Demo Impressions: High Times - Dating/Cooking Sim

It’s Scott Pilgrim meets VA‑11 Hall‑A, but instead of cocktails or combat, you’re slinging mood‑altering donuts to customers who are mostly your exes. It’s stylish, chaotic, and surprisingly heartfelt, like running a therapy bakery staffed by one very tired bisexual.

The moment the demo boots, you’re hit with neon purples, pinks, and blues, a retro‑vaporwave palette that makes the donut shop look like it’s powered by synthwave and emotional baggage. Characters are bold, expressive, and fully voiced, which gives every interaction a punch of personality. The vibe is equal parts cozy café and “I’m about to have a dramatic conversation about our breakup while glazing dough.”

Your job as a Mood Confectioner is to listen to customers’ problems and serve donuts that tweak their emotions — sincerity, courage, nostalgia, focus, honesty, etc.

The demo shows off a surprisingly hands‑on cooking loop:

• Cook dough

• Glaze it manually

• Add toppings

• Pray you’ve interpreted their vague emotional request correctly

It’s part cooking sim, part amateur therapy session, part “why are all my exes here again?”

The demo introduces several exes who wander into your shop like it’s a revolving door of romantic history. You can flirt with nearly everyone, except one extremely depressed guy who just needs a donut and a hug.

Each ex has their own vibe:

• MJ, the punk rocker

• Emmette, the caffeine‑obsessed cheerleader

• Harry Yen, the rival Mood Confectioner with a tender voice

They’re dramatic, charming, and fully voiced, making every encounter feel like a sitcom episode where the punchline is always “closure isn’t on the menu.”

The emotional manipulation (the good kind) is the core of the demo. Customers tell you their problems, you pick a donut that nudges their mood, and the story shifts based on your choices. It’s sweet, funny, and occasionally chaotic, especially when someone asks for “something that makes me feel… y’know… different.”

It’s a visual novel/cooking sim hybrid that feels fresh, funny, and full of personality. If you enjoy games where you fix emotional problems with pastries, this demo is absolutely worth a bite and I cant wait for the full release!