In the Cozy Game Wanderstop, Brewing Tea Can Be Tiring

Wanderstop, a chill but cheeky experience with characters who exude dry humor, appears to be about harvesting and making tea. But it is also full of musings about fatigue and burnout. In other words, is the daily grind worth the harm it can do to the psyche?

Cozy games like Animal Crossing, Nintendo’s funny animal series, became extra popular during the stress of the coronavirus pandemic, and the new studio Ivy Road is trying to change the nature of the genre.

In Wanderstop, you’re not just tending your garden in a Voltaire sense. You’re trying to understand, relate to and fix a character who is on the verge of a breakdown — or has already had one. It’s a cautionary tale for those who toil too much and too hard.

Alta, a female warrior, has lost her mojo by laboring too strenuously to make it to the top. Exhausted, she faints in the forest. She can no longer even lift her huge sword to fight.

To clear her mind, Alta begins managing a far-flung tea cafe. Creating the steamy brews requires dutifully ascending a wooden ladder to release water into an extravagant tea machine. With a bellows, she stokes the fire 30 or so times until the water boils. Then, with a neatly animated kick, she opens a giant kettle to toss in tea and fanciful ingredients. Brilliantly rendered, the device recalls Willy Wonka’s Great Gum Machine.

Alta, with a mahogany-colored apron and little patience for customers, has long followed the strict, militarized rules of elite competition. But here, there are no timed objectives, just an anything-goes attitude.