High Times Review – The Complexities Of Emotional Donuts

For many, donuts are a delicious snack that brings a brief moment of happiness upon consumption. But what if those donuts could improve your mood depending on their flavor? High Times investigates that premise with donuts flavored by mood-enhancing glazes. A cozy visual novel developed and published by Yangyang Mobile, you run a donut store known for mood enhancers. Meeting various people from your past and present, it’s up to you to improve their lives.

You decide the name and appearance of High Times’ protagonist who has had a messy life. Several failed relationships, an unfinished education, and unresolved issues that haven’t been fixed. Despite all of that, you manage to get a job creating mood-enhancing donuts. Once your boss leaves you to manage the store on your own, you must keep everything running. It’s not a difficult task, but your past catches up to you, forcing you to deal with it.

High Times has a diverse cast of over 1,000 characters, each with a unique personality. It takes time for a character to reveal their depth, but there’s a good story to be had when you get there. You not only explore the complexities of relationships, but also have plenty of  time to reflect on what you’ve heard. Peeling back the complex layers of a person is intriguing to see, and you explore their journey as the days go by. This helps flesh a character out and lets you see how they evolve based on their time with you.

I really enjoyed the character interactions in High Times because they didn’t shy away from the highs and the lows. There were many humorous moments that I enjoyed, but I also noted the game’s mature take on tough topics. Dealing with the past of a relationship is hard and High Times never shies away from that, even if some moments are kept light-hearted.

The story is also capable of evolving based on the choices you make; something you tell a customer can influence how they resolve a situation in their lives. This also applies to the donuts you serve them. Depending on the mood they are feeling, they may approach a situation in a different way. This incentivizes you to explore different options or answer how you genuinely feel to see what happens.

On one hand, I like how this gives me agency to decide how I approach a situation. Maybe I advise someone that being friends with exes isn’t great. But I might believe otherwise and say it’s worth a try. There may not be a true answer, but it’s good to know that you can influence how relationships play out.

On the other hand, you never know when your choices matter. It could just be a casual comment or something you didn’t think is important. But when I see the top-right sign that says my choice influenced something, my heart sinks a little. Not because I regret my choice, but because I didn’t think the choice would be as influential as it says. It can often not be very clear when a choice matters, requiring multiple playthroughs to get that experience.

Despite being a visual novel, High Times does still involve creating mood-enhancing donuts. It’s almost like a cooking simulator, but the cozy atmosphere makes it hard to fail. You listen to a customer’s order and decide what combination would be right for them. Sometimes the customer gives you a specific order and other times they will be more vague. The vague orders are your chance to explore the depth of offerings you have on hand.

Your menu offerings are small at first, but you slowly unlock more flavors and donut types as the days go by. As your customers are satisfied, they provide more tips that help you purchase more tools. There are different flavors, molds, and toppings that customers want. As your repertoire expands, you can give customers new moods that help reveal more about their current situations.

If you can’t afford something, you aren’t penalized. The game won’t let customers order donuts you can’t make, even if the order sounds fancy. There were times I encountered an order for a Lemon donut when said flavor wasn’t available yet. Fortunately, the game provided an alternative option that was within my current capabilities. Even if your donut can’t please a customer, they still pay for it and give you some advice.

Creating donuts also doesn’t require artistic skill even if some of the recipes require fancy work. As long as you don’t skimp on the ingredients, customers will still love your creation. I couldn’t draw many of the designs accurately but customers still accepted my donuts. If you aren’t sure what a customer ordered, you can also ask them to clarify their order. This ensures you don’t waste time on artwork attempts when picking another donut is the right choice.

Unfortunately, the donut-making runs into two obstacles. The first has to do with utilizing the variety. As you expand your menu offerings, you can create some beautiful and delicious donuts. Outside of specific requests though, it’s often easier and cheaper to create something simple. You aren’t rewarded for going above and beyond, making it easier to stick to simpler donuts. Even when orders are vague, the amount you get for a satisfied order doesn’t change.

The second obstacle involves the restaurant operations. High Times is a visual novel and the appeal isn’t in maximizing sales or generating the most money. This means it takes time for you to work your way up to different flavors or creations. While failure isn’t costly, it also delays meeting new characters. Throwing away bad orders or adding too much frosting only adds to those delays.

High Times succeeds in providing a cozy experience with a story that gets deeper the more you play. Reconciling with a complex past and seeing where new friendships go keeps you making donuts that change lives. Unfortunately, the donut-making’s complexity doesn’t get a chance to shine outside of direct requests. However, if you are looking for a game that’s cozy yet reflective, you don’t want to pass on High Times.

Victor reviewed High Times on PC with a provided review code. This review is based on the version of the game available at the time of writing and our score will not be changed.