The Ultimate Guide to Wanderstop Gameplay

The Ultimate Guide to Wanderstop Gameplay

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Not fix yourself. Not change yourself. Because living with what Elevada has doesn’t mean she’s broken. She doesn’t need to be fixed. She just needs to learn how to live with it. To manage it. To understand it. And really, I could go on and on and on about how Wanderstop is a masterclass in depicting the aftermath of childhood trauma and undiagnosed mental illness.

If you go into it expecting a narrative-driven game that explores difficult themes with care and honesty, you'll be genuinely touched by what Wanderstop has to offer. If you just want to make tea, farm collectables, and vibe – you'll find some of what you seek here, but it might not quite hit the mark.

Wanderstop might technically be a “cozy” game in this way, but it is not a comfortable one. Sure, making tea and cleaning up the tea shop is fun and relaxing, and solving each customer’s tea order is just challenging enough. But I cried during my first playthrough. A lot

The only things that remain are Boro, the books, and the images we’ve taken. I hated this, in fact, I think I still hate it. It felt like the game was forcing me to deal with my own control issues, to accept that I couldn’t hold onto everything.

To do that, you’ll have to grow your own ingredients in a small garden plot outside the tea shop (though you can technically plant anywhere). You’re given a field book, a limited amount of seeds, and some gentle parenting from Boro, but the rest is yours to figure out.

One loss isn't too bad, so she berates herself a little and moves on. Train harder, go faster. Don't get lazy or complacent. Her schedule intensifies and she neglects rest for effort, only for it to result in another loss.

Wanderstop excels in storytelling in a way that few games do. It doesn’t just present a narrative, it makes you feel it, live it, and reflect on it. Elevada’s journey is deeply personal yet universally relatable, especially for those who have struggled with burnout, emotional dysregulation, or the crushing weight of expectations. The slow unraveling of her past and her mental state is handled with nuance. The use of open-ended narratives might frustrate some players, but it serves an important purpose: reminding us that we don’t always get closure.

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There's nothing wrong with this angle, of course, but Wanderstop offers a far more realistic approach to the process of change. It's still a cozy game for the most part, but one that isn't afraid to point out the challenges that come with slowing down. The farming, harvesting, and tea-making serve as actively therapeutic Wanderstop Gameplay actions, rather than mindless wholesome gameplay in search of gifts for romanceable residents (or to pay back a merciless tanuki landlord).

can't she just stop and rest?" before realizing Wanderstop was holding a mirror up to my own impulses for overwork. It is a cozy game and a pleasure to play, but it won't shy away from showing you a big sad photo of yourself, pointing at it, and going "that's you, that is".

Ivy Road has done an incredible job of showing what it’s like to live with this specific mental struggle without ever putting a label on it.

She wants to do what a lot of us do – try harder, work smarter, get better, find quick fixes. She wants to workout and practice with her sword because those are the only things she can understand as tangible self-improvement. What Boro asks is a far greater challenge – to merely sit and find peace.

To make the tea, Elevada has to first harvest leaves from the bushes. Once her basket is full, she'll need to wait for the leaves to dry. There's pelo fast-forward option, just a very slow countdown timer that sets the pace for the rest of the gameplay. Dotted around the clearing are plants that bear coloured seeds which can be harvested or crossbred into hybrids which then bear fruit.

Wanderstop constantly put me up against situations that were not just uncomfortable, but that intentionally went against the grain of what you normally expect from these types of games in order to make its point.