And I welcome the champions of AI

Whether you enjoy Stellar Cafe or not depends on two things: how you feel about video game AI and how good a conversationalist you are.

I have previous experience with AI-driven NPCs in games, particularly Skyrim (with mods) and Riff XR, a former social VR turned MMORPG. The difference between these two examples is that these games offer much more than the aforementioned AI NPCs, whereas Stellar Cafe lives and dies on the characters and their interactions with them. A very simple premise creates a unique experience that lets the credits roll before they fade.

Developer AstroBeam’s claim to fame is helmed by Devin Reimer, one of the co-creators of Job Simulator. Stellar Cafe is heavily inspired by that VR classic while taking the concept of sentient robot interaction to the next level. You play as yourself and alongside James, a robot barista who asks for your name and uses it for the rest of the game. I’ve played dozens of games where players can say the main character’s name, only to see voice-acted NPCs not actually say it, but this was a surprisingly immersive touch.

After talking to James, you learn that he’s throwing a party for the next holiday, Patch Day, but the other nine RSVPs only say “maybe.” James asks for your help in figuring out why each robot is on alert and convincing them to turn “maybe” into “yes.” The rest of the game plays like a linear sandbox. Over three cycles (days), you’ll work with a robot in groups of three, and how you solve the robot’s problems is entirely up to your creativity.

For example, a bot cannot attend a party because it has to work at a job it hates and would rather quit. The bot will help you compose your resignation email through a series of prompt responses. Once your email is completed, it will be sent to your supervisor and you will receive an immediate response. I played through the game’s first three scenarios twice (including this one), and each time I used a vastly different approach, and the reactions were certainly different. Another example is Captain (one of the few names I remember as I write this review). He needs your help in coming up with a story pitch. Dialogue choices and responses are not predetermined, so there are no limits. If you’ve played this game many times, you’ll see how many strange reactions you can get from the robots.

Frankly, these characters felt better realized with personality traits and voices than most VR games I’ve encountered. I love puzzle games in general, and this was a trip to experience how puzzles actually speak to you. That being said, a little goes a long way here. Each encounter could be completed in less than 10 minutes, and some of them landed better than others. I won’t go into any more specifics to avoid spoilers, but I couldn’t wait for the following two in particular. Also, every robot has a phrase or two that gets old quickly.

Screenshot captured with Stellar Cafe UploadVR

Another unique thing about this game is that everything, including your movements, is driven by your voice. Use your Quest’s microphone to direct your AI assistant, Visor, from place to place (counter, booth, table). Of course you’re talking the whole time. There’s also physical interaction, with some bots having tablets you can pick up and view, and of course, plenty of custom drinks from James.

All voice interaction works perfectly fine, but the tablet could be a little choppy at times. Stellar Cafe can be played with a controller or hand tracking, and the game recommends using the latter. Unfortunately, the Quest kept detecting the controller, to the point where I had to turn on hand tracking. This is a shortcoming of Meta’s operating system rather than the game itself, but I wanted to point it out in case other players bump into it. Additionally, when I looked around the cafe during a conversation, the bot registered that I shook my head “no,” forcing me to redo my prompts and responses.

The running time of Stellar Cafe is approximately 2 hours including the ending. But I see players playing around with bots for hours, enjoying the live AI interaction. At times, there were some hiccups in the interaction, such as James making me a drink and delivering it to me, then telling me the drink would be ready soon. To the game’s credit, I called James every time this problem happened and he responded appropriately, apologized, and said something about the timing circuit misfiring. It worked.

Visually, Stellar Cafe doesn’t really push the boundaries of standalone VR. If you’ve ever played an Owlchemy Labs game (Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, etc.), you’ll appreciate that level of visual fidelity. However, take your time and look around the cafe. The single-level game design is full of little touches that show care and a sense of humor. The television above James alternates between newscasts, weather forecasts, and humorous riffs on the Home Shopping Network. I was also very impressed with this month’s employee shield.

Finally, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, this is ostensibly an artificial intelligence game. Whether you’re worried about the use of AI in video games or are completely against it, Stellar Cafe won’t change your mind. This isn’t a revolutionary step forward for the medium, but it’s an interesting thought experiment on how this technology can be applied.

Stella Cafe – Final Verdict

Stellar Cafe is a light-hearted and relatively short AI experience, ending its simple story before it outstays its welcome. I wish it was longer, but what we have here is a lot of fun and worth picking up for a glimpse into what feels like the inevitable future of gaming, especially social sim settings like this.

UploadVR uses a 5-star rating system for game reviews. You can read a breakdown of each star rating in our review guidelines.