Wanderstop Review: A Wonderful, Fleeting Taste

Everyone has their drink of choice. For some, it’s an early-morning coffee with sugar and flavored cream. For others, it’s a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice with breakfast, or a carefully balanced cocktail to cap the night. No matter your preference, though, there’s nothing quite like sipping and savoring while alone in your thoughts.

In Wanderstop, that drink of choice is tea. Developed by Ivy Road and published by Annapurna Interactive, the game takes what looks like a by-the-book farming sim hook—foraging resources, making beverages, pleasing customers—and turns it into much more. What lies underneath is a challenging, relatable story about self-fulfillment, self-destruction, and picking up the pieces.

Part cozy game, part comedy, part poignant self-reflection, Wanderstop proves even the most well-trodden genre can bear creative fruit. Its gameplay errs on the side of simplicity, and elements of the story—particularly the side cast and the ending—left me hungrily wanting more. Still, the soul of Wanderstop shines through, resulting in a narrative experience that is one of a kind.

From Hero to Zero

Wanderstop stars Alta, a young woman who has spent much of her life winning. For years, she fought in an arena, besting opponents with the help of her trusty sword. As with any champion (think Amanda Nunes or Ronda Rousey), Alta had to claw her way up to the top—and once she got there, defending that title became everything. She tirelessly dominated the competition, until one day, she finally lost and her world shattered.

The game opens with Alta sprinting through a mysterious forest in search of a famous fighter. Alta believes this woman, who herself dominated the field, will be able to train her back to glory. Suddenly, though, a wave of fatigue sets in. Alta shrugs it off, but soon finds that she lacks so much as the strength to carry her sword. She is overcome by her fatigue and faints.

When Alta wakes, she finds herself in a clearing, sitting on a bench next to a man named Boro. As she comes to find out, Boro is the proprietor of a tea shop: the titular Wanderstop. Here in the clearing, he tends to the flowers, cares for the penguin-like creatures that live here, and brews delicious cups of tea for weary travelers like Alta. 

After some initial reluctance, Alta agrees to help Boro tend to the shop until she regains the strength to carry her sword. But, as players soon find out, this physical respite is just as much a mental one—there are many more scars needing healing than Alta would care to admit.

Let’s Unpack That

Thus begins a challenging journey of self-care and self-discovery—one that hooked me from the start with its relatable premise. If you’ve ever worked yourself to the bone due to life’s pressures (strict parents, a toxic workplace, unchecked burnout), you’ll appreciate Alta’s slow embrace of work-life balance. 

Alta herself is a complex character with tough baggage and understandable motivations. She grapples with the “must go, must do” restlessness of many a workaholic, and she fears failure, like practically anyone. Her drive to succeed was instilled at a young age, and despite the pain it’s caused, she sincerely loves being a fighter. The answer to her problems isn’t as simple as “choose a different vocation.”

Boro, meanwhile, is the perfect foil: calm, easy-going, and understanding. When Alta rushes to complete a task or fulfill an order, Boro reminds her nothing is time-sensitive at Wanderstop. Where Alta relishes the details and relies on certainty, Boro appreciates life for its unknowns. He brings much-needed levity to a rather dark story.

Wanderstop is billed as a “narrative-centric cozy game,” but it’s certainly not the cozy game you might expect. The cozy genre was built on the concept of psychological safety: Whether you’re farming crops or managing a coffee shop, your character goes home feeling fulfilled. Alta, however, does not enjoy the same peace of mind. It’s the equivalent of taking Samus Aran and dropping her into your Animal Crossing town: What would she think? How would she adapt?

It’s such a clever concept—one that kept me pressing “continue” through Wanderstop’s many lines of dialogue. The game opens the door to a new, uncharted sub-genre of cozy games, and the prospect of what that entails is both thrilling and terrifying.

Care for Chamomile?

Alta and Boro are the game’s fulcrum, but they are by no means alone. As players tend to the shop, they will encounter a cast of eccentrics ranging from fellow warriors to mythical beings to even just regular old folks. The game plays out across a series of seasons, with new customers cycling in and out as the leaves change.

Across roughly 10 hours, you’ll perform tasks inspired by cozy game greats like Animal Crossing, Coffee Talk, and Stardew Valley. The game equips players with four main tools: a basket, for gathering tea leaves that serve as the foundation for your tea; a watering can, for growing magical fruit to add to your brew; shears, for cutting weeds; and a broom, for clearing dust. 

The first two tools are central to Wanderstop’s gameplay flow. For most of the game, you’ll gather leaves, bring them to the shop to transform into balls of tea, and then harvest any fruit you’ve grown to pair with your tea. Once you’ve got the right ingredients for a particular customer, you’ll whip them together—by way of an impressive tea machine in the center of the shop—and pour your creation into a mug to serve.

For the first hour or two, this flow is fun, if rather simple. By hours nine and 10, however, it loses much of its charm. Unlike Stardew, where players can indulge in a variety of interests to keep them busy—planting, foraging, mining, dating—here, you’re only able to do the most minimal of tasks. It doesn’t help that there’s little incentive to clean (more on that in a bit).

Based on the story, this is by design. Boro wants Alta to embrace a lifestyle where there aren’t massive to-dos—where it’s okay to be bored from time to time. While it makes sense narratively, it unfortunately doesn’t translate well to the player. I don’t play games to idle around; I play to move and to be moved. Wanderstop delivers on the latter with aplomb; it’s the former where it struggles. 

Gone With the Wind

Exacerbating Wanderstop’s gameplay issues is its use of seasons. Narratively, there’s something poetic about watching the time tick by as Alta searches for inner peace. Unfortunately, this design decision comes with several drawbacks.

First, the shop essentially resets after each season. Any customers you’ve met will disappear, along with your crops and any items in your inventory. The only constants are Alta, Boro, and the photos on the walls. The first time Alta and Boro discuss this change, Boro explains that it’s a good opportunity to savor the moment and start anew with a blank slate. He even points Alta to a fifth tool, the camera, and encourages her to capture memories with photos, as they will persist through the changes.

While aligned with the game’s themes, this “reset” effectively hampers any desire to care for the shop beyond the bare necessities. Once I realized the shop would lose the trinkets I had accumulated for its many shelves, I stopped caring about staying organized. Once I realized the weeds, dust, and dirty mugs would evaporate with a “poof,” I stopped bothering to clean up after myself. Instead, I channeled my energy into making tea, replacing the occasional photo when it felt fitting.

The second, and arguably worse, drawback is that the game treats its supporting cast like an afterthought. Certain NPCs, like a flock of salarymen and a magical being who observes them, are fleshed out thanks to a strong “beginning, middle, and end” to their narrative arcs. Others, like a father with a mysterious curse or a man floating on a cloud, are introduced and retired with little context or fanfare. The dissonance is jarring, and though it lends itself to the fleeting nature of Alta’s time at Wanderstop, it doesn’t always make for satisfying storytelling.

Embracing Your Flaws

My issues with Wanderstop may sound like dealbreakers, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Much like Alta herself, the game’s flaws only underscore its biggest strengths.

Yes, the gameplay loses steam early. At times, tasks felt like chores. And yet, despite the mundane nature of foraging, watering, and brewing, I always wanted to see what was just around the (figurative) bend. The story does the heavy lifting, ensuring every new conversation as Alta felt rewarding, yielding new information about herself, Boro, or the colorful customers around them.

Even when NPCs felt underserved, I welcomed their presence. There’s something beautifully bittersweet about making a friend for a day—an hour, even—and then bidding them adieu. The reason I wanted more from them was because they left such an indelible impression to begin with. Given the game’s cozy DNA, I would have loved an “endgame” mode where players could catch up with old friends and build out Wanderstop to their heart’s content. 

Unfortunately, Ivy Road decided to take the story, and its conclusion, in a different direction. I enjoyed the ending for what it was—and wouldn’t dream of spoiling it—but felt it important to articulate that, yes, the journey is ultimately a finite one. Do not come into Wanderstop expecting Stardew Valley; come in expecting something far more raw. (The game’s writers previously worked on The Stanley Parable and Gone Home, to give you a general idea.)

Even the game’s presentation is beautifully flawed. Visually, it’s gorgeous; with each season comes fresh colors, dazzling new flowers to grow, and wonderfully imaginative characters to meet. The soundtrack is strong as well, though some tracks wear out their welcome. Unfortunately, though, the game suffers from some nasty technical issues—from bugged pictures that don’t populate, to unfortunate pop-in.

Final Thoughts

Wanderstop is a wonderful experiment for Ivy Road and Annapurna Interactive. The game’s cozy gameplay, though simplistic, makes way for a complex story about ambition, hardship, and healing. It’s a game that felt too long, but also much too short. 

I wish I could have spent more time with Alta, Boro, and their shop. I also wish the game had better mechanics to keep me engaged, and a more systematized way of handling its massive cast of characters. However, the core story of Wanderstop was more than enough to draw me in and keep me playing until the very end.

If you approach Wanderstop expecting the next great cozy game, you may be disappointed. However, approach it like Alta—skeptical at first, but willing to open your heart—and you’ll come away with one of the most unique experiences of 2025.

Score: 8.3/10

Wanderstop, developed by Ivy Road and published by Annapurna Interactive, is out now on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. MSRP: $24.99.

Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.