Half Simulator and Half Horror Film, ‘The Boba Teashop’ Dishes Out Delicious Drinks and Plenty of Scares (Review)

The world of retail is a harsh and unforgiving place. Attempting to manage a healthy work/life balance seems almost impossible at times. And it’s one of the most thankless careers a person can have. While providing services is an unfortunate necessity, just remember to thank them before leaving. A small act of kindness can help brighten up someone’s day immensely. And while The Boba Teashop is disguised as horror, it’s a bleak reminder of the terrors of working in the public day in and day out. Before working here, I had spent years of my life dedicated to retail, so I could relate to Risa on a spiritual level. But I’m glad I didn’t have to see the things she’s seen.

The Vibes Are Immaculate in ‘The Boba Teashop’

The Boba Teashop is a horror game at its heart, but I can’t deny that the simulation aspect of it was done extremely well. I stepped into the shoes of Risa, the owner of a small Boba Teashop she had just opened. From the first day, the vibe is heavy, and the world is dark. Customers shuffle in, asking to try the new drinks I’ve created. And at the beginning, I only had a few to offer. But as the days go by and customers request new drinks, I have to start getting more creative. We know the world doesn’t stop for anyone, and that’s no different here.

But at the end of the first day, we can feel that things begin to shift. The Boba Teashop isn’t afraid to hit the player with some genuinely good jump scares. A few of them, to be honest, are a bit hokey and predictable. And jump scares are always an effective way to get players feeling uncomfortable. But the “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” type of scares are also on full display here. There were times I would catch something out of the corner of my eye, and that disturbed me far more than a typical jump scare. But, in the most realistic depiction of customer service, it’s the customers who are truly the most horrifying part of this game.

The Boba Teashop takes place over seven days. It’s a game you can complete in roughly an hour, but it will stick with you for days afterward. Watching the attitude of the customers change in real time was, sadly, incredibly realistic.

Watching the World Fall Apart Before Your Eyes Is Genuinely Creepy

The Boba Teashop does a fantastic job of making you feel creeped out from the second you start it up. The uncanny character models invoke a similar aesthetic to Siren on PlayStation 2. Plastering photos of real faces on these polygonal bodies evokes a feeling of comfort, yet uncanniness that made me feel both comforted and confused. As I played and watched Risa’s sanity slowly slip away, these familiar faces became uncomfortable.

I can’t go much into the story of The Boba Teashop without spoiling it, but I was thoroughly engaged throughout my playthrough. The comfort of repetition made me feel like I did when I worked at Starbucks in my youth. But watching how things progressively got darker and more twisted throughout the story, even that small feeling of comfort was quickly stripped away.

The ending of The Boba Teashop completely solidified my feelings on this game. It’s shocking, dark, twisted, and completely unexpected.

I Do Hope the Developer Keeps Adding More to ‘The Boba Teashop’

The simulation aspect of The Boba Teashop is genuinely quite fun. Mixing up drinks and serving them is oddly serene. And I do hope the developer adds an “endless” mode eventually, where you need to fight off the impending feelings of doom and gloom, all while serving up Boba with a smile on your face. Because right now, if you’re hoping to get all five achievements, it’ll just take two playthroughs to make that happen. After that? There isn’t much to see here.

That doesn’t mean you should look past The Boba Teashop. Even if the story won’t be as impactful the second time around, it’s worth a repeated playthrough to see what you may have missed the first time. I just hope we see more added, even if it’s a second week to the main story.

If you’re looking for a horror game you can beat in a sitting, I strongly suggest checking out The Boba Teashop. The creep factor is there, and it’s a genuinely fantastic simulator game. It doesn’t rely completely on jump scares for the horror factor, and the vibes are some of the best I’ve seen in the indie horror scene. Just clock in, do your job, and ignore whatever may be looking at you in the corner. It’s all part of the day of a retail worker.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

---

The Boba Teashop is available now on Steam. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.