Affogato makes the case for more witches owning coffee shops Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Affogato makes the case for more witches owning coffee shops Tower defense meets mochaccino. Feature by Christian Donlan Features Editor Published on 15 Aug 2022 1 comment I learned about Affogato in a PR email I didn't read properly, and I thought it was about running a coffee shop. It is, sort of. You run a coffee shop, handle the grinds and the brewing and the little shakers of sugar. But you're also a witch. And you can dive inside the minds of your customers and solve problems by fighting cleverly framed battles. So you run a coffee shop and then some. Affogato Developer: Befun Studio Publisher: Spiral Up Games Platform: Played on PC Availability: Demo out now on PC, full game out in 2023. The coffee shop stuff inevitably reminds me of Coffee Talk, and Affogato has captured the same evening setting, sparkling with all its urban promise. It's fun trying to make drinks properly, remembering the differences between them and mastering the intricacies of seasoning. But the game properly comes alive in the battles. Affogato calls this system a sort of reverse tower-defense, and it calls to mind another reverse tower-defense game that I haven't thought about in years: Anomaly: Warzone Earth. In Anomaly, you lead a convoy through a city laced with turrets and enemy rockets. Affogato zooms in a little: you play cards to place units upon a track that threads through a bunch of baddies. They attack you automatically and you attack them automatically. Early on - I've only played the demo - it's all about picking the route and defending yourself. The track can be a bit daunting at first. Picking the route is the part I love the best. Every now and then the track leads to a junction. The wrong path might just sent you off on a slightly longer journey, but it might dump you off the track to your doom. On top of that there are treasure chests you have to work out how to get to, and then the enemies themselves: some of them attack in all directions, but some of them only attack in the direction they're facing. Can you get into a looping track around them in order to flank them and blow them to pieces before you can do any damage. Cards help out. You earn the mana to play cards by defeating certain enemies, and then you might be able to conjure a tank character, say, who won't deal any damage but draws all the fire away from your damage-dealer. Early on this stuff is pretty simple, but Affogato promises to do bosses and whatnot with this track system, and as the cards pile up, so do your options, and the ways in which the game taxes you and forces you to think. The further I go in the Affogato demo, the more it introduces new ideas. It's a clever game and uses its borrowings to create something that feels fresh. The demo's on Steam now if you're interested. It's a game about running a coffee shop - and then some. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 27 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Feature From abandoned board game to birthing a genre: Football Manager at 40 Kick off. 21 Feature How I became an Elden Ring detective It started with a save game... 26 Latest Articles Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Jelly Deals Logitech's G Pro X gaming headset is its lowest-ever price during Amazon's Early Access sale Prime Members can get it for just £52. Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store