Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy from Ratalaika Games and Kikai Digital is a visual novel set in a steampunk Victorian reality. Learn more in our Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy review!
Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy from Ratalaika Games and Kikai Digital is a visual novel set in a steampunk Victorian reality. You take on the role of Taka Knight, a pretty average guy. He’s currently on a plane on a journey to try and find his mother. He hasn’t seen her since he was six, and he’s recently been having many dreams about her inside the coffee shop where he and his parents used to live. The coffee shop was named after him, so it’s a hard one to forget – Taka Coffee House. He found an envelope with colorful floral silken patterns. Inside? A letter addressed to Richter, his father. It’s thanks to this that he learns that his mother might have traveled to Japan.
During the prologue, you will witness an interesting story segment in which a woman enters the scene. After three years of war, it seems she has finally claimed victory. Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. One of her trusted advisors betrayed her, and she has now lost him forever. But there’s no time for mourning those that are now gone. She is now Queen of the land and must act accordingly. The land is to be now known as Victoria, and they will establish a city where love will last for an eternity.
You wake up on a plane and realize that it was all a dream. The stranger sitting next to you has just made some coffee, brewed with cold water, in a cold brew bottle. She started brewing the coffee 12 hours prior, and it is now ready for you to take a sip. She spent a long time checking out all of the brands of bottled water she could get her hands on. Some were mostly terrible, too sweet, too acidic, too soft. But once she found the perfect water for making this particular coffee, it brought a smile to her face.
And then, a loud boom is heard. The alarms start to ring as the plane experiences some nasty turbulence. A huge hole pops up on the plane, sucking everything and everyone into the sky. Is this for real? A strong force pulls Taka out of his seat, and he sees the clouds around him as he falls towards the ground, with the heavy wind blowing into his face. The last thing the stranger next to him said kept circling in his mind: Believe in caffeine.
You wake up again after what feels like days of sleep. You see a girl with hair of a reddish hue dressed up in a maid’s uniform. Her name is Alice. She’s the one who found you lying on the beach. You ask if she’s an angel ready to escort you during your time in the afterlife… you know, after thinking that she looked like your mom. It’s then that you learn that you were indeed in a crash and that you’re lucky to have survived. You can still look out the window and see the smoke from where the airship crashed… wait, did she just say airship?
It seems you’re now in Victoria, the land you saw in your dreams during the prologue. As the game’s name suggests, coffee is King in Victoria, where Baristas and Cuppers – that would be, those that indulge in the mighty power of coffee – are highly regarded. Coffee is a big part of the city’s economy, and its power is used to do harm or to heal equally since Baristas can use it during battle as the source of their magical powers.
Alice has no idea where the United States of America – what she refers to as the Uesaii – is located, nor has she heard of the Yphone, Googuru, or Amazun. Every single reference to modern pop culture is also lost on her. She asks if you could name any famous coffee houses from the Uesaii so that she can maybe have a better idea of where you come from. And no, she’s never heard of Sparducks. Fast food chain McWobbles is unknown to her. At least she’s heard of Taka Coffee House… since that’s the name of her business!
As for the trophies that this game has to offer, this one has a Platinum trophy for you to work on as you try to unlock the 4 Bronze trophies, 9 Silver trophies, and 8 Gold trophies. This is a Cross-Buy title, so you’ll get both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game with your purchase, and each one has its own trophy list! Since this is a visual novel, there are several endings for you to work on, as well as one true ending to reach. Actions have consequences, so you’ll need to pay attention to what you do and how you interact with each character if you want to get closer to them.
Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy was a pleasant surprise on PlayStation. If you love coffee and are looking for an interesting visual novel with four romanceable routes, dozens of hours of content, hundreds of choices to make along the way, and dozens of possible endings, then this one is going to tick all the boxes. The game has an Extras Menu from which you can review an image gallery, listen to the songs in the soundtrack, and review the credits for Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy. There are 78 special CG images for you to add to the collection by progressing through the game’s story and taking on the different story paths that the game has to offer. Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy is available at a $17.99 asking price, and since it’s a Cross-Buy title, you will get both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game at no extra cost.
Disclaimer
This Caffeine: Victoria’s Legacy review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Ratalaika Games.
