Wanderstop review: The importance of taking a moment
In the fast-paced life we find yourselves in currently, Wanderstop’s theme feels like a soothing balm, asking you to take a moment and ponder: that there’s nothing wrong with pausing for a minute or two and appreciating where you are and how far you've come — and maybe, just maybe, doing nothing.
But I am getting ahead of myself just in the introduction. There are quite a few things to unpack about this tea shop management sim that manages to be a lot more.
Wanderstop’s cozy narrative both pleases and prods
The story and the characters that tell it
The player character is a warrior named Alta, who has given her all into becoming the best there ever was. After some time, at the top of the hill, she is dethroned, quite suddenly and unexpectedly, by warriors of much lesser skills. Alta is unable to scale the heights again, and now she is searching for Master Winters in the forest, who she believes can train her to her former glory.
I’ll admit that the start of the narrative seemed to have quite a few common tropes of such fantasy stories: a hero with exceptional talent is successful, faces failure, and then finally retreats to come back stronger. Alta thus embodies that common hero archetype, and the overarching narrative elements for the game can be a tad predictable, even. But where Wanderstop shines is how it goes about presenting its story, unpacking the whys, and showing what happens next.
Alta is not only unable to find Master Winters but also can’t bear the physical strain of carrying the sword or move forward. The stress proves to be too much, and she passes out in the middle of the forest. When she comes to, she finds herself sitting on a bench overlooking a clearing in the forest. In front of her is a building that houses the tea shop. There are trees, bushes, and mushrooms all around, while little water bodies are also available here and there. She’s not alone on the bench, as beside her is Boro.
Boro, a Baymax-like figure, comes off as a benevolent giant who's just “going with the flow.” He has brought Alta and her sword from where she had passed out. If you again decide to go out into the forest, the cycle will repeat, and Boro will diligently bring you back. He is neither chastising nor condescending, and merely asks Alta to take a moment and help him run the tea shop before she's off to regain her powers. Begrudgingly, Alta agrees. This is where you start playing the game.
With the premise set, you can quickly guess that you will come across a myriad set of customers who will have their own quirks, wishes, and contexts. Wanderstop absolutely doesn’t disappoint on that ground. We get to meet a warrior who recognises Alta but can’t initially accept her current role in the tea shop, a Demon Hunter who tries to help the community and perform rituals, and the suit of businessmen who want coffee at a tea shop. Rest assured, the 10 or 12 odd hours you will spend in the game is filled with wonderfully colorful characters.
One of Wanderstop’s biggest draws is the set of NPCs who adorn the game. They aren’t wooden pegs upon which the developers have merely hung philosophical dialogs to move the plot ahead. Instead, these characters are their own lively selves, and you may/may not relate with some of them.
Be it Boro, the wise/simpleton who the kind guardian of the tea shop, or Nana, the salesman who teaches about capitalism, you will get to learn more about who they are, their motivations, and then have the option to reflect the knowledge back on to your own character’s struggle (and maybe even to real-life).
Brewing tea and tending to the shop
The central tenet of the gameplay loop is the same. A customer will come up, and they may want tea (sometimes coffee). Your job is to figure out the tea they are looking for (if you can’t guess, ask Boro for clues), gather the ingredients, and brew the tea. Once the customers stop speaking, you will know you have to get to the next chapter of the story, and Boro will help you with that.
Tea can be gathered from bushes and set to dry to make tea balls. For flavor, you will need fruit from trees. A variety of seeds are available (changing with each chapter), and you will need to plant them in hex grids in a certain formation to grow them. You will also have to figure out which seeds make what hybrids in what combinations. The fieldbook will help you out in all this.
But don’t let the overall simplicity of the core gameplay distract you from the ingenuity of the whole package. The kind of tea you have to make, the mechanics involved, and having it yourself to reminisce about your past — all of it make a rich tapestry that’s thoroughly enjoyable and at times poignant.
Talking about mechanics, you will, at times, need to put an entire tree into your tea to make the perfect blend. To do so, you will need to utilize Shrinking Mushrooms and plant them in the required shape around the tree in question. Once the mushrooms do their magic, you will be able to pick up the shrunk tree in an empty pot. Now, all you need to do is toss the potted shrunk tree into the tea and voila!
Other than all this, you can sweep fallen leaves, tend to your garden, take snapshots to decorate frames in the shops, post lost items, and gather trinkets. And, of course, sometimes just sit, sip on tea, and watch the clearing.
In conclusion
So, why play Wanderstop? It is because of how the developers have managed to utilize the hero archetype and an overall predictable narrative into an experience that will deeply resonate with the facets of our current fast-paced, busy lives.
You don't need to complete any time-bound objectives that push you to find a quicker way to complete tasks. Instead, Wanderstop actually wants you to take a breather, pause for a moment, and enjoy the task at hand or the person you are interacting with.
I realize how preachy all of that might sound — like a self-help reel or textbook. But Wanderstop manages to not become so, and therein lies its beauty. The quest of gathering the courage to get back up after a nasty fall needs one to heal, Wanderstop delves into how one can do so.
Wanderstop
- Reviewed on: PC
- Developer: Ivy Road
- Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
- Release Date: March 11, 2025