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0 Ever fancied yourself a bartender? Well now is your chance with The Mixologist! Developed and published by Flat Hill Games, The Mixologist aims to deliver a real life experience for maximum VR immersion.
What’ll It Be?
Whether playing in co-op with your friends or forging your own career, does The Mixologist deliver on its potential? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
The gameplay loop to The Mixologist is very straightforward. You start a shift at a bar, make some drinks to earn some cash, and then the shift ends. In principle. Obviously nothing is ever as straightforward as it sounds.
Starting the game you are given a brief tutorial by a gentleman behind the bar. After pouring a few drinks and following some instructions, you soon find yourself holding the keys to the place. From there on out, it’s a standard time management game. Where at random intervals, punters come up to the bar, order their drinks and wait. You then have to mix the drinks. Some are straightforward and are poured straight into the glasses. Others though are a bit more complicated, and require you to get to grips with the cocktail shaker. There are even garnishes to be added!
This game offers over 100 real life cocktails for you to make and master. That’s a lot to remember! Not to mention the fact that you have to be precise with your measurements. Pour a bit too much spirit and you have to start it all over again.
There is also a social environment to explore, where your friends can attend your bar and ask you for their favourite drink. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to experience this through my play-through, however, I will be going back to try and experience this later.
With 5 different bars to experience, there is an element of progression. Each gives you a fresh experience to tackle and deliver your mixing mastery.
Graphics & Audio
Playing on the Quest 3 the graphics are nice and crisp. I love the fact that you use your Meta avatar while playing the game. I could even see the peak of my cap whilst playing. The environments are good to look at, however, you won’t really be paying all that much notice to them during your gameplay.
On the audio side, it’s all pretty standard. It would be nice if you could hear the patrons having conversations whilst sat at the bar. Or even if they asked for their drink rather than just having to read it from the screen.
Longevity
As with all VR games, it’s all about immersion. The Mixologist is no different, aiming to give you the bartender experience all the while from your own home. Giving you over 100 drinks to perfect and hone you will be spending plenty of time with your headset on. The best thing is that you don’t even have to deal with sticky floors or take a long walk to the bathroom.
The ability to team up with your friends, gives The Mixologist some great longevity too. The party can go on for hours!
Final Thoughts
Whilst it may not be the perfect game and the gameplay loop is a bit repetitive, the one thing that The Mixologist does have, that ensures you will have fun for hours, is the real-life drinks list. Getting to pour your favourite cocktails, maybe even try some fancy moves. One thing that will keep you coming back for more is the fun factor.
The Mixologist receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received to write this review.
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