This is a story about death and coffee. Inspired equally by film and anime, Necrobarista is a unique take on the visual novel medium. Follow a dynamic and diverse cast of characters as they navigate Melbourne's hipstery coffee culture, the questionable ethics of necromancy, and the process of letting go.
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Is there a best way to define the ‘visual novel’ as a genre? I’m not about to do a detailed dissection of my own conception of the genre (tried in an earlier draft, ended up swearing), but suffice to say Necrobarista by Route 59 ticks my main box: most of the gameplay is clicking to reveal more text. It isn’t first-person, really, or even from a consistent perspective, and there’s no narration – text is simply spoken by characters on or off-screen (represented by a cute little icon). There aren’t any decisions to be made that affect the plot, either (though it isn’t the only purely linear visual novel), so maybe by and large Necrobarista would fall into the mechanical neutral-to-rebel end of any VN alignment chart. It is quite anime, though, so if that’s a significant factor in your conception of the genre space it’ll slot neatly in. It even has an opening theme.