\n<\/p>\n
Play it on:<\/strong> PS5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC<\/p>\n Goal: <\/strong>Brew a decent cup of tea.<\/p>\n I\u2019m excited to try Wanderstop<\/em>, the new game about, as its Steam page<\/a><\/span> puts it, \u201cchange and tea,\u201d for a few reasons. One is that it\u2019s the first game from Ivy Road<\/a><\/span>, a studio founded by Davey Wreden. Wreden previously created The Stanley Parable<\/em> and The Beginner\u2019s Guide<\/em>, both highly original games that were fully committed to their own distinctive visions. On the surface, in the trailers that I\u2019ve seen, Wanderstop<\/em> looks like it could be a fairly conventional \u201ccozy game,\u201d another chill, low-key release in which you soak up the pleasant vibes while running a business of some kind\u2014in this case, a tea shop. However, given Wreden\u2019s involvement, I suspect there\u2019s more to Wanderstop<\/em> than that, and that sooner or later the game\u2019s gonna throw me a curveball. Which is what I want! I want to be surprised, caught off guard, to have my expectations undermined. <\/p>\n The other reason I\u2019m excited is that I\u2019ve seen the game receive a pretty wide range of critical reactions, from lukewarm praise to enthusiastic raves. (I haven\u2019t read these reviews yet because I want to go into the game knowing as little as possible, but it\u2019s clear to me that there\u2019s a good assortment of opinions on it out there.) I believe that most games should receive a much wider range of critical reactions<\/a><\/span> than they do, but given that mainstream game criticism sadly still tends overwhelmingly toward consensus, when a game does receive a decent spread of critical responses I tend to sit up and take notice, because it inevitably means that the game is doing something interesting. <\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t mean that I\u2019ll love it; it just means that even if I don\u2019t like it, I\u2019ll probably at least think it failed in an interesting way, and I\u2019d typically much rather play a game that tries something distinctive and doesn\u2019t quite come together than a game that plays it safe and succeeds. Of course, it\u2019s also possible that I will end up loving Wanderstop<\/em>. I intend to find out one way or the other this weekend. But right now, this moment before I\u2019ve even started it, is sometimes one of the best parts: to be on the cusp of beginning a new game, and not having any clue of just what to expect. \u2014 Carolyn Petit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n