CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ Reviews
A supernatural mystery visual novel. What kind of fate will the heroine face after she relives the last seven days before her death?
App ID | 461810 |
App Type | GAME |
Developers | ROSEVERTE MYSTERY |
Publishers | ROSEVERTE |
Categories | Single-player, Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, Steam Trading Cards |
Genres | Casual, Indie, Adventure |
Release Date | 11 Nov, 2016 |
Platforms | Windows, Mac |
Supported Languages | English, Japanese, German |

53 Total Reviews
44 Positive Reviews
9 Negative Reviews
Mostly Positive Score
CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ has garnered a total of 53 reviews, with 44 positive reviews and 9 negative reviews, resulting in a ‘Mostly Positive’ overall score.
Reviews Chart
Chart above illustrates the trend of feedback for CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ over time, showcasing the dynamic changes in player opinions as new updates and features have been introduced. This visual representation helps to understand the game's reception and how it has evolved.
Recent Steam Reviews
This section displays the 10 most recent Steam reviews for the game, showcasing a mix of player experiences and sentiments. Each review summary includes the total playtime along with the number of thumbs-up and thumbs-down reactions, clearly indicating the community's feedback
Playtime:
967 minutes
-Everything is entirely my opinion-
This game is better than The Drowned Mermaid in that there is not as much repeated conversations. There are hints in every day and it is very interesting to see them fall into place with your suspicions confirmed. If I were to play this game alone, I might not have realised it's by an indie game developer.
The plot, characters are really good, a lot better than the Drowned Mermaid, and most of the OST really suits the atmosphere of the situation. The characters were also portrayed well with the great voice acting.
Again, my praise for this game could be because I did not expect to see such quality from an indie group - especially in the character voices and the design. In my opinion, I am extremely glad to have bought it so I can replay it.
See you again in Cafe 0.
👍 : 9 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
1456 minutes
This is my first time writing a review, so sorry in advance if this is really one sided opinion. Remember this is only my personal opinion!
I have found most of roseVeRte's games verry appealing so far and this game haven't disapointed me thus far. I don't have much that this review is based on cause I have only played Nathan's friend route, the demo an a few thing I saw the the developer write on Twitter and Tumblr so I write based on that for now, but I might change this review later on. So far I find the characters appealing in both the personality the writer have given them and the art/ character designs itself. I like how the MC is kind of like a doll in the beginning, but changes after interacting more with the other characters. Nathan's is so cute with his blushy faces. (almost tsundere if anything)ヽ(*>∇<)ノ Not going to say more about Nathan's, cause it might be spoilers, but you can really see both the MC and Nathan's development as you play. I found the friend ending a bit sad and i was almost in tears near the end. (/ д; ) It deffinitely tuched my heart in a sad but good way. That's might be given cause one of themes of the game is death. I find the writing great, but it looks like roseVeRte decided to focus more on the mystery in it self rather then the interactions with the characters. It isn't a bad thing if you came for the mystery and it still got a few great interactions despite that! The game also have a bit of comedy or funny senes or interactions. This game is not exacly an Otoge, but it got Otome or romance elements even though that's not the focus. I also like the fact that a bit of the truth behind the mystery is hinted in in every route so you can guess what is to come and kind of colled pices and put them together and you also get 3 truth ends that i have yet to play. But this game makes one stay curious in my opinion and want to play to find out what happens next and is so long that you have to wait too long to get the pices together and might lose interest along the way. So i find it good that it's not long considering that. I personaly like short or not too long VN's because of that reson. The voice actors did a great jobb with the voice acting and i simpely loved the soundtracks it fit well with the situations. So I'm personaly verry satisfied with the game thus far and don't have complaints or anything negativ too say so far. So I want to give this game and the developer and cast a big thumbs up. (*^-’) 乃
It might not be long and some people might find the game expensive word count wise, but quality wise the game is deffinitely worth it and you should definitely give it a try. The game is not a tragedy exactely, but if you want something that can tuch or mess your feelings depending on haw emotional you are i would recomend this ride of feels lol (*^∀゚)ъ. But with all jokes aside I would recommend the game to thouse of you that like mystery, VN, Otoge, something that's not too long, want to play something different for a change of peace or if you would like to play something that can touch your feelings. If it's important for you that this is an complete otoge this might not be for you and both girls and guys should try this cause it does not look like it's targeting a specific gender specific even though some people might argu that it's for girls. And if yor not sure if you want to play it or not you can always try the demo first and see for yourself if it catces your interest, but the developer did say that the demo is short to leave out spoilers so you might not get enough impressions to decide if you want to give it a try but I hope It does. Too bad it's not longer, but I can understad more or less why the roseVeRte decided to do so. Leaving this aside I can't wait to play the rest of the game~ (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑
👍 : 15 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
664 minutes
This game absolutely blew my socks off! The contrasts between The Sleeping Beast and The Drowned Mermaid are phenomenal, as this game is much longer with more endings and CGs, as well more plot twists than I can count on my fingers. I recommend this to anyone who likes vns, it's a must have.
👍 : 7 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
395 minutes
I love the art, sound track, voice acting, and story. Solving the 15 year old mystery of disappearances in the villa, and how it relates to the MC's own death, was super interesting and engaging. I loved getting to know each of the characters' past, trauma, and experiences.
This game definitely does justice to the first game. I really hope there will be more Cafe 0 games in the future.
👍 : 8 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
624 minutes
I didn't read the tags as usual (lol) so I didn't realise this wasn't an otome like the previous Cafe 0 so no romantic focus, it's more of a philosophical and mysterious kind of story :3
It's an improvement overall compared to The Drowned Mermaid in all aspects from art to character and story.
Definitly recommend if you like VNs in general :D
👍 : 13 |
😃 : 0
Positive
Playtime:
471 minutes
A disappointment. I found the first Cafe 0 very flawed but I enjoyed the premise. I am glad I got this on sale but $10 was still too much. Before I start I will say that some will enjoy this, though I felt cheated. If you enjoy long conversations about growing feelings and building trust you may enjoy this game. I do come from a horror game background where I expect something more explosive (expecially when 'THE INCIDENT' is shoved in my face) but if that's not what matters to you it coudl work.
I LOVE houses and buildings with a secret, a dark secret that must over time be discovered. How intriguing does the 'Sleeping Beast' sound? The house of Fata Morgana utterly swept me away. I will just say that the secret is not worth the huge amount of effort you must slog through to get there. Four routes to enter the true route and find the truth, and I was utterly exhausted and bored, so a poor outcome awas a major disappointment. It involved a reveal that I guessed almost immediately and not much else. Also, the 'drowned mermaid' has subltle parallels with the Little Mermaid so I was expecting a 'Beauty and the Beast' parallels. They're not there. Everything but the Cafe 0 elements are have a non supernatural explanation.
This is not an otome game but you can romance one of the characters. Your character appears about 20- possible older in anime years where girls are always super youthful- and the two boys you interact with are 14. I think you are supposed to be younger, but it did make me uncomfortable. Are they supposed to be considered attractive? I am older and don't mind romancing a young man as a young woman, but there seemed to be too much of an age gap. But that is only one of the routes.
The real problem is that the two boys are not very interesting. They are said to be 'opposites' but at their core they are very similar. They are closed up with few memories or experiences, largely due to age and inexperience. The conversations with them are trite philosophical or emotional exchanges- you can form a partnership, friendship, family relation, or love, and all of these are talked about but only shown a little. The interactions are echoed with flashbacks from Sophie's aunt which have the potential to be interesting, but end up lacking as well. I liked Sophie and Eva and they deserved better.
The one thing I will say is that I changed my mind about the main character. I rolled my eyes at her perfect subservience but realized that was the mask of a cold woman who warmed up over time. I thought that her awakening self was done well. The drawings were lovely, the sound effects well done, and good music- this was a professional product compared to the first Cafe 0. The translation is also very good.
I hope these games will stop using the 'true ending' as bait. Let the player solve the mystery at their own pace, and to their peril.
👍 : 6 |
😃 : 0
Negative
Playtime:
563 minutes
For those who could read Chinese, 我认为这个游戏绝不值这个价格和需要花费在全通它获取真相的时间!游戏的背景图片真的非常尴尬,令人出戏的尴尬。故事也很神奇,我玩到真相线整个人如鲠在喉,因为真的没想到一堆变态大杂烩最后居然炖出了日式鸡汤。
变态也请变态得彻底一点!!好几次我都很激动觉得“哦哦哦熟悉的日本变态故事的味道我好兴奋啊“,接着下一秒要么就给你轻描淡写一笔带过要么就当场打脸。真的,专心写写变态的爱憎挣扎不是很好吗,为什么否定他们的确是拥有太过庞大的情绪这个事实,而用”你不过是在逃避而已”这种让人犯呕的鸡汤来结尾。好可惜,真的好可惜。
……不过编剧有的地方我真的挺欣赏的,但是笔力太太太不够了。荒废了九个小时拿到真相成就以后,我终于明白为啥虽然全是好评但评论这么少了。
因为真的性价比超低!
English is not my native language, but I will try to express my opinion as clear as possible.
I have to say I am deeply disappointed.
I like the OST, the sprites and the game design. However, I just cannot ignore the fact that something is missing in this story.
Many reviews say that the characters in this game are complex, and the story is full of pain and melancoly...though in my opinion, this might be what the creators intended to achieve, but not what the real game actually shows. I can feel the effort the creators put to shape the complexity of each character, but the outcome is just shallow and awkward.
Yes I DO feel creators are trying. They show me the skeleton of a gorgeous beauty, but stop giving it a life. Can there be anything more disapponting than this? I could sense the morbid yet enchanting personality some characters possess, but there is no further detail to depict it. The text is just like "You know what, this character has this trait, this is all you need to know. I won't give you any further description about how this trait affecting their actions".
Why just show a treasure in a few sentences and then cover it up? Why not show more details of the weaknesses of each character, to make the drama caused by them more acceptable than affected?
And the last point is, everyone is somehow selfish. Selfishness is the reason behind every individual's every action, so if someone behaves totally different from others, there must be
something motivating them other than simply selfishness. This word is not panacea for everything. Its existence cannot deny that some characters in this story are truly HENTAI. If you try to justify HENTAI using a normal logic, it will only humiliate them.
Please don't show me a Japanese "you are just being selfish" chiche after giving me so many possibilities of a good story about love crime.
As a person who has read a tons of visual novels, I won't say this game is totally bad; it is just not worth the price. I'd rather save the money to buy games like Soulslayer and House in Fata Morgana.
👍 : 27 |
😃 : 0
Negative
Playtime:
2175 minutes
This is definitely Roseverte's best game so far, and I will tell you why.
First of all, I'd like to say this visual novel isn't really an otome game; rather, it's a mystery game heavily focused on love. But what is love? Love is not only romantic, there are different types of love (such as family love, frienship love, etc) and THIS is what I'm talking about. Cafe 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~ is a game about love.
You play as Corliss, a maid hired to work for the Ashfords, a noble family living in a modest village. Unfortunately, Corliss is dead by the start of the game and arrives at Cafe 0, a place where "lost souls" gather when they don't know where to go after death (it reminded me of a sort of limbo). Here, she meets the grouchy waiter Noir, who tells her he'll send her 7 days prior to her death so that she can find out why she died...or could there also be something more? Of course there is, it's a mystery game after all ;D
The game has a total of 5 routes; 4 of them are for the Ashford twins (2 for Nathan and 2 for Ethan) and the remaining one is the true route, which is unlocked after you finish the other 4. Personally, I recommend this order of playthrough:
1) Nathan Family route
2) Nathan Friendship route
3) Ethan Couple route
4) Ethan Partner route
5) True route
Wait, what? Couple? Is this an otome? Well, although there is a route focused on romantic love, remember what I mentioned at the beginning of this review: Cafe 0 is a game about different types of love. Corliss is, how should we put it? A doll-like person, she's not what some people would describe as a 'kuudere'; rather, she's empty and only does as she's told. It's thanks to her interactions with the twins that she'll discover different feelings along the way (or along the routes haha) and, therefore, grow as a person and find herself.
Some may think Corliss could be boring because she "doesn't feel anything" but NO, ladies and gentlemen, Corliss is a GREAT heroine who will also make you laugh several times due to her bluntness and, as she starts developing different types of feelings, she'll warm your heart. Then, of course, how can we forget the twins? Nathan, the tsundere yet kind boy and Ethan, the cheerful yet mysterious boy. I don't want to spoil anything because it's really a much better experience if you found out for yourself just how charming and loveable these 2 are.
There are also other characters which will make an appearance in the past; this is due to Noir's power, but only when you find a HINT. Another reason why I recommend to play Nathan's routes first is not only because they have the least spoilers, but also because the game gradually gets darker and darker...and I'll leave it at that.
So, to conclude, what are this game's pros and cons?
Pros:
-Beautiful art and GUI
-Excellent OST (the developer is thinking of selling it, yay!)
-Great story with lots of mystery and twists, but also heartwarming and funny moments
-Great dialogue
-There are very little repeated conversations, and they actually function as a sort of bookmark to the story
-Amazing characters (especially Corliss and the twins)
-Incredible japanese voice acting
-If you leave the default name 'Corliss', the characters will call her by her name <3 (like in certain otome games)
-You can easily go to the menu with just a right click on the mouse
Cons:
-The descriptions are not as good as the dialogue; many words such as "suddenly" are repeated plus there are certain phrases which are too commonplace (for example, the typical 'tears rolled down my cheeks')
-This is not really a con but the birthday scene only changes on the true route, which is ok but I would have liked to see a little more variation of this scene on the other routes as well
-This is just personal preference so you can ignore it if you don't agree but, having played a wide variety of visual novels, I've really grown accustomed to skip buttons being on the textbox. It's true that some of them are quite big and, therefore, cover a bit of the screen, but I've seen many visual novels (particularly otome games) where the skip button was small and convenient
So, in the end, do I recommend this game? Of course I recommend it! It's a must play!
👍 : 33 |
😃 : 1
Positive
Playtime:
276 minutes
This second title of the CAFE 0 series from roseVeRte feature a different female protagonist Corliss Green who took up employment as a servant maid for the Ashford villa while searching for her lost aunt Sophie Evans ends up at Cafe 0. With the Cafe 0 waiter Noir, Corliss is sent back to the living to uncover pieces of her past, discover more about herself and the mystery surrounding the Ashford family and eventually find peace in her journey after death which is unavoidable and will always occur within 7 days at the time of returning back to the living world. At the Ashford villa, Corliss is introduced to two members of the Ashford family Ethan Ashford and Nathan Ashford and the family butler Barclay. As Corliss attempts to find out more about her past through each character, she will return to Cafe 0 and back to the living again, reliving the same 7 days prior to her death with additional hints and past memories before eventually choosing an ending without returning to Cafe 0 in a tale of mystery, intrigue, subterfuge, fertility, love, honour, jealousy, duty, loyalty, superstition, witch-hunting, betrayal and vengeance.
The game has plenty of save slots to allow different gameplay and dialogue choices to be made during the game, with a different coloured heart(black, blue, green or red) or gold gear popup icon to reach a different storyline branch and the option to skip and fast-forward any part of the game. Soundtracks and overall game presentation are good after factoring in theme song with vocals. Recommended when game with theme song and soundtrack DLC are at discount or in bundle offer as it takes less than 10 hours to unlock all past memories, reach all endings and unlock all CGs and achievements.
👍 : 41 |
😃 : 1
Positive
Playtime:
748 minutes
[b]Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. - Aristotle[/b]
[i]CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~[/i] is RoseVeRte's latest visual novel and the second game in CAFE 0 series so far. Comparing this newest installation to the previous one, it should be an obvious conclusion that RoseVeRte came a long way in five years and acquired a significant achievement in producing [i]CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~[/i]. Following the same concept in a different story, this sequel presents a similar supernatural mystery with astonishing depth this time.
Our protagonist and the one to find her way to the strange CAFE 0 after her death is Corliss Green now. She is a young girl who has been working as a maid in the Ashford Mansion, residing on countryside near a village, for a week before her death. Apparently, Corliss came to the village to find her aunt Sophie Evans to fulfill her mother’s dying wish, who was missing for 15 years now and was offered a position as a maid by the household butler of Ashfords, Mr. Barclay. Being the stoic, apathetic woman she was, Corliss accepted the position without a thought since she had nothing else to do around. Apparently, she was always better at following someone else’s orders rather than deciding for her own. When she ends up at the cafe, she is greeted by Noir - another waiter equal in rudeness to Sui, yet less creepier, much scarier I'd say - and informed that she is to relive the last 7 days of her life before choosing a new destination for her afterlife. Oblivious and somewhat insentient to the events of her past and the true story of her aunt's disappearance at first, Corliss is forcefully sent back by Noir. Now she is expected to make choices, relive the week and discover her true self by learning certain emotions. While doing so she will also collect various information concerning the past and the current inhabitant of the mansion to shed some light to the case of the Sleeping Beast.
The narrative quality and the event flow in the game are spectacularly good. All characters are fleshed out, with layered personalities, traumas, expectations, personal needs and distinct attitudes. It has been a delight to watch different characters in different probabilities and interactions. I'll state this directly: there are no stereotypes in this game. Every single one of the characters involved are presented with depth, nature and demeanor worthy of a Victorian novel. The whole idea of living through the same time interval affected by different choices and results is a beautifully used narrative tool here. This way, developer also manages to gather all different playthroughs into a single story, establishing a neat narrative consistency, which is a rarely achieved feat in this genre. Watching Corliss to discover about different emotions and grow as a character was a sorrowful delight. The mystery itself and the whole setting is a deeply melancholic one, so if you'd prefer cheerier stories, this might not be your cup of tea. Be warned about probable heartbreak and disturbing insight into human nature. But I know that I appreciated it all.
Did someone said artwork? Well, CGs are not various, but the ones that we are presented with are top-notch. I know I'd love to see Ethan, Nathan and Corliss in more CG artworks but hey, I'm not complaining. Compared to the previous installation, [i]CAFE 0 ~The Sleeping Beast~[/i] displays a magnificent growth in artwork department. Also, the game soundtrack prepared by Yuang Chen and performed by The Seycara Orchestra is a complete delight, fitting for a glorious anime OVA even.
Gameplay itself is somewhere between a choice option VN and a kinetic VN since the choices that we have here around are not various, yet their results reinvent the storyline so massively, you don't get to be bored of reading it. For the first three days, you'll have some choice options, which will effectively make you end up in one of the 4 paths. After that point, you'll just sit back and watch the path itself unfold. In each of these paths, you'll be collecting "hints" through your conversations with the inhabitants of the house. At the end of the day, Noir will use that hint to show you a fragment of the events concerning your aunt 15 years ago. After completing all 4 playthroughs and starting a new game, you'll get the opportunity to play the "true path" to solve the mystery of your death and the mystery of the Sleeping Beast once and for all.
Would I recommend it? That is a definite "YES" coming from me. What we have here is a visual novel well-done with all its mechanics, artwork, narrative functions and setting development. Go ahead. This will be a impressive journey!
Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ladystoryteller#curation]here[/url] - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!
👍 : 76 |
😃 : 0
Positive