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0 Best Served Cold is a brand-new detective-themed visual novel by the independent developer and publisher Rogueside Games. It’s currently available on Steam with a planned launch on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X at a later date. Serve drinks, solve cases, and make sure the cops don’t shut down your illegal little speakeasy.
Whodunit?
Oh, this one’s a good one, alright. I have not touched a visual novel game in years, but I am so happy that I picked this game up. I got really invested in the story and basically binged the game in one day, much to the demise of my sleep schedule (once again). It’s not my fault! I expect a handwritten apology letter from the devs for making their game too engaging. While we wait for that, let’s have a look at the game, shall we? Also, let me know your favourite visual novel games in the comments! Maybe I’ll check out some more down the line.
Gameplay
Like most visual novels, Best Served Cold‘s main focus is its engaging story and interesting cast of characters. You work as a bartender at The Nightcap, the last speakeasy in town. However, serving drinks during the prohibition isn’t all fun and games. The cops are onto you, and if you want to make sure that your bar stays open, you better cooperate. One day, you get approached by Hugo Mertens, who works for the local police and wants to strike a deal with you. As long as you help him with his cases that some of your patrons are involved in, you are allowed to stay in business. At least for now.
Mixing Drinks
Whenever talking to your guests, you’re presented with various dialogue options to pick from. Some let you learn more about the person you are talking to, some may cause conflict, and others will help you make progress in your case. You can also show them some of the evidence that you collected and get their thoughts or insights. Be careful — not everyone is thrilled if you start pointing fingers at their friends, or worse, them directly.
Some people aren’t too keen on telling you everything outright, but that’s nothing that a little alcohol can’t fix. Mixing your patrons’ favourite drinks will not only raise their disposition, but will also get them tipsy — or just straight-up drunk. Giving them a bit of liquid encouragement can help you squeeze vital clues out of them. Just don’t overdo it, or they will be stumbling right out the door!
Different drinks have different effects, some pack quite a punch in terms of alcohol content, while others can give you more actions. Every guest will start out with a few “actions” that you spend by talking to them. You can raise the amount of actions by serving them a nice drink, but only one per day!
Mixing drinks is as simple as playing a short minigame. Each drink has a unique symbol that you have to trace. But be quick! You have to finish the pattern before the red arrow catches up to you, else the drink will be ruined, and so will the mood of the recipient. Personally, I found the minigame to be quite easy. If you are struggling, the game does have the option to change the speed of the red arrow, so you won’t get stuck making terrible drinks all the time.
Solving The Case
After you have served your drinks, talked to everyone, and got as much info as you could for the day, you head back home and put all your notes on your case board. Here, you can combine certain pieces of evidence and draw conclusions, which then turn into even more evidence to pinpoint the killer.
Your main goal is to gather enough clues to find the actual killer among multiple suspects. You have to figure out possible motives for every suspect, how they could have pulled off the crime, and whether they have any kind of solid defence or alibi that would prove their innocence. At the end of the day, only one suspect will be left. Then you will have to present your case. Let’s hope you got the right guy.
Graphics & Audio
Best Served Cold‘s hand-drawn style is absolutely gorgeous. Both the style and colours of every scene are outright beautiful and perfectly suited for the game’s time period. The characters look amazing and diverse. Everyone has a unique style to them that matches their personality or occupation very well. Even the brief intro sequences that show the crime being committed before you get to start the case have a very suspenseful flair and, like everything else in the game, look great. Additionally, the game also offers a dyslexia-friendly font option for better accessibility!
The background music is subtle and, once again, fits the game’s setting. It switches to a slightly more serious tone during important discussions, helping to create the right feel for how serious the topic is. The sound effects are really charming too. For instance, when you mix a drink someone enjoys or say something they are happy to hear, you get a fun little ringing noise that signals that you’ve done well. It is a nice touch and gives you just the right little motivation boost.
Longevity
Beating the game and, admittedly, save-scumming quite a bit to select different dialogue options to see how a character would react, took me roughly 13 hours. Most achievements can be unlocked by playing through the story, you don’t really have to go out of your way very much. Regarding replayability, I think that once you know who the killer is, it is hard to play a case over and to be as involved in it as you were the first time around. Maybe after a while, when you start to forget some details about the game, it is worth checking out again. But that is up to you.
Final Thoughts
I absolutely adored Best Served Cold, despite not normally enjoying visual novels. I find it hard to keep my attention focused on actually reading what the characters are saying, but this game really had me hooked. The characters are really well written, charming and (mostly) likeable. You can even meet some of them over the course of multiple cases! It is really nice to see their character development and watch them make friends with other patrons.
The story is great and has some unexpected twists and turns that keep you on your toes. The game isn’t really difficult, but it doesn’t need to be to get you invested. If you enjoy this type of game, I definitely would not skip this one.
Best Served Cold very much deserves the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoyed this review, why not check out my news article for the games release.
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