Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly Review

The gameplay of Coffee Talk Episode 2 is about the same as the first game, centered around making drinks and talking to patrons, but with some new additions. The first main addition is new drinks to be made and served to your customers, primarily centered around the new Blue Pea and Hibiscus teas. The act of making the drinks is the same as the first game, with you picking a base, primary additive, and secondary additive to form your drink. There are also items that you may come across to give to customers alongside their drinks, and some drinks also give you the ability to design latté art before serving them. Another point I made about the first game that applies to this one is that its structure of being divided into individual days to complete makes it a great handheld game. I was often able to get out my Switch and play through a day or two in windows of free time during the day. 

The story of Coffee Talk Episode 2 is a continuation of the first game, with many returning characters as well as two new ones. There are multiple continuous plot lines that progress as the game does. The first centers around a mysterious string of car vandalism incidents that Officer Jorji investigates. Other stories told in the game include the stress of planning for Lua and Baileys’ wedding, Hyde trying to find his purpose back in Seattle, and Silver (formerly Neil) trying to date on Earth as an alien. The two new characters introduced are Lucas, a satyr who is a popular content creator/influencer, and Riona, a banshee delivery driver who dreams of being a soprano. The game touches on a number of very important topics, from navigating stressful times in a relationship to political issues such as immigration enforcement, which arguably hits harder now in 2026 than even in 2023 when the game was initially released. 

I really liked Coffee Talk Episode 2 as a pick up and play visual novel that expanded on what I enjoyed with the previous game. The game continues the stories of the characters that I grew to know and love in its predecessor, refines the excellent gameplay formula, and once again has a calm, relaxing lo-fi soundtrack and pleasing pixel art style. If you enjoyed the first Coffee Talk, definitely get to playing Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly.