Bartender simulator. Wow. I never thought deeply about what these guys go through during their working days (I don't go to bars so uh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) so this is truly an eye-opening point of view. These guys aren't just here to serve drinks, they're also apt listeners and even sometimes almost directly influence the flow of the convo.
Well maybe it's not fully accurate (idk), but the way the script's written makes this PoV fully believable, and all the characters relatable. It's just a really great read!
And then I realized this game (very likely) happens in the same continuity as this silent Kokoro VN and it went from great to amazing in my head. And then I got to the reference about manly Rinnosuke with the soccer ball and it went from amazing to "yoooo they really did that"
I really enjoyed serving the drinks, even when there's only one "choice", because playing as the bartender, it truly feels like a key that unlocks the next bits of dialogue rather than a standard VN Brand Choice™. When in fact, it's still just a standard VN dialog choice. I really can't pinpoint why it feels different but again, this is the most actual fun interactions I've had in a VN in a while.
I'm remembering this sidestory in Yakuza 0 where Majima becomes an impromptu bartender now lol