I’m not sure how it has happened in this generation, but it seems as though we can officially declare the story-driven drink server sim as a subgenre at this point. Whether it be fancy coffee drinks or cocktails, I’ve now played quite a variety of them at this point on the Switch, and while they aren’t my go-to games by any means, I can see their appeal. Thankfully there has been some variety in both how challenging drink making is, and then what the game’s narrative revolves around, but in general these tend to be character-driven affairs of some sort, and Best Served Cold generally fits right in.

This time around you’re working a bar in an alternative Europe in the past, and you’ve been enlisted to try to help solve a series of murders before they get out of control… and ultimately end up being bad for business. Of course, in order to do this you’ll need to ply your trade, working to keep your patrons happy, lubricated, and a little loose in the tongue. This can be a delicate art to some degree, as you’ll need to have some amount of memory for what everyone prefers, and then work to get them just inebriated enough without putting them over the top. Too sober and they may notice your prying, too drunk and they’ll likely not be of use to anyone.

For the most part this formula works well, especially if you enjoy digging into each of the characters and getting to know them. That and the mysteries you’re trying to solve are absolutely the hook here, and unfortunately the drinkmaking takes a back seat to that. It isn’t that there’s anything particularly bad about that aspect of play, there just aren’t that many drinks, and preparing them well simply is too easy compared to most of the competition. It thus feels like an opportunity for at least a mildly tougher challenge was missed.

Putting it all together, you have another pretty interesting set of character studies against the backdrop of a local watering hole. The different time and place do help to at least add a little flavor to the proceedings, though there have certainly been more fanciful settings used in other games as well, so interests may vary. In general, this seems to be designed more to enjoy than outright be challenged by, and that’s fine, just be warned if you happen to be looking for something a bit more heady.