A code for the game was provided by the game’s publisher Ysbryd Games for review.

Pull up a Stool

VA-11 HALL-A is a unique story driven cyberpunk graphic novel experience on the Nintendo Switch. The whole story takes place within a run down bar called the VA-11 HALL-A, which is situated in Glitch City.

What makes this a truly unique experience is you never get to explore the world you live in. This is because all interactions happen within your working environment. You’ll get to meet a cast of quirky characters who are the regulars in you bar. From famous pop stars to sexually active robots, it’s never a dull moment within these walls. Each regular has their own lives and stories, which you’ll be living through in this unique novel.

Bottoms up!

Of course you’re not only going to be speaking with a range of interesting people but also work as a bartender. You will be preparing a range different drinks including cocktails and beers for each customer. Depending on the drink and customer, conversations can drastically change as well as the overall interaction with each individual.

Art of cocktails!

Making drinks happens at different times, during different conversations. Customers may request a drink By Name, Flavour or even By Type.

After the request is made your recipe menu will appear. Selecting it is as simple as moving the cursor over an option and tapping the A button. You can also cycle through different tabs to find drinks by the 3 mentioned headers above.

If you decide to search for a drink, the first letter will be displayed. For example, if the customer requests a Moonblast cocktail, all you need to do is select the letter M within the By Name tab. All drinks with that letter will appear. This is quickest way to create certain drinks that customers request by name.

However, sometimes customers may not know what type of drink they like or want and may want you to pick one for them. If this occurs, then you have two options you can look at.

If they want a soft, girly or sour drink you can look at the By Flavour tab. Here you find drinks that are put into different categories like sweet drinks, bitter drinks etc.

By selecting one of these options it will bring a selection of drinks with that flavour in mind.

Of course sometimes customers can throw in curve ball and ask for a classy drink or a promo drink. These can be found within the By Type tab. Again, selecting one of the types of drink will bring up others within that category.

The Menu!

So with the menu details out of the way, how do you go about making cocktails and beers?

On left hand-side of screen is where all customers, co-workers and other individuals will appear to talk to you and request drinks.

Once a drink is requested, your VA-11 HALL-A drinks menu will pop up. After you’ve found the drink or drinks they want in the menu. Then you get to prepare said drink with its ingredients.

Each drink has its own measurements and requires different amounts of alcohol.

For example, to make a beer you will need is– 1 Aldehyde, 2 Bronson Extract, 1 Powdered Delta, 2 Flanergide and final 4 Karmotrine. Then all you need to do is to blend all the ingredients together before serving.

Sounds complex, but everything is explained well and instructions are informative, so you’ll soon be making drinks left, right and centre without a hitch.

Shake, rattle and control!

The controls are as follows; you can press the A button to move through dialogue during interacts. You can cycle through tabs with the L, R bumpers and move through options with the directional pad.

When creating a drink you can use the right analog stick to select one of the 5 ingredients. If recipes mentions over the rocks. Then this means you need to add ice to you concoction, which can be done with press of the X button. If recipes mention add age to your drinks, you can do so by pressing the Y button.

If for any reason you mess up the order, you can reset and start over again with press of the ZL trigger without penalty.

HD – Rumble

Now say you’ve added all the ingredients to your shaker. And you’re now ready to shake, rattle and roll.

All you need to do is press the mix button which is tied to the ZR trigger.

The unique mechanic here is that the shaker will shake slowly and speed up after a few seconds. If the word blended is in the drink’s recipe, then it requires the shaker to be shook quickly. If it mentions mixed, then the shaker needs to be shook slowly. James Bond style.





One of my biggest praises for this game is it excels in handheld mode with headphones on and HD rumble activated. While the mixing animation can help you time your shakes during the mixing process. Having HD-rumble on helps even more as it makes you feel more connected to the experience, which feels great and helps you time things correctly.

Since I don’t own official pro control, I can’t feel any rumble feedback when playing in docked mode. So I have to guess by looking at little sliver shaker during animation to know when drinks are prepared right.

So thats why I preferred to play in handheld mode.

Messing up a drink will reward you with a censored swear word. If you see this funny sign you can reset and try again.

Jukebox!

Before each shift you get to select the music for the jukebox in the bar. There’s a massive 12 pages worth of songs to choose from! The more you progress the more you unlock. You can select 12 songs to pop on the jukebox that will play during each shift.

The music is really good! I enjoyed listening and choosing my own songs for each of my shifts.

My home!

After working a shift at the bar you’ll head home. Here you can use your mobile phone to checkout different apps. You can play with your music player, read online news stories as well as the AE newspaper, which is a popular magazine that covers hot topics around Glitch City.

Even though you never get to explore the world, its stories are told to you indirectly through the customers and these apps. The experience feels completely different to anything I’ve ever played before. You’re hearing and reading about issues on the street. Whilst also learning about peoples’ lives and issues from the bar. All the while never actually seeing what happens beyond your home and the bar that you work at. It’s an interesting way to tell a story and one that I truly like and appreciate.

Anytime you’re ready you can go to work and start a new shift. Or you could also go to the shop. Here you can buy things for your room like anime posters, figures and other expensive items. While your funds are highlighted, you are constantly being reminded that on a certain date your rent will be taken. So make sure you have the right amount of money in your account to pay for it.

Sexual Tension!

One thing that needs to be mentioned about the game is the graphic dialog in VA-11 HALL-A.

Within this city there are a bunch of drug fuelled individuals and sex crazed robots that won’t take a moments notice to explain there dirty deeds and experiences in rather graphic detail. Which can be amusing and sometimes shocking.

This game wouldn’t appeal to a younger audience and definitely is targeted towards older gamers, so keep that in mind upon purchase.

Verdict!

I really liked VA-11 HALL-A on Nintendo Switch. It’s a unique bartender experience wrapped up in a cyberpunk universe. Seeing the struggles and experiences through the eyes of Jill, as she comes to terms with the city’s stories were always fascinating. It’s an interesting and engaging story, which I liked a lot.

If you go into the game expecting an action packed cyberpunk world, then you’ll come out disappointed. However, if you go into this title with a open mind, you will grow fond of the interesting characters and world that VA-11 HALL-A exists in.

I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it but I found the title is a great way to relax. Pop on your headphones, play this game in handheld mode and maybe you to will become lost within Glitch City.

That’s why I give VA-11 HALL-A by Sukeban Games our rating of

If you like the idea of a bartending game, maybe you’d also like a game about cooking food? If so check out our review of Cook, Serve Delicious 2. Otherwise, what did you think of Leigh’s review? Are you a fan of Cyberpunk worlds? If so which game has your favourite? Let us know over on Twitter or come and join the SIF Discord server.

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