The game takes place in an upscale bar in Saint Alicia, an "idyllic tourist paradise" and artificial island with a seedy, dystopian underbelly of crime.

[5] According to the developers, the protagonist, Sam, was made a mother with an upbeat personality to differentiate her from the previous game's main character, Jill Stingray.

[7] On December 1, 2020, Damas announced the game's indefinite delay, blaming it on refusing to relinquish his role as the sole programmer despite going through major life events.

[9] In a preview from TGS 2018, Mamiya Tobe of Famitsu wrote that despite the shortness of the demo, it showed remarkable progress, and that it was a better bartending simulator than its predecessor thanks to the ability to offer real cocktails.

[10] In a later preview from PAX East 2020, Steve Tyminski of Shacknews wrote that a "welcome change" from the original was not having to shake drinks for a certain time, calling it "tedious" in the previous game.