Ahead of the Game: Merge Maid Cafe - Isekai Story is a merge sim with kawaii maids - and you're their Master from another world

• Take on the role of that Master from another world
• Keep your cafe running by merging
• Protect your maids at all costs

Hello and welcome to Ahead of the Game, a series where we tell you all about an upcoming game that, despite not being out yet, is available for you to play at the time of publishing. Through this series, you can grab a chance to play games well ahead of their release date, be that through Soft Launch, Open Beta, Demos, or more.

Merge puzzlers, cafe sims, and the evergreen isekai story all come together in a quirky mix of good vibes here - and it's something I never thought I'd actually enjoy.

Typical of the popular "master from another world" anime trope, Merge Maid Cafe - Isekai Story sees you leading a group of baristas on a quest to open the perfect cafe - the only problem is that you have no memory of who you are and how you got there.

Fret not, however, as two friendly maids - Kokomi and Aku - are eager to guide you on your journey. First things first, though - you need to tidy up your run-down cafe before customers can start trickling in. Each new task - whether that's repairing your hole-ridden floors or dusting off the cobwebs on your walls - will need specific tools, all of which can be crafted from a separate merge board.

This is where the bulk of the gameplay comes in, as you'll need to merge items to create bigger items, which all need replenishable energy to complete.

I can already foresee the menacing paywall looming large in the distance here, but for now, it's still pretty relaxing combining all these items amidst a chill background score and my two lovely maids cheering me on.

Now, before you decide it's just another run-of-the-mill merge game, there actually seems to be an underlying threat here - there's a mysterious "Principal" pulling the strings, it seems, and in between tasks, you'll get a glimpse of a deeper narrative with some intriguing dialogue to spice up the story. 

The maids also exude plenty of kawaii vibes all throughout - there's a specific Live2D-esque action they make right before you dive into a merge board - and the best part of it all is that there's apparently no gacha system here.

Each maid encounter is attainable simply by playing through the whole thing, but alas, they're apparently disappearing one by one. There's definitely treachery afoot - I HAVE to protect my maids no matter what the cost.

And I can't, for the life of me, understand why that's just so compelling. 

So, how do you play Merge Maid Cafe - Isekai Story?

Regional launches are always hit or miss, and as for Merge Maid Cafe - Isekai Story, it's currently only soft-launched in the Philippines at the moment. Here's hoping there'll be a global launch soon, because who's going to protect the disappearing maids? Where are they going? Who's this Principal and where am I from? Why do I even have a cafe? I NEED TO KNOW.