Tavernier Reviews

I do tend to enjoy this sort of game - there's a bit of management in there, mixed with some visual novel storytelling - but I didn't enjoy Tavernier. This is a game with a lot of glaring issues that pop up constantly. Firstly, there are grammatical errors. A lot of them. And not simple, forgiveable things like a misplaced comma here or there, but great big flashing misspellings and broken paragraphs that launch me right out of the game, not that that's terribly hard because the story is completely nonsensical. Not to spoil it for those who still wish to play it, but the primary antagonist shows up multiple times throughout the story in disguise to actively help you, and this is never explained. You can also apparently become captain of the guard just from having a lot of coppers drink at your establishment. Finally, the choices you get given throughout the experience have bizarre outcomes that don't make a lick of sense, including random radical alignment shifts, which can be devastating for a game that flat out requires you to fo all out with your alignment choices. Being anything but abusive to the guards that show up on occasion apparently makes everyone (including the guards) think you're less "cool," while the only way to regain coolness seems to be to do things that actively hurt your business. It's all rather poorly thought out and irritating, but it also seems to be the very first game from this developer, so this is to be expected. The art is nice, and FromTheBard may go on to make some genuinely good games in the future, but this is not one of them.

It is a good game for such a low price; if it is on sale, even better! This is a short game, and you'll encounter many of the same encounters on each play-through. The game makes it very easy to quickly speed through the dialogs, and the interface is large and easy to navigate. The artwork is attractive. The sound effects and music are minimal, but also well done. I’m considered the Grammar Nazi at work, but I did not find much wrong with the writing in the game. Maybe it was patched after some of the negative reviews mentioned it? A few lines were odd, but nothing so bad as to be confusing, or detrimental to the game. First game, I lost. Sure, I did the tutorial, read all the encounters, made choices...etc. I just didn't understand how to win. Second game, I won on the last turn. Learning from my failure, I figured out a strategy. Third game, I won on turn 40. I'm getting better, but the strategy for each game is much the same once you figure it out. Fourth through twenty something games, I was mostly picking up achievements and seeing if I missed any interesting choices or situations in previous tries. Overall the game is enjoyable. I “finished” it quickly, but continued for several more hours to see more. The only thing I was not a fan of was the victory conditions. You must meet specific requirements to progress in the main story line. These requirements are essentially the same for each game, so once a recipe for success is known, it is similar for subsequent games.

Don't get me wrong, I actually had fun with the game... for about the first hour or so. It had interesting twists to it I wasn't expecting, and it was fun trying to get enough gold to buy perks. However, it's EXTREMELY short, and about 30 minutes in, you'll start to see the results of the choices you make repeated over and over. You can focus your play on the different faction for some variety, but the results are still the same. If you got this for under a dollar, kudos, but if you have to pay more than that, I wouldn't waste your money if I were you.

A hidden gem of a fantasy business roleplay game. I paid 49p in the Steam Winter Sale for this game, a price even including trading cards. It feels like a steal at this price. The full price is a very fair £1.99, I would personally pay around £4.99 for this game so the developer is being extremely fair here with the pricing which I hope rewards them with more customers – thank you! The game looks simple and I was conscious of some reviews saying it is a “short story” – but that all depends how quick you skip / read the text and mull over the strategic options. I finished my first game (52 turns is the time limit) in 2 hours but can see me playing this many times over to both win the game and collect the achievements. For 49p (or even full price £1.99) this represents excellent value. The game reminds me of the art style and era of Merchants of Kaidan. Where as in the excellent game Merchants of Kaidan you were travelling the World to make a profit as a merchant in a text based RPG, in this game you focus on running one Tavern business. But in both games the art style and characters you meet is fantastic. The options for running the Tavern “appear” simple at first but they more you play the more the game expands out with new options, for example introducing a magic ability for your character at one point. The basics of the game is there are initially 4 factions to make happy, but strategy means you should focus on 1 faction at the expense of others. You prepare meals for your tavern and choose music to attract the right sort of client. Decorate your inn, expand your inn. In each turn you have to deal with an interaction that occurs and your choices dictate the outcome – gain/lose money, gain/lose customers, lose magic mana, etc. Your decisions also affect whether your tavern is seen as “cool” or more business like (and if so save on taxes). By the end game there are quite a few things to manage. Alongside the business aspect is a core political story which develops, the first time round I was not successful in that so will try again. For the money, this is a 8.5/10 game: 85% Must Buy. I don’t usually write reviews after 2 hours but I feel I already have my moneys worth and it is fun and I can tell this is a long term winner. If you like the idea of running a business in a fantasy setting in a light text/art based RPG, this is for you.

Pros: Nice artstyle Pleasant UI Inexpensive Good story, has a bit of mystery. Cons: Easy, at least after your first playthrough Lacking a bit of depth to the consequences of your actions I love the artstyle of this game and the UI is pleasant. It's a fun game although I wish you could make it more difficult. I mean, on my first playthrough I only just beat it on the last day (and I'd just like to mention that I've only played story mode), but I'd been a really cautious player. Overly cautious, as it turns out there isn't really that much nessecary managing to do and your actions don't have too much of an effect on you. All consequences are immediate and small. For example [spoiler] A rogue asked me to spike a drink and offered money, I took the money but did not spike the drink. He ended up dead and another rogue threatened me "We won't forget this". Nothing of depth ever came of that threat. It was just a loss of population amongst a group already at 0% population in my tavern[/spoiler]. Immediate and small. The price completely justifies this though. I just love the potential this game had (has?).

Great little choose-your-own-adventure game, very worth the small price. The art style looks nice, and the writing got more than a few chuckles out of me. There are even nice atmospheric touches like changing the look of the tavern as the game progresses and giving you new music about halfway through (to give you a break from the track you've probably been playing for the past half hour). It took me two playthroughs and a little over an hour and a half to figure out how to get to the end of the story, but there are several factions you can focus on, so I'll probably play through it a few more times just to see more of the dialogues. If you find you're stuck, use the "management" mode instead of story mode. It'll show the rewards of all possible actions, so you can make better decisions about how to build the stats you need.

Tavernier is a fun, short experience with an intriguing but short story. Its price of only £2 makes it hard not to recommend. There isn't much gameplay as its a simple management game with a choose your own story mechanic that doesn't have a lot of depth. This however doesn't take away from the fact that it's fun in a way Cooking Mama or Papa's Pizzeria where simplistic things are executed well and are enjoyable to play. The basic gameplay, as fun as it is, did not make me want to play through the game again. I liked the story but I felt like it wouldn't differ much on a second playtrough, however your experience may vary. The game only costs £2 and I felt like I got my moneys worth for the experience and I recommend you to buy it if you enjoy a fantasy setting and a casual management style game that has a pretty interesting story that you will unravel fairly quickly.

Short and sweet. Took me two hours to complete (and beat) the game on my second playthrough. It's not particularly complicated or deep. Over the course of 52 weeks (52 turns) you must generate gold and increaase your customer base by selectively buying decorations and food. Also, each week you have to make a decision on a random event that has just happened, but this boils down to a choice of two or more text based options. There is an overarching plot but again it's presented in the same way as the weekly events. I think what I'm trying to say is that it's a basic managemnet sim with a VERY light RPG element to it. It's worth the £2, if only barely.

[b]People go to church for the same reasons they go to a tavern: to stupefy themselves, to forget their misery, to imagine themselves, for a few minutes anyway, free and happy. - Mikhail Bakunin[/b] [i]Tavernier[/i] is the debut game coming from the French indie developer studio, From the Bard, presenting a tavern management simulation in a fantasy setting. For me it is a brilliant idea, since we rarely take a look on the NPC side of any fantasy story. I've been playing RPG games for years now, both on computer and tabletop. In nearly all those games that I've been to, all player characters voice a dream one time or the other: dealing with the main quest and being able to retire to safety one day to open an inn or a tavern. It's the optimal retirement plan for any medieval adventurer, ask anyone! Now, you can actually do it, yet again another adventure is included for you nonetheless. Your uncle was a Tavernier before you, and now your time to take the establishment over has come. As he retires, he shows you the basics and leaves for you to handle the management of the tavern in the town. As you start, you'll have guests coming from many different social groups: folks, guards, rogues and wanderer to start with. They all prefer something else on the menu, a different kind of music for the local bard to play, some other treatment coming from the Tavernier, etc. It will be your job to attend them and pick one to favor above others to get a reputation and a social standing for your own self. As you go by though, a mysterious visit from the town mayor occurs. He comes in, picks one of your patrons and no one ever sees that man again... This unsettling occurrence repeats every month and townsfolk are reluctant to talk about it. Only if you manage to earn the trust and acceptance of one group, you may delve into this eerie mystery and uncover the scheme which threatens to destroy the whole town! Enjoy your retirement! Now that we're done with establishing the base setting, let's hit our other subjects. For the display, nothing is marvelous or spectacular, but all artwork are fitting for the setting as hand drawn characters and environment. I enjoyed different kind of customers and their various outlook in game. There is no voice acting whatsoever, but you are free to choose your background music - folk, metal, jazz, classical, you name it! - fitting for the social group you are trying to impress. All musical numbers are free sample legends, playing on the same piece until you change it. As for the game mechanics, it all is quite simple: easy to learn, yet hard to master. According to the kind of customers you favor, your complete number of customers for the week and the random encounter you face, your whole income is regularly calculated. You have to deduct your taxes from that though. With your earnings, you are free to garnish your tavern furthermore, to attract more customers. Random events occurring at the end of each week will depend whether you have the right decoration, have appropriate amount of money, whether you are considered a professional or just a cool guy too. Each new group you favor will unlock different random events for you to enjoy, and their outcomes will affect you furthermore. Each month, an event relevant to the main story will occur, and if you've managed to fulfill its criteria, you'll progress in the main story. If not, you'll try next month. In 52 weeks, your game will come to an end, whether you've managed to solve the plot and face the main villain or not. So, I foresee various trial and error periods before you manage to complete the game with the good ending. Once you get a hold of how the main scenario works, you won't have that much of a trouble though. Then, achievement hunting begins - which is the real challenge. There are 4 main social groups and 4 more that you can unlock in your progression (you have to pick 2 for a single playthrough) according to your choices. They all will present you different abilities like tipping, attracting customers, being able to use magic etc. So, this simple little indie game presents a surprising amount of replay value for you. Well, at the end of the day, [i]Tavernier[/i] is obviously not the best thing since sliced bread, but it is a successful indie management game with a good story in store for its value. I do recommend the game for your discovery. Good day, and good gaming to you all! 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!

A very fun, cheap little game. I finished the storyline in 30 minutes, however I am a very fast reader and I did not pimp my Tavern out as much as I could have, because I didn't realise that more categories unlock as time goes past. There is a storyline to follow and I think the hourglass on the counter tells you how long you have to complete the storyline. I haven't tried the management mode yet, but I will soon! It's a good game, you pick sides, pick a type of customer to focus on, buy loads of perks and set up a menu. I'd definately recommend it as a fun little time water with potential replayability due to the RNG events you get constantly.