Campfire Cat Cafe 4+

So I’ve been playing this game for 2 weeks now, and it’s such a relaxing game! I feel like a lot of f2p games really limit you to only 5-10 mins of gameplay until you have to spend money, or wait a few hours until you can play for another 5-10 mins. I really love how this game does not push you to spend anything! Of course, there’s still the option to. And honestly I’ll probably end up spending money in the game because I appreciate the devs for making such a great game! It’s not too complicated, and there’s plenty to do, plenty to collect, plenty to save your acorns for! I love that there’s a lot of options to watch ads to double your rewards for tips, flour, treasure hunt, the mini games with special customers. It’s a great free and optional way to advance in the game! If I don’t feel like watching ads, I won’t opt in. But there are some days when I’m trying to rush to get something so I’ll watch ALL the ads anytime I get and it usually gets me what I want pretty fast! So no complaints there.

The art style is beautiful and reminds me of the Studio Ghibli style of anime. I also love the cute themes of the different areas as you upgrade! Everything is pretty attainable.

I will say the story and the dialogue is also cute. I hope Alessia comes back though, I’d be fine with helping her manage the campfire cafe too! I feel like she could make a great addition to the game. She’s the only one missing! Literally 😂

A lot of games offer a nice playing experience at the beginning, and then beg you for reviews right before they price gouge you for additional content and play time. So I was waiting to write this review, but now that I’ve been playing this for a week, I think I can say this with confidence.

I love this game, it’s super cute and fun; it’s quirky and clever in narrative and asset design. Importantly, for the first time ever for a game of its type, I don’t feel backed into a wall to spend money in order to keep playing. I usually prefer games that you can just pay once to remove forced ads, and then essentially own the whole game ad-free. Which is fine. We should pay people for their work. This game does not offer that, but it doesn’t even have forced ads. Not at all. There are in-app purchases, but they sell things you WANT to buy, because there are such cute items and buffs. But you don’t NEED to. You can also acquire an insane amount of bonuses by watching ads voluntarily.

I wish every developer had this kind of business model; it really favors the player, and I am absolutely and necessarily impressed! Thank you!

This game was been the resolve to all of my short boring breaks at work over the summer. It was actually really fun meeting the new characters and developing the spaces all this time. I feel like all of the text about the different guests and cafe workers was so entertaining and really brought me just the right amount of joy this busy season. However, I believe I’ve reached the end of the game 😳. I upgraded the sanctuary for the last time and there are no more goals to reach moving forward. Now, I knew I was playing the game quickly and it took up a fair share of my screen time lately… but the plot isn’t going to end? The chefs wife never comes back? There are no more themed updates like a lumberjack or minimalist pack of furniture? I highly suggest adding another zone to the game like an arcade or a plant/thrift shop for an extension of characters and activities, which also might allow more time for the plot line of the chefs wife returning or finding out what that means for the cafe, the other characters, etc. I’m totally fine with there being a point of just collecting acorns and relaxing and mindlessly running the cafe, but I can’t help but think about how much potential there is for the game go reach a little bit further into its universe.