Older folks wonder, “Does anyone drink tea anymore?” Well, in one inter-life between being alive and dead, I recall tea being all the rage. It was apparently quite hard to brew tea well. But just because it was a bit tricky, you’d never call it an ‘art.’ That’d be uncouth. So when Pekoe the cat cafe sim launches this month and I can finally play it while sipping on my cup of earl gray, I’ll have my doubts put at rest.
A co-op farming sim where the cats are in charge, Pekoe lets you play as a cute cat as you run your own cafe and grow things in a cutesy countryside setting. Brewing delicious tea requires developing the skill and knowledge to grow, harvest, and even customize the types of tea sets used. Setting up a relaxing tea room requires renovating and redecorating the room by room until you achieve the desired stylistic design.
Pekoe is set in a town plastered with aesthetically pleasing wooden houses and charming teashops from which to purchase pure spring water and new ingredients. I say a town because, although there are other pets in Pekoe, they’re not exactly NPCs – players will get to know the ten different residents of Pekoe’s own village as they learn their likes and dislikes. Players will get to know their townsfolk and take them on various simple quests to grow their friendship.
The gameplay cycle of Pekoe sees the growth and harvesting of new ingredients, which is used to brew various types of tea, which is then served and shared with others to grow the fame of the cafe and make it a home away from home for the local cat friends. I spent a couple of hours with Pekoe at GDC and came away intrigued, although still on the fence as to whether success in a farming game can ever outweigh failure.
There’s a point when slightly adjustments are required to your own preparation and ingredients, meaning some of the herbs once grown in your plot become useless. I enjoyed the ritual more than I enjoyed whether it led to the best outcome, but that’s up to the developer to decide. If you love cats and want to adopt, you can now check out National Adopt a Senior Citizen Cat Month here.
Pekoe is set to arrive by the end of June, so keep your eyes out for it over on Steam. Don’t forget to wishlist it if you’re interested, too.