—you simply execute the routine as instructed, or you don’t.
As someone who enjoys storytelling in video games, I really admire this decision. But at the same time, as a player, I also wanted a carrot on a stick to chase. As such, by the final hours I spent with the game, I was dreading having to do what, in my opinion, became nothing more than busywork. Thankfully, the poignant bits of plot speckled here and there ensured I reaped more than I sowed, which is ultimately what makes playing Wanderstop worthwhile.
Taking everything into account, Wanderstop strikes me as a game at odds with itself: a compelling narrative about overcoming trauma, overburdened by uninspiring and repetitive gameplay systems. To anyone interested in picking it up, I’d recommend trying the Steam demo first, if that’s an option. Gameplay-wise, what you see there is what you get, but story-wise, there’s more than meets the eye.
