Softstar is an eclectic bunch. They’ve brought us the excellent Xuan-Yuan Sword 7, the recent Sea Horizon, and now an RPG-like sim called Sword and Fairy Inn 2, published by Eastasiasoft, where you run a cosy little establishment, serving Johnny Public the best dumplings in town.
There’s been a trend for these types of games of late, and on paper, it’s clear to see why: it has a mobile game mentality similar to Valthirian Arc: School Story 2 – simple controls and a bit of a grind. Fortunately, there’s no paywall, so your time is all you need to invest.
Starting shop in Sword and Fairy Inn 2 could have been more exciting. Knowing the characters would make it easier to relate to them and know who’s who at first glance. On top of that, the tutorial throws you into the deep end without any water. What’s this about assigning chefs and waiters?
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 Review – Switch
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 is an automated experience mostly. Customers will frequent the inn, and you click on each before they get grumpy (an emoji floats over their bonce to indicate their patience levels). Once seated, you’ll serve them what’s on the menu, which, surprisingly, you control – as long as you have the stock.
Breaking news: ingredients make up a dish, so once you have learned how to make it, you can frequent areas on the world map and grow your own produce to make up the menus, and to be fair, they look delicious. Well, most of them. Understandably, the customers want only the best.
Before the inn opens, you can choose from various items such as rice, noodles and seafood and serve that with tea and whatnot. You assign staff members to cook the meals and others to serve the food. As the doors open, the customers will sit in a waiting area, and you click on each in any order you wish. A tooltip shows, detailing what they’re going to order. Easy.
Service With A Smile
Yes, easy is the word here as you click on the customer, select ‘greet’, and your staff will do the rest. It’s mostly automated – all you need to focus on are the ingredients and, ideally, put the right people in the right jobs for efficiency. Naturally, your business is ranked on food, service and hygiene, and eventually, you’ll earn enough coin to expand and decorate.
Expansion in Sword and Fairy Inn 2 is essential, otherwise, your customers will be waiting and eventually will downgrade the service. Despite this assumed stress element, Sword and Fairy Inn 2 is far from the likes of Overcooked and easy to navigate. The review code I received was for the Switch, which was a bit of an eyesore on handheld as there are a lot of menus, but the touchscreen controls outrank playing with Joy-cons on a big screen.
Anyhoo, between the meat and potatoes of gameplay, rather rice and dumplings, there are some visual novel narrative parts, but I found it hard to stay engaged with the story as there were quite a few characters, and none I had a connection with. It’s voice acted, however, which was quite impressive considering this is the Switch. Additionally, there are some QTE mini-games as well which adds a bit of excitement to some degree.
The Inn Crowd
Alas, Sword and Fairy Inn 2 wasn’t really for me. I found the process quite monotonous, and while playing an RTS for hours wouldn’t be out of the question on my part, playing even 15 minutes of a mobile game is unlikely, which is what this felt like, and consequently, not my cup of jasmine tea.
There are some redeeming aspects to the game. For starters, it can be addictive in a good way. The presentation is good if you’re into the chibi aesthetic if that’s what we’re calling it – and the voice acting (Chinese, not English) is good, too. Of course, there are customisation options and a ton of recipes to learn and whatnot.
Verdict
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 is a decent enough spot to stay if you have a penchant for mobile games, cosy(ish) gameplay that isn’t too taxing, and a cute aesthetic. Again, it wasn’t for me, but don’t let that put you off. You might find yourself staying longer than expected…
