Touhou Mystia's Izakaya

Touhou Mystia's Izakaya is a small-scale and innocuous game that's cute to wind down with but it doesn't really offer much noteworthy.

An unusual, though thoroughly pleasant, mix of time management sim elements and a surprise rhythm game

Touhou Mystia's Izakaya has a lot of great qualities with its art, music, and cozy vibe. Some may feel it a bit bland if you are looking for a more serious Izakaya simulator but it is great for what it is going for and at a cheap price point.

Touhou Mystia's Izakaya is a charming and very fun restaurant simulator. Though there are a few caveats, this title is no doubt yet another good addition to the Nintendo Switch library and an excellent option for fans of the genre.

I’m having a blast playing this game while I know nothing about other Touhou Projects, or Gensokyo for that matter. For fans of the games who love a bit of time management simulation, Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya is a must-play. It’s not just about cooking dishes quickly and sufficiently; the simulation aspect is fleshed out nicely as well. Chatting with characters during the day and serving them the best dishes at night ensures their friendship level rises. Which in turn leads to hearing their unique stories and their help in getting recipes, ingredients and so on. Add a great soundtrack and good graphics to all that, and you’ll understand why I love this game.

Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya is a rather low-maintenance game, yet surprisingly addicting at times. A strong presentation, lighthearted tone, and relaxing gameplay loop made it an enjoyable experience. It does drag just a bit in places, and I think Dichroic Purpilion could have implemented a few more tricky mechanics to deal with in order to spice things up, but I think what we ended up with was still solidly fun. What keeps Mystia’s Izakaya from reaching even higher heights isn’t so much in its mistakes, but rather that it doesn’t do a lot that truly goes above and beyond. I still liked a lot of what I ended up playing plenty though! This Nintendo Switch version of the game comes with all six packs of DLC, resulting in a large cast and a lot of additional content that is pretty seamlessly integrated into the game, giving you plenty of options during and after your main playthrough. While the game’s systems are limited in overall scope, there’s no shortage of things to do. It might not be to everyone’s tastes, but there’s still plenty of enjoyment to be had.