In the works for a decade by the creators of Game Dev Tycoon
Tavern Keeperhas been kicking around for a good number of years now, asGame Dev Tycoondevelopers Greenheart Games polished up their charming mixture of Dungeons & Dragons fantasy bartending withTheme Hospital-style simmanagement. Almost a decade from Game Dev Tycoon’s release, Tavern Keeper is now finally approaching its early access release later this year.
Tavern Keeper pops you in the beer-splashed boots of publican orcs, who as you’d imagine must juggle keeping locals happy with the business of running and expanding their enterprise. That includes laying out the tavern’s rooms themselves, filling them with furniture, ensuring that stock levels are kept up and hiring more staff - who you must also keep happy - to help you out with cooking meals (such as flambé swamp rat), cleaning and meeting the demands of patrons.
The game’s campaign throws up both some fun simulation-sandbox events - whether fires caused by errant fireplace ashes or an outbreak of the plague - and more crafted dialogue options with characters that help form its story. The simulation layer certainly seems to run deep, taking into account everything from the brightness of your torchlit cabin and filth levels to the unique environments and local cultures surrounding taverns in different locations. If you prefer to just decorate, there’ll be a design mode too.
Tavern Keeper looks to keep that same charm and lightheartedness at its core, going by the first gameplay trailer, which immediately had me dreaming up my ideal publike that episode of Peep Show. (You can even christen your fantasy tavern, though I’d personally recommend not following the naming conventions of Super Hans.) If there’s higher praise than that, I can’t think of it.
Tavern Keeper will pull its first pints in Q4 this year, when itthrows open its doors on Steam early access. See you at the bar.
