Gaming for many is a means of passing time, a way to unwind after a stressful day, or perhaps an opportunity to escape from the humdrum day-to-day for a larger-than-life adventure. However, my relationship with gaming is a little different.
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You see, gaming is not only my greatest passion. It’s my day job, my primary source of validation, and, if I’m honest, a relationship that grows increasingly unhealthy year-on-year.
Every new game is a race to the finish to get coverage out the door. Every interesting premise that hooks me has to be discarded as soon as the next big ticket item comes along.
Plus, becauseI’m a trophy hunterwho can’t help but finish a game I truly commit to 100%. There is rarely a time when I just play a game blind, roll credits, and accept the experience for what it is.
It’s a complicated relationship gaming and I have, and it’s not likely to change any time soon.But, for the briefest of moments, Wanderstop allowed me to slow down, breathe, and deprogramme by completionist tendencies.
Slow Down, Stay A While
As is my usual pre-game ritual, before I began Wanderstop, I looked up the trophy list and aimed to map out my route to 100%.
Usually this involves highlighting potential missables, looking for ways to stack trophies and finish up faster, and if I encounter as much as one online trophy, you can bet your ass I won’t be playing that game.
But Wanderstop’s achievements boil down to ‘play the game, and you’ll get the trophies.‘Which left me in an unusual spot. There was no way to streamline, no way to game the system. Just a story to enjoy, and tea to make, and that’s what I did. But I wanted to do it on my own terms.
The game endeared me to Alta, our hot-blooded protagonist, and much like Alta, I was unwilling to let go of my usual rituals. Despite the chill vibe, and the lovable shop owner Boro assuring me that there was no rush, no goals, and ample room for failure, I was determined to Min-max in any way I could.
After all, the Irish are the best at making tea in high volumes, and I wasn’t about to bring shame to the green, white, and gold.
I set off from the wooden bench that I would return to repeatedly, intent on sweeping, gardening, and brewing blends with the same galaxy brain approach I brought tomy spreadsheet-fuelled Stardew Valley farm.But, ol’ Davey Wreden had other plans for me.
Quit, Don’t Quit, Noodles, Don’t Noodles
Despite my desire to gun it to the finish, Wanderstop was keen to deter me. However, this was never in an aggressive way, or a frustrating way that felt like a roadblock or an anchor weighing me down. But more akin to slowing me down, like the mild haze that comes after sipping a well-brewed camomile by the fire.
Wanderstop has goals in the form of serving customers and odd jobs around the shop. However,there are no fail states, no time limits, and in most cases, no mandatory tasks that absolutely need taking care of.
The game constantly leaves you to your own devices. Every task completed comes with an extended period where there’s nothing to do but enjoy the world around you. You’re constantly encouraged to take a moment for yourself to sip some tea, get introspective, or just spruce up the place.
If you do, you’re amazing; if you don’t, you’re equally amazing. It’s the cozy game formula at its soft and fluffy best.
I’ll be completely honest with you. Initially, this drove me insane.The lack of structure, the absence of refined gameplay loops, and the abundance of tasks that were nothing more than arbitrary time-fillers. It went against every one of my long-established core gaming principles.
But each piping-hot tea I drank felt like an antidote, bringing me out of the success-dependent stupor I had been in for so long.
Relax, Take It Easy
I found myself smack bang in the middle of a gaming experience, with no tangible way to measure my success. I had committed, and I was going to stick it out no matter what. I had no choice but to accept the game for what it was, meet it where it was, and this led me slowly but surely to let go.
That’s when the symbiosis of Alta’s narrative and that of my own started to become more aparrent. As, much like Alta’s inner self pushing them started to fade, so did mine.
I found myself wanting to brew new blends to unlock moments of reflection from Alta. I looked forward to those lulls between customers to gather some used dishes.
Heck, I even found myself reading some in-game books, which was staggering as my social media-addled rat brain hasn’t been able to so much as read an in-game note fully without tuning out in years. Luxuries that made the experience all the richer.
It sparked joy when I got my hands on a ladybird trinket that had no use other than cluttering the shop a little more. When a new customer came along, I tapped into a bubbly customer service persona that I, and my previous employers, never knew I had.
And when the time came to leave them and move on like the changing of the seasons, the goodbyes were akin to that feeling I had when leaving spirits off at the everdoor in Spiritfarer, albeit a lot less emotionally devastating.
I never felt a developer’s hand on my back, shoving me to the next quest or guide rails funnelling me through a set sequence of events. Instead, I had my new friend Boro validating my every choice,even if that choice was to choose nothing at all.It was refreshing.
At times, it felt like the world stood still, and I was no longer a cog turning in the machine.
An Occasional Tea Break
As the game came to a close, Alta was asked, “Do you still want to be a fighter?”
In that moment, it truly felt like the developer was speaking to me outright, asking me, “Do you still want to be that success and validation-obsessed gamer?” After the enriching, cathartic, and relaxing time I had spent at Wanderstop.
Then, after a brief moment, I answered no, knowing I meant it at that moment.
But, just as Alta leaves the forest, and the magic of the forest is bound to dissipate over time, allowing for those toxic ambitious tendencies to take hold again. I also know that the respite Wanderstop brought is temporary.
As soon as a new AAA release comes along, I will be knee-deep again and racing against a ticking clock. Plus, I know that my craving for the sound that a platinum trophy makes when it pops will become too tempting to ignore.
But what I learned from my time in my little tea haven was that there is room in my hectic gaming schedule for a tea break—a space for self-indulgent experiences and moments to just breathe, let obligations and metrics slip my mind, and let the pursuit of fun, tranquility, and satisfaction reign supreme.
The game had me hook, line, and sinker, to the point that thirty minutes before the credits rolled, that last trophy popped, and my platinum was secure. I watched it ping on screen, and in any other instance, I would have exited the game, deleted the file, and gotten on with my day.
But, this time, I just kept going. I made more tea, I tied up the loose ends, and story beats. I said my heartfelt goodbyes. I stayed to do some odd jobs when the credits were just over the horizon, and even when the game’s end was one click of a button away, I just sat with Boro a moment longer, almost unwilling to go back to the eternal grind.
Wanderstop is a special game that forces you to slow down, forget what you know about modern gaming, and take a selfish, uninterrupted moment for yourself. Something that galaxy brain folks like me will be all too keen to resist, and believe me, I get it.
But, I implore you to make room in your life for just one cup of tea, not to action a quest, or to earn some XP—a cup just for you and you alone.
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