5 técnicas simples para Wanderstop Gameplay
Alta’s work is an easy but monotonous one. She is the manager of a quaint tea shop that serves strange brews. Aside from the strange tea-making contraptions inside the shop, it’s a quiet life without any excitement.
It’s a game that made me pause. That made me confront things about myself I hadn’t fully put into words. That made me feel—deeply, achingly, unexpectedly.
If you already think you might enjoy a game like this without more convincing, just go play it knowing that I give Wanderstop an enthusiastic recommendation. Then you can come back here later to say, “Wow, thank you so much Ms. IGN reviewer, this game has left me feeling strangely hallowed out and yet so full at the same time.”
Far from just another “cozy” game, Wanderstop invites you into a colorful world filled with quirky characters and bizarrely flavored tea at the price of some uncomfortably insightful introspection.
To do that, you’ll have to grow your own ingredients in a small garden plot outside the tea shop (though you can technically plant anywhere). You’re given a field book, a limited amount of seeds, and some gentle parenting from Boro, but the rest is yours to figure out.
This is the starting premise: we take control of an overworked, overachieving fighter whose own body is forcing her to stop. And the analogy? It’s sharp. It’s real.
Wanderstop excels in storytelling in a way that few games do. It doesn’t just present a narrative, it makes you feel it, live it, and reflect on it. Alta’s journey is deeply personal yet universally relatable, especially for those who have struggled with burnout, emotional dysregulation, or the crushing weight of expectations. The slow unraveling of her past and her mental state is handled with nuance. The use of open-ended narratives might frustrate some players, but it serves an important purpose: reminding us that we don’t always get closure.
It’s a formula that works because it provides an escape, a cathartic release. Just for a little while, we can let go of our frustrations with this capitalistic world and imagine ourselves in these tiny, gentle pockets of the universe, where everything is within our control, and work feels fulfilling rather than soul-crushing.
Elevada is a fighter. But you don’t need to be one to relate to her. Ever overworked yourself? Been an academic achiever?
Yes, players can make choices in dialogue and tea orders, which affect NPCs’ reactions to Alta. However, in the grand scheme of things, these choices do not significantly alter the game’s outcome.
When I saw that the minds behind The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide were also the ones making Wanderstop, I knew what to expect… or, at least, I thought I did. I anticipated its immensely emotional story, wry sense of Wanderstop Gameplay humor, and at least one strange twist – but while I got all of those things and more, what I didn’t see coming was that a game about making tea and avoiding burn out would force me to grapple with my own hold-ups around productivity in such an intimate way.
In these reviews, I usually save the best for last, but we have a lot to unpack in Wanderstop, and I'd really like your attention here before it starts to wander elsewhere.
Some teas make her reminisce about her best friend. Some make her dwell on the people who have wronged her. And through all of them, one truth becomes painfully, unmistakably clear: Alta has been alone.
It’s a hexagonal grid system, where planting seeds in straight lines or triangles determines the kinds of fruits we get. Two types of seed are available in the beginning, but as the game progresses, the possibilities expand. It’s methodical. Thoughtful. A little puzzle in itself.