Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

 PC
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 36
  3. Negative: 13 out of 36

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Melgacius
    Jul 21, 2018
    6
    My actual review is, again, bigger than 5000 characters. Long story short, it has tons of little annoyances and some great stuff that is clearly made with love and care. All things measured I'll give it a thumbs up.

    If you already like walking simulators, you will like this one, if you do not like, maybe this one is not the best for you to star with.
  2. SuperkenGaming
    Mar 3, 2018
    6
    Where The Water Tastes Like Wine
    Feels like a bed time story
    Because it’s going to put you to sleep You lose a card game to a wolf, and to repay your debt he wants you to go out and collect the story of where the water tastes like wine You play as a skeleton character in an old timey gold rush feeling America You go from state to state collecting stories. As you walk across the    Where The Water Tastes Like Wine
    Feels like a bed time story
    Because it’s going to put you to sleep
    You lose a card game to a wolf, and to repay your debt he wants you to go out and collect the story of where the water tastes like wine
    You play as a skeleton character in an old timey gold rush feeling America
    You go from state to state collecting stories.
    As you walk across the country you’ll see little bubbles on buildings for you to interact with... these are stories all greatly narrated and are my favorite parts of this game…
    your job though is to collect not just any story... but a variety of stories... these stories are your stories based on your interactions, so you’re given different choices to mold the type of story you need for your collection,
    You can try to uplift things if you need a feel good story or a funny story, you can ease drop on a couple for a hopeful story, or one of heartbreak, you can seek sad stories, you’ll find yourself in storms trying your hardest to turn this experience into something exciting, you’ll run into creepy little girls, ghosts, possessions…
    You can stop at different cities to hear more stories and find jobs earn cash to buy food to keep your health up as you can take damage from some encounters though rare, you can also buy train tickets to travel to other cities
    There’s such a great variety of stories here to keep this game a little bit interesting…
    But the delivery of this game is just so slow that it hardly makes seeking these stories out worth it..
    With your collection you have to rest at camp spots and earn the trust of the character you run into to get more information on where the water tastes like wine...
    And this is where the game for me really starts to fall apart…
    It’s just not fun trying to please them to get them to open up and tell you their stories... they’ll want something funny or scary, exciting... but this is pretty subjective... some stories are black and white.. While others you find funny they might think were a poor attempt to scare them for example… or they’ll ask for something exciting and act confused telling you that wasn’t scary at all…
    Like girl, that’s not what you asked for.
    an indication on how the character will react to your story before you use it up would have been nice… as you can only tell them a story once while trying to get through all of their different chapters..
    Though as you progress through the game your stories can get stronger as they spread through the country, you can finish a characters chapter with only one good story easily…
    But it still doesn’t make these sections any more fun…
    Where the water tastes like Wine is very hit and miss for me…
    There are some good short stories here and there... but a majority of them are uninteresting and feel like filler, and the slow pace at which your character crawls across this world makes getting from story to story feel like a drag
    The Art Style is cool, there’s some nice music to enjoy and pull you into this world…
    But after only a few hours I was bored out of my mind.
    I give Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
    a 5.5/10    … Expand
  3. Indyninja
    Aug 12, 2019
    6
    I wanted to like this game, but it's a little too rough around the edges and repetitive. Wandering the depression-era US experiencing and swapping stories sounds thrilling, but it feels more like a board game than anything. One where the rules aren't clear or consistent.

    The idea is you're a skeleton...kind of... who is searching for a specific story and swapping tales along the way    I wanted to like this game, but it's a little too rough around the edges and repetitive. Wandering the depression-era US experiencing and swapping stories sounds thrilling, but it feels more like a board game than anything. One where the rules aren't clear or consistent.

    The idea is you're a skeleton...kind of... who is searching for a specific story and swapping tales along the way with anyone you meet. You experience your own tales first hand, usually 2-3 sentence summaries given by the main narrator. Then you meet someone at a campfire, tell them a bunch of your stories, and later on end up hearing them on the road, but embellished, again and again and again. So much for the truth being stranger than fiction...

    One minigame type scenario that comes up is that the folks you sit at campfires with will need to be won over, and you do that by telling them stories they want to hear. "Tell me a creepy story" they'll ask, so you click on one of your creepiest, and there's a fair chance they won't like it for reasons that aren't clear. Makes it difficult, especially when you can only tell these folks each story you have once.

    The stories themselves are all right. Some are great, but too many edge toward being ghost stories. I love a good ghost story, but when 50% of the tales are ghostly, and another 20% end up being embellished to be ghostly, it's a bit out of balance.

    The voice acting isn't bad, but the sound mixing makes them feel amateurish. Some of the actors seem as though they were being recorded on very cheap devices.

    You start in Maine, and by the time I'd reached St Louis (going up and down the coast and Mississippi River) I'd grown tired of the mechanics and the one song that plays over and over and over, just a little too loud. That song was like the game. Flashy at first, but overall repetitive and not-quite-right.    … Expand
  4. storygamer
    Oct 21, 2020
    6
    I was really looking forward to Where Water Tastes Like Wine upon its release. What can be better for a cozy winter afternoon than a good story driven adventure game? And the first hours are really satisfying thanks to the great stories and the marvellous atmosphere! But the problem with this game is, that it´s barely a game. The beauty of the words is incredible, but I´m rather into booksI was really looking forward to Where Water Tastes Like Wine upon its release. What can be better for a cozy winter afternoon than a good story driven adventure game? And the first hours are really satisfying thanks to the great stories and the marvellous atmosphere! But the problem with this game is, that it´s barely a game. The beauty of the words is incredible, but I´m rather into books or audio books if I want an experience like this. A matter of taste.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 40
  3. Negative: 1 out of 40
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 13, 2018
    60
    Wandering round the United States, crowded with plenty of catchy stories accompanied with beautiful music. You will easily forgive this small artwork ‘s absence of some game elements. [Issue#284]
  2. GameGrin
    Jun 27, 2018
    65
    A story packed adventure which spans across the USA, with some wonderfully written stories, a fantastic soundtrack, and some sublime voice acting. However, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is let down by a map that is too large often resulting in a lot of time spent walking, doing nothing.
    Read full review
  3. Games.cz
    Apr 24, 2018
    70
    Even though Where the Water Tastes Like Wine lacks in gaming mechanics, it definitely can tell a story. Imagine a long evening, crackling fire, and a slow, but unstoppable burst of beautiful words, and then ask yourself if you are willing to suffer occasional frustration for that. If so, do not hesitate and head to America.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »