"While We Wait Here" Review

Publisher: Bad Vice Games, Troglobytes Games

Developer: Bad Vice Games

Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 5 (Reviewed for), Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

As anybody who has kept up with my writing knows, I'm always on the lookout for breakout indie gems. A few of my GOTY winners over the years have been indie gems, so if I get the scent of a potential winner, I take the plunge. This time around, the candidate is While We Wait Here, and there's not much to talk about with this game, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth buying. In fact, do you know how much this costs? About $5. In a world where AAA studios are crying about how much money their bloated, vapid games that nobody asked for cost to make and thus charge $70 a pop, that's definitely a more agreeable price point. In fact, it's such an agreeable price point that one could be forgiven for passing it up for fear of supremely low quality. So, it's my absolute pleasure to come here today to reassure you that While We Wait Here is worth that $5 price...in fact, it would be worth more in my eyes.

In While We Wait Here, you take on the role of a diner worker in a podunk nowhere southern town. On this particular day, the news is forecasting a storm so catastrophic that it will end the world. And so, with nothing to do but, as the title suggests, wait around, some of the diner's regulars (as well as a small cast of out-of-towners) come around for a meal and to talk about their troubles. That's the premise, and as I'm sure you can imagine, it would be best to leave the discussion there. The story twists and turns, there are some excellently-executed plot twists, and there's suitable gravitas throughout. 

In terms of gameplay, there's simultaneously a lot and not much. You spend most of your time working in the diner, but as your customers talk about their troubles, you'll end up playing as them in memories for a little while. There's a bit of a horror walking simulator section, a couple first person shooter segments, and a Powerwash Simulator-esque painting level, to name a few. If that makes things sound noncommittal or schizophrenic, I can assure you that it doesn't in practice. Rather, these are fun little pace-changing breaks from the main gameplay loop. The kitchen management that makes up the majority of the game is just the kind of cozy workday gameplay that I've come to respect over the years. You'll get orders, grab the individual components for the recipe, cook/fry/blend the pieces, assemble the meal, and deliver it to the customer. After the customer finishes, you'll pick up the dishes and drink receptacles, wash and put them away, then pick up your pay and store it in the cash register. As you do these things, your clientele will chat amongst themselves to move certain plot events forward. If that doesn't sound fun, it's because it's more cozy than anything. There's a comfort that comes from learning the ropes of the diner and executing your tasks efficiently, and if that isn't for you, I don't think anything I say here will convince you. If I had to nitpick one thing, it's that some segments of the story automatically progress when you talk to a certain member of the cast. The game doesn't tell you that talking to this cast member is the current objective despite having an objective tracker at the top of the screen. What's worth nitpicking about that? Well, there are times where I would accidentally talk to the relevant NPC for the moment, at which point the kitchen management for that section would end regardless of whether or not I'd finished all my tasks...and after moving on, all tasks become automatically finished. I wanted to finish everything, that's kind of the point of a cozy working game. I realize this is an odd complaint given how I gave Metaphor ReFantazio SO much crap in the last review for its banality, but that's just how it is. Obviously it isn't a big deal (especially given that you know these things in a second playthrough, which you will want to do most likely), but I try to mention everything I can in these reviews.

So, story, characters, and gameplay all hold up surprisingly well for the price tag. How about fidelity? Well, the technical package is mostly good, but there are one or two issues. To start off with the flaws, when a character has a glass that needs cleaning at the bar of the kitchen, the lighting on the glass becomes blinding. Then, there are occasional troubles with your sense of control. You'll finish a cutscene where the first-person camera's position is wrestled away from you, and then when the cutscene ends, the camera will seemingly choose a random direction to swing in. This doesn't happen every time, just enough times. But beyond that, the art style (though not super high quality) works incredibly well for the atmosphere in the diner segments, and in the segments where the aforementioned storm is being shown, it becomes clear that most of the graphics budget went there. The framerate is consistently stable, I never had any bugs or crashes, all textures are present and accounted for at all times, and the soundtrack, though used sparingly, puts just the right emphasis on just the right moments. It isn't necessarily a technical thing, but I will say that the voice acting can be a bit hit-or-miss, but it isn't a big deal.

Folks, I'll bet you've never heard of While We Wait Here, and I think that's a shame. It isn't incredibly long, there isn't a lot of action, and it won't be for everyone, but the value for money proposition here is great. I played through twice, got the platinum trophy, and I did it all in one evening, all for a measly $5. This is easily one of the best games of this year, and it doesn't require much upfront investment to try! In fact, because this game is so small, I'll be using my smaller game scale where any one negative can result in 2 points off at most...but that really doesn't make much of a difference in this case.

Let us review:

Minor technical woes - 0.5

The final score for While We Wait Here is...

9.5/10 - Near Masterpiece

Excellent work, Bad Vices Games, excellent work!