Welcome to the Zodiac Cafe, where beverages are not only hot and delicious but also, entirely optionally, served with a sprinkle of fortune-telling, courtesy of the owner, Jonghyun. What the tea leaves tell him about the future of each individual might not always be positive, but even so, I think We’ll Be Alright.
If not for the fact that you’ll be able to choose which of three ways Jonghyun interprets each reading, that is. Yeah, okay, so everything’s probably still going to be just fine. No worries and all that. But as far as what fate has in store for each of the three characters, and perhaps even our resident fortune-teller, now that’s up to you. Good endings? Bad endings? Hard to say. There are three different ones in this visual novel, although I’m hesitant to differentiate much between each; particularly in regards to the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ that is common for the genre.
That said, unsurprisingly, everyone who asks to have their fortune read is struggling with something or other. Maybe they had a bit of a falling out with their family, perhaps there’s trouble at work, or it could be something else entirely, maybe not even related to themselves. Whatever the case, Jonghyun does not discriminate: doesn’t matter if you’re a regular human being or a mythological entity; if you’re in the mood for some tasseography (a fancy word for tea leaf reading), all you need to do is ask… and perhaps brace for potentially bad news.
A simple enough premise: Jonghyun owns and runs the Zodiac Cafe, and every now and then a customer and/or a friend will order something extra with their coffee, at which point I suppose Noel, the only other employee, is in charge of the business side until the tea leaves have been read. If this sounds more than a bit like a slice-of-life setting, well, that’s because it is, what with the chill pace and those (mostly) cheerful characters.
I’m not thereby saying that nothing ever happens at the Zodiac Cafe, however, just that you probably shouldn’t expect anything grand or dramatic, so much as a brief glimpse at the present and future of a handful of quite varied characters. I mean, one of them is in Heaven’s employ, while another comes from a family of qirin (supposedly creatures of good luck). Doesn’t get much more varied than that. Or mythological. Oh, there’s also one or two regular ol’ humans bunched in there somewhere. I think.
By the time We’ll Be Alright rolls credits, you’ll have guided everyone towards their next big step in life, based on the choices you – and Jonghyun, by extension – make during each reading. This form of divination does after all rely heavily on interpretation, and as such, you have the power to directly influence the lives of multiple individuals. Just remember that with great strength… yeah, no. We’re not doing that.
Anyway, remember that bit about how there are multiple endings? Well, as noted on the game’s page, there is also “one romance ending”, and given the game’s relatively short script, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did it not simply appear from out of nowhere, but it was also pretty sweet. Which is probably as much as I can say without venturing straight into spoiler territory. On a somewhat related note, I also liked how each individual ending felt different from every alternative outcome, making it absolutely worthwhile to go back and see what other paths each character might take following a brief tea party in the back of the Zodiac Cafe.
So, if you’re looking for a relaxing experience with a hot beverage and a bit of fortune-telling, I’d definitely recommend stepping into the proverbial shoes of Jonghyun and spending some time at the Zodiac Cafe with everyone, human and mythological creature alike. While I very much doubt you’ll be disappointed, you’re more than welcome to let me know in the comments section if that does turn out to be the case. Don’t worry: We’ll Be Alright.
We’ll Be Alright is available on itch.io.
