It’s time to mix drinks and change lives in VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action now available on the Nintendo Switch from Sukeban Games.
VA-11 HALL-A is a super stylish bartending sim set in the Cyberpunk styled Glitch City, a city with a whole lot of secrets and unique citizens for you to discover. From the comfort of a bar countertop you play as Jill, one of two employees at the BTC bar designated VA-11 HALL-A. There you mix drinks and make conversation with a large cast of clientele that can range from grumpy publishers, rescue force workers, adult industry workers and hired mercenaries. Some clients will request specific drinks while others will give you vague instructions on what drink they may feel like which can add to the challenge and will change the dialogue depending on how they are served. Looking through the drink recipes and mixing up various cocktails and beverages is easy to understand and fun to do if not a little repetitive at times. At the end of the day Jill will get paid depending on how well she does serving people, while there are no real high stakes, Jill still has bills to pay and needs to be met that help her concentrate at work.
There is some real retro future style in VA-11 HALL-A that mimics PC-98 adventure and visual novel games while feeling set in a cyberpunk like future similar to Blade Runner, Snatcher and Bubblegum Crisis. Glitch city feels full of tension and unrest, hearing rumours and news about what’s happening around you really makes you feel like you really are a part of the world but not a hero that’s called to action. There is a jukebox in the bar that allows you to choose a number of chiptune and vaporwave inspired tracks to play throughout your shift and help set the mood.
VA-11 HALL-A is full of little Easter eggs and references to both popular culture and other games but overall it’s the story that really drives it along. Getting to know the characters, their lives, their stories and their feelings is what makes VA-11 HALL-A so compelling and will require multiple playthroughs to uncover everything. Certain dialogue options are hidden quite cleverly behind different drink choices, some of which must be bought from the store and others that are hidden recipes. It’s easy to tell that a lot of care has gone into making each of these characters as interesting as the last and the allusion to early anime with it’s female heavy cast is quite apparent but never overbearing.
So grab a drink, get comfortable and get ready for some Cyberpunk Bartending Action with VA-11 HALL-A. A fantastic story driven title that’s perfect for on the couch or on the go.
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Mat Panek
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.
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Disclosure: VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action [Nintendo Switch eShop code] was kindly provided by Stride PR for Ysbryd Games for this review.
