Midnight Ramen Review (PC)

It’s pushing midnight, and the folks of the dimly lit city are in need of something to elevate their spirits—a broth, of sorts, that could potentially instill a sense of well-being in their hearts and, in turn, allow them to unravel their deepest, darkest secrets. It’s a safe spot, and one that, despite being out of touch with the hustle and bustle of the modern high street, possesses all of the qualities and ingredients needed to coerce twilight travelers into pulling up a stool and staying for a while. And for a world where little else operates during the latter portion of the evening hours, it seems that ramen, of all things, is the glue that bears the power to maintain social harmony amongst the masses. Suffice it to say, Midnight Ramen is exactly that: a harmonic vessel for fledgling foodies and local socialites to get their kicks.

Midnight Ramen doesn’t shy away from its natural inclination to borrow one or two assets from the likes of VA-11 Hall-A or Coffee Talk. In fact, it makes it painstakingly obvious right from the get-go that, whilst it does make an attempt to add its own flavors to the broth, the game itself represents a wider catalog of cozy visual novel elements that we’ve seen several times in numerous other incarnations. With that in mind, players can expect to conjure a few things: budding friendships with potential patrons; hearty ramen-based recipes and other complimentary food items; and a simple yet elegant business management system that, while not dramatically different from the average novel, allows its aspiring entrepreneurs to create without any formal marketing experience.

So, is Midnight Ramen actually worth stirring into the broth or not? Let’s talk about it.

The Midnight Hour

Midnight Ramen is a visual novel at heart, which means, while there are several interactive scenes and even a few fairly generic cooking-based mini-games to chomp through, the vast majority of its content comes from a wealth of scripted stories and intervening choices. Of course, this isn’t to say that the entire game is centered around copious amounts of text boxes and other written passages, but to make it absolutely clear — reading is, in all honesty, the only thing that matters in a world like this. In other words, there isn’t a huge amount to fret about here, minus, perhaps, the fact that you occasionally have to locate the correct recipes for certain customers, as well as select specific dialogue choices to usher the narrative towards its next important milestone. But that’s about it.

The story is as simple as they come: a ramen shop owner and its apprentice occupy a small corner of a city—a relatively gloomy place where stalls cease to function during the twilight period, and the only folks who roam the inner quarters are those who yearn to spill their secrets over a soothing broth filled with their favorite ingredients. Unsurprisingly, this is where you, along with your apprentice, find your feet: behind the counter of the small ramen stall — morally inclined to fashion mutual bonds with your patrons over a frothy pint and a cup of hot noodles. There isn’t much more to it than that, to be fair — and that’s fine. Yet the one thing that it does keep all rather secretive is another plot point, one that is only accessible by descending deeper and deeper into the lives of those you come to befriend over time.

Ramen for All

As far as making ramen goes, there isn’t a huge amount to deal with. Well, I say that, when really there’s a bit more to consider than the average cup of coffee. Unlike, say, Coffee Talk—yet another visual novel that invites you to formulate warm brews and create simple cappuccino art—Midnight Ramen instead tasks you with mixing in a few additional ingredients, such as the broth itself, as well as various seasonings, toppings, and noodles. And, seeing as each customer has a preference, it’s up to you to talk with them individually in order to discover which of the dishes make their taste buds hit a plateau. Simply put, it’s all about locating that winning formula, which can, in turn, lead to fresh story beats and nodes to unlock in the overarching narrative.

It goes without saying at this point, but Midnight Ramen isn’t as much about the act of creating ramen dishes as it is about its stories, of which there are many to follow and solve. In a typical scenario—shifts, usually, that mostly revolve around the act of listening to customers and making the occasional comment—you’ll find yourself operating the ramen stall and engaging in short mini-games, which often require you to cycle through various ingredients and knuckle in on a dish that suits your customer’s needs. Aside from that, there’s also the case of finding the correct side dish and drink, too. Even still, neither of these things are all that difficult to figure out; in fact, nine times out of ten, the customer will tell you what they enjoy, so it’s more or less the case of lending an ear and putting two and two together.

Oodles of Noodles

To say that Midnight Ramen is a bit of a slow burner wouldn’t be far too from the truth. It is a slow process, establishing lifelong bonds over the course of several in-game shifts and deciphering what each patron wants — but that’s sort of expected, given the blatant references to other visual novels like Coffee Talk, to be fair. However, with a vast quantity of genuinely good moments that frequently linger on the tongue long after they’ve hit their peak, it seems that even some of the more monotonous chores have their place in the spotlight. And that, really, is what it’s all about: glossing over the slightly less creative aspects in order to uncover a greater sense of purpose and meaning. It’s finding the time and energy to withstand the pressures of having to deal with customer’s personal struggles, that’s the issue.

Thankfully, there is a great amount of audible and graphical content to compliment the lack of gameplay here, and it often shines through in the background, of all places. Aside from it housing a soothing score that pairs up with the setting surprisingly well, Midnight Ramen also proudly hosts a quality roster of relatable characters and real-world issues, of which I thought were interesting enough to have me gradually unraveling each and every aspect over the duration of the series. Of course, I can’t say that I developed any lifelong relationships with the ramen stall regulars, but the fact that they each had a story to tell about their own respective lives was enough to keep me invested for the long haul. And even when I didn’t want to talk — I still had the ramen to keep me occupied, weirdly enough.

Verdict

Midnight Ramen does to the best of its abilities to recreate the atmospheric vibes and communal spirit of Coffee Talk by implementing its own treasure trove of intriguing stories and perplexing personalities. It isn’t exactly a new concept — the act of preparing guilty cuisine for lonesome folk and manifesting a fresh pair of eyes to aid others in their desperate times of need, but it’s a formula that certainly works, as proven countless times in other visual novels of a similar nature. To that end, it feels almost too easy to recommend it, for it does capture the essence of an award-winning experience, and it does take full advantage of the opportunity for the reader to engage in its narrative, if only for a short while.

If you’re one for scrolling through bottomless text boxes and repeating several of the same motions over and over again, then you’ll probably have the mental bandwidth to slug through each of the stories that flesh out Midnight Ramen. I’m not saying that it’s a boring endeavor, because it isn’t, though I will say this: if it’s a fast-paced exercise that you’re on the market for, then you’ve certainly fallen into the wrong region. If, however, it was games like VA-11 Hall-A that drove you to establish a newfound obsession for the world of interactive storytelling and relatable issues, then I have no doubt in my mind that Midnight Ramen will have more than enough content stowed away in its menu to keep you pouring your heart into creating oodles of noodles for the next week or so.