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Press release:
MELBOURNE, VIC – July 15, 2020 – “Necrobarista“, the cinematic cel-shaded visual novel from Route 59 Games, pours onto Steam for Windows PC on July 22, 2020.

Discover a tale of mystery, magic, and, depending on who asks, the best/worst coffee around. Hidden in an unassuming alleyway lies The Terminal, a café that serves as a waypoint between the lands of the living and the dead, where any one of the patrons could be a spirit from beyond.

With strict rules defining how long ghosts can spend in the corporeal realm before being forced to pass on, running this café is more complicated than your typical Melbourne coffeehouse.

Apprentice necromancer Maddy has just taken ownership of The Terminal and all its magical responsibilities. Follow her story and those of mechanics-obsessed teen Ashley, infamous Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, exasperated necromancer Chay, and a cast of other colorful characters through their dark pasts and the secrets behind the place linking them all together.

Stemming from a desire to elevate visual novels, Necrobarista moves beyond text boxes, making the narrative central to each scene with collectable keywords giving further insight into the characters and themes of the world.

Every chapter of the story is interspersed with first-person exploration sequences that allow patrons to delve deeper into The Terminal while also providing the opportunity to choose which narrative threads to investigate next.

With each shot carefully composed, every new line of dialogue brings dynamism and elements of cinema to the experience. Inspired by anime, Necrobarista translates traditional 2D art styles into a vibrant 3D world and pairs those influences with a soundtrack by award-winning anime and games composer Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss, Tower of God, The Rising of the Shield Hero, Florence).

“Necrobarista is an extra-caffeinated blend of our love for games, anime, and our hometown,” said Kevin Chen, lead designer, Route 59 Games.

“The resulting brew is something uniquely Australian and we’re thrilled to finally serve up our magical world and immerse everyone in coffee puns when the game launches on Steam for PC next week.”

Necrobarista will be available for $19.99 / €16.79 / £15.49 / $24.95 AUD via Steam. Supported languages include English, French (European and Canadian), Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, and Dutch. Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 releases will be served in 2021.

To learn more, visit Necrobarista’s website or join the community on Discord and Twitter.

About Route 59 Games
Route 59 Games is a Melbourne-based indie studio comprised of industry veterans dedicated to creating interesting narrative games. They came together in 2015 to create Necrobarista by combining their love of anime and visual novels to innovate and rejuvenate the genre.