While We Wait Here Review – At The End Of The Line

A cowboy, an actress, a conspiracy theorist, a family and two goth teenagers walk into a bar… or er, a diner. Bad Vices Games’s While We Wait Here is a kitchen management sim with a twist; our customers will likely be our last as the end of the world is said to be imminent with a brutal storm tearing across America. Or so we think, as the payoff feels incredibly underwhelming.

We play Cliff (or Nora depending on our actions) who owns a diner in the middle of nowhere with his wife, Nora, who took over the management from her father. Cliff and Nora are planning to sell up and start a new life elsewhere, prompting the player to pick either a cottage in the countryside or an apartment in the city. After we’ve dealt with a drunken customer who starts to cause a ruckus, more customers begin to show up as a storm brews outside.

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We run a diner with our wife, Nora. 

While We Wait Here isn’t a long game at just under four hours, but unfortunately tries to cram in the five backstories of its customers while also covering the present day and Cliff (or Nora) coming to terms with a recent event. We consistently jump between the backstories of Cliff and the customers to the present day as the apocalypse gets worse outside. While the game does a decent job at covering the backstories, we’re left with mere crumbs when it comes to some form of story in the present day. I was expecting more conflict or a greater sense of urgency around the storm, but it feels like the actual end of the world aspect is incredibly over-exaggerated in While We Wait Here’s marketing material as the brunt of the story revolves around these characters making decisions based on their history which changes what cutscenes we get at the end. 

The adventure aspects of While We Wait Here were another mechanic which felt disappointing as it mostly boils down to being presented with a single option at the end of each backstory. Other than that, we listen to their conversations and play through their backstory with little input. I was hoping that we would get some harder present day choices, especially as these characters are an odd bunch to lock into a small space together and would likely face some quarrels, some of them even have intertwining storylines. But it feels like an hour has been lopped off the end of the game as it ends rather abruptly once we come to terms with our past and help each character make a decision.

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We’ll jump between the backstories of each character and the present day.

In terms of the management sim elements, these very much act as a prompt for dialogue as there’s no risk of taking too long or ruining the dish. We simply receive an order off a customer, make the dish, and when we serve it there’s usually the opportunity to open up a discussion with them. While there are a few additional gameplay elements added into some of the backstories, such as an FPS section, While We Wait Here serves as a mostly narrative game, which is absolutely fine if that’s what you’re looking for, but I wouldn’t recommend this if you were expecting the management sim elements to be significant.

In terms of audio and visuals, While We Wait Here has a full voice over with a cast that each do a decent job in their roles. The music swells during emotional moments, though there aren’t any particularly memorable pieces. I did love the graphics style, as the game opts for a retro, PlayStation 1 look while keeping heavy detail in the environment. The lighting and use of color is also gorgeous and does a great job at making the visuals pop. There’s plenty of gorgeous scenery used to illustrate the apocalypse happening outside.

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While the narrative is a little disappointing, While We Wait Here has gorgeous visuals.

While We Wait Here isn’t necessarily a bad game but it just didn’t leave a lasting impact on me and I think that mostly has to do with a lack of conflict or storyline around the characters’ time in the present day, stuck inside a diner while they wait for the storm to blow over… or end the world. 

Jess reviewed While We Wait Here on PC with a review code.

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