Wanderstop knows you need a change, but are you really ready?

One of many exciting reveals at Summer Game Fest was the announcement of Wanderstop, a new narrative-centric cozy game about the nature of change set at a tea shop. There will plenty of relaxing tasks from harvesting your ingredients to serving the tea, but is Alta actually ready for that? Can you quiet the doubts, put aside a fighting nature, and really enjoy life in Wanderstop?

Wanderstop trailer wants you to embrace the challenge of change

The first minute of the Wanderstop trailer unveiled at Summer Game Fest sure makes it feel like just another cozy game. A little farming, some tasks, gorgeous stylized graphics, and a bit of comfortable repetition. Then, in the last thirty seconds, one thought spiral causes it all to fall apart.

It's a powerful introduction to the world of Wanderstop, a new game from publisher Annapurna Interactive and debuting development studio Ivy Road. The star-studded dev team is led by a proven trio in Davye Wreden (The Stanley Parable, The Beginner's Guide), Karla Zimonja (Gone Home, BioShock 2: Minerva's Den), and Daniel "C418" Rosenfeld (Minecraft).

Right out of the gate, it's clear that this game will become just as much about the tasks themselves as it is the difficulty of our central character Alta settling in to her new life at the tea shop. While she yearns for combat, Alta must find peace despite an ongoing internal struggle. The press release for Wanderstop sums that up quite effectively:

"The shop demands patience, and it rejects those who have come only in the pursuit of growth unchecked. And that’s why Alta can’t be here. It’s why she’ll never make it. This isn’t who she is. No, she’s a fighter! Why would anyone insist on turning the world’s greatest championship warrior into a docile servant? With everything she’s capable of? No no no… she won’t do it… she can’t…"

Fortunately, not every overwhelming journey towards change has to be taken alone. We see a glimpse of Boro, the shop owner, checking in on Alta on the bench at the end of the trailer. Sometimes, expectations for where we should be can get in the way of seeing what we already have. Only time will tell how things work out for Alta, but players won't have too long to wait. The trailer stopped short of a confirmed Wanderstop release date, but it's coming to PC and PS5 this year.