4.5/5 ★ – SlashStriker's review of VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action.

'Legacy' Review from 12/2/2021: After seeing it was leaving the service soon I made a point to try out VA-11 Hall-A (Valhalla) by Sukeban Games on GamePass early this week. This game has been on my radar for years as I really enjoyed a similar styled game, CoffeeTalk by Toge Productions. VA-11 Hall-A is a sim/visual novel-style game where you fill the role of Jill, a bartender in a cyberpunk city. The story is told through the conversations Jill holds with her patrons and the world she occupies is explored indirectly through chat, her thoughts and web articles. The game features a eclectic cast of memorable characters you get to know through their visits to the bar, where the drinks you make for them effect the outcome of the visit and potential future storylines. The game features many optional encounters dependent on what you serve. Besides chatting with patrons and mixing drinks Jill also stops home after each shift to get a night’s sleep and hang out with her cat Fore. While home you are able to buy decorations for Jill’s house and surf multiple web sites parodying things like news, blogs and even 4chan. I went into this game not quite knowing what to expect beyond the gameplay premise and comparisons to Coffee Talk, but was quickly engrossed in the world and stories being told. I absolutely binged this 10+ hour game in three evenings and LOVED IT. It quickly became a favorite! The writing is fantastic with every single character and interaction offering something to the game’s world. The themes are mature, presented both seriously when needed and in a juvenile way that makes sense for a bar and a world as desensitized as the one being presented. The topics explored cover a really wide range and easily maneuver from laugh out loud funny moments to gut wrenching ones. Unlike Coffee Talk this game isn’t content just telling interesting stories. The setting is so well built the topics feel relevant, natural and impactful. The art is stylish as hell, and character designs are so memorable and perfectly cyberpunk. Facial expressions are exaggerated in a very ‘anime’ way that helped made characters endearing. Plus lots of Corgis/Shiba Inus, so that’s a bonus. The game’s soundtrack is full of catchy beats by Garoad and you are given full control of what plays on the jukebox every day from a list of dozens of tracks. I’ve already saved a bunch of tracks to my Apple Music library to listen to during work! (https://t.co/bX7u5rfSFS) All this to say, I really dug this game and couldn’t recommend it more to fans of the cyberpunk genre and story-focused indie games. It’s no longer on GamePass as of yesterday, but it’s well worth the $10-15 asking price and is available on every modern platform. Check it out! I played this game on PC via PC GamePass.