Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Reviews

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9.5 / 10.0
Nov 29, 2019

That being said, you shouldn't go into this one looking to speedrun it. Like, well, a fine wine, this game is meant to be savored. Play half an hour a night, maybe an hour. The stories will still be there for you. Your friends might hop from town to town, but you'll always be able to find them. And if you're unlucky, or perhaps lucky, the Wolf will also find you.

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4 / 10
Nov 29, 2019

There is space in gaming for narrative output like this, but they need to be carefully tailored to be games first and experiences second. You don't even want to know what this water tastes like.

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6.5 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2019

There's no other game like Where The Water Tastes Like Wine, even if it does lose the plot when it celebrates the art of stories and the power that they possess.

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6 / 10
Dec 24, 2019

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine takes a bold step in trying to make a game based on a concept that is very unusual in this medium. That's something to praise but even though the game features an interesting plot and the stories are certainly worth reading, the gameplay experience does not feel adequate to what is on offer and way too often the game feels like it should have been done differently and with other mechanics.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Jan 2, 2020

As an interesting intellectual exploration of the role that word-of-mouth plays in storytelling, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine plays like a proof of concept that never graduated beyond an initial prototyping stage. Sure, it has plenty of narratives to uncover, but ultimately the repetitive, shallow mechanics prevent the experience from meeting its full potential. Despite the best efforts of the excellent visual presentation and voice acting, the net product is a hollow shell of what it could've been.

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9 / 10
Mar 7, 2018

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is absolutely a solid and engrossing game. It may be slower for some, but even then it's something to play for a few hours at the least. I found myself traveling to faraway points just to see what little story I could find and unravel in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed finding stories I previously told become larger and larger, subtly changing with each new retelling. I enjoyed getting to know those who lived on the road and away from civilization, understanding their quirks and seeing just how my interactions with them affected my travels. Topped with impressive voice acting, a stunning soundtrack, and beautiful visuals...I highly recommend trying this game out. It's a different experience, but getting to explore early Americana and listening to its tales should be hard to pass up.

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Alana Hagues
Top Critic
78%
Apr 11, 2018

A truly unique adventure, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is not that far from sweeter waters.

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4.5 / 5.0
Feb 28, 2018

One might say that Where the Water Tastes Like Wine isn't for everyone, that it may be seen as a more "artistic" title with a smaller amount of gameplay.

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Feb 28, 2018

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine's slow pace may grate on some, but those who can acclimatize are in for a fascinating deconstruction of America, as seen through the myths, folklore, and scraps of history we tell each other.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2018

Its knapsack may be bursting with brilliant stories, but it can't quite sing for its supper in the gameplay department

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4 / 5.0
Mar 19, 2018

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is an adventure game that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of adventure. Roam the United States countryside, meet interesting folks and swap tall tales until sunrise.

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6 / 10.0
Feb 4, 2020

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine could have had deep mythology building for 1930s Americana, but instead it offers only enough to get you intrigued before forcing you back into the grind-laden, story-gathering crawl the rest of the game is.

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8 / 10.0
Apr 26, 2018

There are some unfortunate glitches that really hurt the ability to enjoy the atmosphere the game is trying to create. This doesn’t change the fact though that it is still a game worth checking out.

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Digitally Downloaded
Matt C.
Top Critic
Mar 1, 2018

In short, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is an incredible achievement, and the latest in a growing body of games that really push the bounds of what the medium can do. It is, at its heart, a game about stories, and the incredible power that they have, brought to life in the most beautiful way possible.

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Ofisil
Top Critic
3 / 10
Feb 27, 2018

Another example of that latest trend of videogames with "high artistic quality," Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is not something brand new, unique, and meaningful, but something boring, boring, boring that uses big words to say things that aren't that interesting. Oh, and it has Sting in it…

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9 / 10.0
Mar 10, 2018

Despite the star authors, Where The Water Tastes Like Wine runs the risk of being overlooked by the general public. Game is very specific in form and deep in content, almost devoid of gameplay in the usual sense. A collection of stories, dipping into folklore and exploring basic American archetypes under the guise of a video game.

Review in Russian | Read full review

GameSkinny
Vrothgarr
Top Critic
Mar 14, 2018

As the debut effort of indie studio Dim Bulb Games, featuring a talented group of writers and a star-studded voice acting cast, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine eagerly explores the "mythological Americana folk adventure point-and-click visual novel" genre with an eerily unnerving but deeply loved austerity.

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GameGrin
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Jun 27, 2018

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.

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6.5 / 10.0
Apr 3, 2018

Your enjoyment of Where The Water Tastes Like Wine is completely dependent on whether you value story more than gameplay. That element is second to none when it comes to enjoyment, due to both the writing and your evolution as the simple stories grow into complex tales. As a game, that section doesn't hold up. Movement is slow, and the different meters that you have to manage feel rather tacked on. As a whole product, Where The Water Tastes Like Wine can be a drag, but if you're in it for the story, bump up the score and have fun with a game that spins an excellent yarn.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
6 / 10.0
Nov 29, 2019

With a lovely art style and an entirely intriguing concept, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is unlike anything you’ll have played before. Its uniqueness makes it worthwhile, but some slow-moving elements, inconsequential mechanics and a few lacklustre stories mean it doesn’t stand out quite as much as it should.

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