Late Homework Assignment: Wanderstop Review
Who knew making tea could be so therapeutic?
Video games are an interesting medium. There’s so much that can be told in a story, and truly something available for everyone. There’s the games that you seek out because of action, gameplay, or any of the other reasons they become popular. Then there are those games with a message that hits you when you didn’t quite know you needed it. Wanderstop fits into that latter portion and it is certainly a sleeper entry into the best games of 2025.
Wanderstop is considered a “cozy game” and fits that description perfectly. It was released on March 11, 2025 for PlayStation 5, XBox Series, and PC. Annapurna Interactive is the publisher, and the game was developed by Ivy Road. As of this review, it sits at an 80 percent on Metacritic and an 83 percent on OpenCritic.
At a high-level, Wanderstop is a game about the main character, Alta. She is a powerful fighter, think mixed martial arts but with weapons, who was at the top of the game. Then suddenly, she’s not. From there, she goes on a quest to figure out how to get stronger, but can’t even get that quest off the ground. From there, Wanderstop transitions into an hours-long therapy session with some interesting twists and turns that will impact players who slow down to pay attention. In fact, slowing down is one of the main narratives of the game, as writer/director Davey Wreden made it a point to touch on the impact of burnout.
Wanderstop is a beautiful game worthy of a playthrough when you’re ready to slow down
At its core, Wanderstop has a simple gameplay loop. Players take control of Alta, as she tends to the tea shop. That includes making various ingredients through gardening. For those of us who remember the Punnett Square that was taught in science class (is that still taught today), you’ll face challenges creating various types of seeds and plants.
Along the way, you’ll come into contact with a variety of side characters, each of whom is on their own quest of sorts, but could use a cup of tea along the way. What’s really interesting are the moments that Alta drinks her own concoctions, and the internal monologues that come with them. Some will surely hit home for the players who pick up video games as an opportunity to escape every day stress.
Wanderstop has a beautiful art style that fits this game. Everything looks like a vivid dream, right out of a storybook. The colors are vibrant and speak to the story being delivered. Especially when you recognize that some of the shifting colors reflect the main character’s mood to their situation.
There’s a lot to see and uncover in Wanderstop. Initially, this may seem like a short game, but if you’re looking to dig through (gardening pun intended) everything there is to find, you can expect to take at least 20 hours to finish this game.
2025 has been packed with a lot of great games. So much so, there are plenty that are easy to miss. Wanderstop is one of those games. If you’re looking for something to take your mind off all the explosions, debates about game sales, delays and more, Wanderstop is the perfect game for that. So slow down a bit and give this one a try.