Epic Chef

Epic Chef
N/A
Metacritic
78
Steam
70.256
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$24.99
Release date
11 November 2021
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
78 (384 votes)

Get ready to embark on a comedic culinary quest unlike any other as you take on the role of Zest in this story-driven adventure game; from humble beginnings you will build a farm, grow delectable ingredients, craft machinery and cook your way to becoming the most Epic Chef in Ambrosia!

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Epic Chef system requirements

Minimum:

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
  • OS: Windows 10: 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD Phenom II X4 965
  • Memory: 6 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB, or Radeon HD 7850 2GB
  • DirectX: Version 10
  • Storage: 3 GB available space
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Bee
Bee

The comedy and story of this game is extremely on point- the "Epic Chef" name makes it sound a bit generic, but literally nothing about this game fits that description.

Every chance it gets, it likes to flip scenarios on their head, what you think you see coming, will typically be wrong.

The gameplay is fun, and I like creating effective combos to battle through tricky food combat encounters, but the real soul of this game is in it's characters. They feel immensely alive, reacting like real people would to all the utterly absurd situations this game has in store. When I am done with this title, I think I will miss them.

And unlike most games and even a lot of stories/other medias, the main character, Zest, really is the main **character**. He is, first, and foremost, an extremely strange, interesting chaotic man, and has solidly made himself my favorite character in this game, and it is a joy to play as him. Or, maybe more fittingly it feels, steer him towards his own goals, and watch what kind of boiling water he gets into, and then out of, next.

The game also delivers a fantastic mystery surrounding him, and I highly recommend you start counting the hints the game drops, as it effortlessly flips back and forth between telling it's story, and makes jokes about eating wood with mustard.

Vitlök
Vitlök

This is one of the only games I've ever played that actually manages to be consistently funny. There's no slapstick, cringy idiots doing stupid stuff, or sarcasm; just good ol' wit. Still, Epic Chef is a game, not a stand-up routine. Is it a good one? Yes, I honestly think so. It has some minor bugs, some of the design is a little janky and there's a huge pacing issue towards the end, but everything else is just so stellar that I'm willing to forgive those faults. I seem to be a minority, though: only 2.1% of players have beaten the game, although the falloff rate is pretty consistent.

I'll go over the good and the bad now.

The Good: Farming

The main gameplay loop seems like it would be like Stardew Valley or something, but it's nothing like that. Yes, you have to grow your crops, feed your animals, catch fish, and of course manage your finances. But that's where the similarities end. You don't need to water your crops, they reach maturity almost instantly and can be harvested multiple times, and while you can sell them, you're probably going to use them for cooking instead.

While we're at it, let me point out a genius element of the game: the production chains. What, like in Factorio? Sort of. The latter, more advanced resources often require a mixture of simpler ones to either create or maintain. That makes sure that the new crops/resources never replace the old ones, and your farm simply grows instead of getting a total makeover. You're periodically given options to expand your land, so that's not an issue (there's more than you need).

Oh, and the animals. You don't breed them; you summon them using some weird magic (which also requires resources). While they produce resources such as milk or eggs, you can (and in fact have to) slaughter them for meat. This is a bit gruesome, I always felt bad for doing that. At least there's no blood and gore involved.

The Good: Cooking

I don't think I'll surprise anybody by saying that this game has one of the most involved cooking systems I've ever seen. It's the best part. Short version: It's all about synergies. What it boils down to is numbers and multipliers. It might not sound fun, but luckily you don't need to count anything, just compare some symbols and you're good to go.

As you progress through the game you unlock new ingredients to spice things up. You also level up (by eating), which unlocks new synergies for those ingredients. That means your idea of what a good dish is is constantly evolving - alongside your choice of ingredients. And you'll need to constantly improve - there are cooking battles to win!

The battles are a big part of the game. And they're not just about making the better dish - you also have to consider the judge's tastes. And sometimes manipulate those tastes to gain an advantage, or even make them hate a given flavour... but oho, your opponents can do the same! It's not AS cool as it sounds, but it's still pretty neat.

The Good: Writing, Story & Aesthetic

The writing. It's the best part. Wait, I said that already about cooking. Know what? They're both best.

You might not expect it from this game, but the story - the general plot - is gripping and well written. There are constant twists which manage to be foreshadowed and ridiculous at the same time. Humour is weaved in pretty effortlessly - mostly through absurd situations and witty dialogue.

Strangely enough, a lot of the conversations contain some quite heartfelt sociopolitical commentary. About the nature of power, of criticism, of cooking, of society itself. Zest, being an outsider in Ambrosia, often feels like the only sane man in the crazy town... but then other characters bring their own perspectives, and the result is quite fascinating and funny at the same time.

The music is quite good too, although I wouldn't call it stellar - except maybe the main theme, it's freaking bombastic. The general look is serviceable. It's the weakest part I'd say, but the game gets bonus points for lovingly rendering the cooked dishes - all of them look different depending on which ingredients you used and in which order. That's quite something.

The Bad: Pacing

Oh man.

Whenever you make a dish, you need to first prepare the ingredients. Makes sense, right? Except some of them are a huge bother to get. Meat is a particular offender, as you need to summon an animal and then slaughter it. Then there are the fish. Fishing is almost the same as in Stardew Valley, except it's so much slower and harder. Not sure why. And many endgame dishes will need rare fish, so prepare to spend a lot of time fishing.

And you'll need to cook a lot. To increase your chef level, to feed your mount, to complete certain quests... and of course to win cooking battles. Lots of cooking means lots of ingredients. That often means you'll need to stop caring about the plot and spend a few days on your farm just getting stuff for that next big battle. It's not so bad, but there are times where you simply feel forced to do it. And that's never good.

But all of that is nothing compared to the fact that a certain sidequest is in fact not a sidequest.

As you progress, you'll notice little cooking leagues popping up. The game presents them to you as an optional challenge, something to do if you want to do more cooking battles. Every league has you fight 10 opponents in total, and they pop up once per major chapter - so there are 40 fights. With me so far? Well, once you beat a certain boss, you learn that you need to conquer all the leagues if you want to see the ending.

Mind, up until now you had to do 2-3 fights per chapter. This fact adds another 10. And many of those fights have multiple rounds, usually two. That means a huge amount of ingredients that you need to farm... and often, those leagues have strange rules: this ingredient forbidden, this flavour penalised. And the only way to know those rules is to either enter the fight, or pay a friend who gives you her services once you complete her quest.

That's a lot of grinding and cooking. But in the end, those fights are fun. It's just the prep that is not so hot.

The Bad: Bugs and Jank

Okay, this one is not so bad. The bugs are quite a few, but none of them are particularly gamebreaking. I'm just going to list what happened to me:
- I got locked in an invisible wall prison when shopping, had to wait until night
- invisible walls got in the way of my farm planning
- every time you catch a fish the game thinks you caught it for the first time
- the "daily earnings" screen shows up twice for some reason
- sometimes, Zest's face keeps "talking" long after a cutscene has ended
- animals do not eat unless you get close enough to them, making it possible for them to starve simply because you didn't check up on them

There's probably more stuff that I forgot, but like I said. Nothing gamebreaking, just annoying. There are also other weird things, like for example a character being in multiple places at once, or a festival being up at 6 AM. Take it or leave it.

Closing time

The game took me forever to beat, and I won't lie; I had to take a break from it once. 64 hours in total. I probably would've ditched it if the writing and the gameplay weren't so good. If you decide to get this game, please do yourself a favour and do the leagues as they pop up instead of all at once.

If you want another Stardew Valley, this is most definitely not it. But if you're looking for something original, funny and chill, you can do much worse than Epic Chef. Enjoy!

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DragonElderX9
DragonElderX9

A cooking focused small town sim in the vein of Stardew or Portia. First off, the writing and humor are absolutely fantastic! The art style is charming and the music/sound fit perfectly. The cooking portions(pun intended) are a lot of fun. The only gripe I have is inventory management and the grind for materials, it's not bad but it definitely gets a bit stale(also intended) and there are some lulls in between the fun parts of the game. Overall if you like small town sims, this is up there with Stardew and Portia!

ZM3
ZM3

Game is playable on Steam Deck but has some framerate issues in populated areas.

Has all the elements for a game I'd like, but feels underdeveloped and just didn't click with me. Refund requested.

Simnanigans
Simnanigans

Excellent game for those who love cooking, and especially for those who show their love to others through food.

Dre
Dre

The story line is fun and engaging, yet the game play is casual. I enjoy the puzzle aspect of trying to arrange various ingredients to meet the tastes of different customers and judges. The bright and cute graphic style is also right up my alley.

metaphoria
metaphoria

Starting to feel a bit grindy towards the end but I have been appreciating the humour. I didn't think I'd like the art style but it quickly grew on me.

ivanderphilothra
ivanderphilothra

i play this game so much lately and enjoy it, but there is a crash in the game when zest back to his old days why his take fake name zest, after i relog several times i still in the same moment when the pirates win because of me, when they told zest to make a dish with a meat and theres always a crash in my game

LunarMoonMoon
LunarMoonMoon

If you loved Rune Factory 4 or 3, Harvest Moon, My Time at Portia or Stardew Valley, there is a high chance to love this game. The writing is very well done and it made me smile a few times. It's very engaging and while a few of the gags are just loud screaming, in general the jokes are interesting, the lighthearted tone is perfect and the sarcasm so far is never over the top. I look forward to all the side quests and NPC and really enjoyed every second I played this.

Cooking is the main part and about combo-ing different ingredients to get the synergy for points. All of the dishes look amazing and you can get the ingredients all by farming or fishing. A tip is to make a chest for every item you get so you can have excess of it and be able to experiment with all the dishes you can make. There is plenty to do in this game and on sale it's worth every penny. Some gripes I wish are that there is a recipe book but as most of the recipes are procedurally generated it's understandable. I wish there was at least an encyclopedia of all the ingredients you found, so far I'm throwing everything into a chest to be able to see all the synergies at once. In the first few cooking battle they will tell you and give you hints exactly what to cook which is great and prevents loss of ingredients to get it right the first time. But later on not all cooking battles tell you so you have to go in and lose once to see the enemy's strategy or try and bring as many ingredients in your bag. The game rewards you for exploring and I haven't played a story game and had so much fun in a while.

I think my only minor gripes so far are that it isn't exactly kid-friendly with some inuendoes and names and alsothe female characters looks like 2 balls are stuck on their chest with the low poly modelling. I don't know if Team 17 has had women in their team but if they do I really don't know how this 2 angular balls on the chest got approved especially with some lines referencing how they dress and half the women showing their 2 low poly chest balls off. If it was kid friendly I'd recommend it to everyone, the tone of the game would be exactly something I'd love to play when I was younger too like Rune Factory. Another gripe is the animal slaughter machine takes up too much space. The mixers and sauce machine are big but somewhat bearable as they look decent but the slaughter machine looks really ugly so I ended up just putting it away and only using it when I needed the meat. It's just not pretty to look at. Those two aren't a big issue as overall the graphics are fantastic and it runs great. I loved all the modelling of the villa, the beach and it's all really pretty.

Overall if the game is fixed and improved on these quality of life things I would recommend it to everyone if you like Rune Factory 4, My Time at Portia or cooking and farming games with comedic undertones and cute graphics. It's really fun despite my minor complaints. I'm really glad this was recommended to me.

greymittens
greymittens

I love farming, crafting and cooking games so this was already up my alley, but the humour is what makes this game stand out the most to me. Witty, silly, sarcastic and hilarious writing. I had so much fun :)

Charlargo
Charlargo

hmmmm - good farming rpg simulation with revolves around growing your own weird foods as ingredients to win cook offs against other chefs in a wacky world..... for example, you raise unicorns that pop pinking frosting etc... overall - a good game :)

SuperNiceGuy
SuperNiceGuy

Pros:

- Details cooking, but not much details like Cooking Simulator, it more like a mini game.
- Colorful
- Fun dialog and parody, like the way you open the haunted door will remind you about Resident Evil game, also the locked camera when you moving inside the house.
- Open your own restaurant
- Farming
- Crafting
- Beautiful crop animation

Cons:

- NO "SAVE&EXIT" , you can only save on your bed, if you go out of the house, doing a lot of stuff and then decide to stop, you have to go a whole way back to your house, take a sleep to save the game.
- Still have some graphic issues, if you playing this game in 16:9 , then you will notice those issues, like some cut scene effects only appears in square aspect ratio instead of 16:9 , sometimes the background not even fit with the 16:9 screen, it just show some blue screen in the corner because the background in those cut scene doesn't fit!
- The game control is not good enough. You press TAB to open Inventory, BUT HAVE TO PRESS ESCAPE TO CLOSE IT. And you can't remap those key. Sure there is a remapping key in option, but doesn't list the key for open and close Inventory.
- My rig is fit, or even better the recommend system requirement of the game, but still in some scene, the frame-rate will be decrease a lot, set the graphic setting to LOW will solves this problem.
- The NPC doesn't do much in this game, they standing outside at day time and go home(or should I say "disappears") at night time, compare to My Time At Portia where you can see the NPC going around and doing their own stuff.
- CAN'T JUMP, I don't know if the dev want to make this game look like Resident Evil for children or else, but the way character open door, and fix camera when moving inside the house, and now the character can't jump, bois.
- Require table to eat food, no joke, you cooked a good dish, but can't eat it unless you bring it on the table, so you can eat your dish.

Neutral:

- The LOW setting and HIGH setting doesn't different much, it just looks 99% the same. The 1% is that in HIGH setting, your game will laggy at some certain area, but doesn't happens in LOW setting.
- The game default lock at 30 fps, but you can change it in the option to 60fps or more.

Overall:

- This game need some patches for improvements, the game current stage is playable, but not enjoyable much.
- Lacking some QoL

zoroark101
zoroark101

Really enjoying this game! It's made by a smaller team and thus lacks a bit of polish, but the gameplay is entertaining and the writing is genuinely funny. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the chef battles are challenging, but not frustrating. I'm personally really happy I bought the game, I recommend it.

Ydyp
Ydyp

This game certainly did pull me in when I launched it first time, and there aren't many games these days that managed that.
It has quirky humor which I am sure will make you chuckle at some point. And it does blend in the farming mechanics with the fun cooking mini-game. And it does add new features at a decent pace as well without forcing you to rush.
So if you enjoy farming or life sims this one is a good addition for you to relax with.

aurondenengrad
aurondenengrad

What are you doing reading reviews? play this already! I bought it after anticipating it's release since first announcement. I have not been dissapointed!

Pros: Where to bleeping start? First off. the humor in this game is next level. I find myself laughing my ass off every now and then, it just blindsides you with awesome jokes and commentary. There are references to popular games splattered all over the place. the tutorial doesn't drive my insane which many games do. each and every townmember has their charm and I find myself loving every little interaction. Like there is this elderly doctor couple. after they help you with a quest you can have tea with them and hang out on their lawn to pass the time, I find myself doing this often just cause it's nice to think you've made friends that leave an impact in the game... Frack what else? Ah the cooking mechanic. simplified but complext at the same time. you really have to plan out your meals if you are going to win big in this game. and some cooking contests even with my best combinations come close! anyone who says it's a simple minigame doesn't know what they are talking about! IT's got fishing, Ratties swarming the docks. Yea lots of people hate rats. I love em. Raise them for a living irl in fact, so I kinda make it a point to never capture or cook rats in game [which you can do YOU MONSTERS] but so far, it's not stopping story progression so run free my lil rattie friends!
Update: IT stopped storry progression for me T.T MONSTERS!
... still a good game tho

Whats next? Graphically simple but the character expressions more then makes up for it. once again proving better graphics does not mean better game! it's all in the f***ing execution which these guys have flipping nailed to a T! Farming. again simplified so it's not overbearing or frustrating to deal with, again you gotta plan smart or you'll have some issues. but you'll figure it out. the game is good like that,

The bad? There are some bugs here and there. nothing broke the game at all, I found nothing wrong with it in my 9 non stop hours of playing [yes I did that. woke up. played till I got too tired. sue me. it's great]

If you've read this review you've wasted your time! you should be playing this game damnit! now bugger off and enjoy some time in ambrosia! I need to sleep so I can play this some more...

buddha!
buddha!

Loving this Epic game so far!! Really funny and great game all around.

kimberly
kimberly

Edited after playing for much longer - this game is great! It's super charming and definitely made me laugh a few times. I am having a lot of fun. I wouldn't read too much into it as to not spoil yourself. That being said, if you do not like a lot of dialogue or cut-scenes this game is not for you. I don't see this game having a ton of replay value but I am enjoying the ride so far.

Some of the controls and the sharp cuts into cut scenes are a little janky but I suspect that will be smoothed out over time. I do wish there was a save mechanic other than sleep but not the end of the world. But for the love of hoarding, PLEASE give me a stackable item inventory (even if it were like...5 items) or a bigger inventory bucket.

AlpacaOnslaught
AlpacaOnslaught

Despite a lot of flaws, this game is fantastic if you're a fan of off-the-wall humor. Have a pro/con list! (Review subject to change, as I'm only 10 hours in.)

Pros-

- Monty Python/Futurama-esque humor holds up throughout (as of 10 hours in.)
- Cooking mini-game/battles are fun.
- Varied buildings for your farm.
- Several outfits to unlock throughout.
- Cutesy art style.

Cons-

- You can only save at the end of day by sleeping.
- Keybindings are currently bugged.
- No jumping.
- Inventory management is atrocious. (At 10 hours in, I have 40 storage units at my farm for stuff that I don't need, because it's too much of a chore to take it to town and sell.)
- Mouse wheel doesn't scroll through your equipment/seeds.

Neutral-

- Side characters are so fun that I want more of them and way more sidequests.
- IF you're looking for a cooking-focused game, this isn't it. It's more of a fun mini-game and story-focus.

Also, the game doesn't have voice-overs, which would have just solidified this game as a gem.

Shameless self-plug segue: Here's me poorly voicing over the intro of the game:

https://youtu.be/Ws1NAL3fR60

sadge
sadge

THIS FISH IS SO RAW

HE'S STILL FINDING NEMO

~Gordon Ramsey

marc.bauer94
marc.bauer94

Absolutely fantastic! The humour and story telling is amazing. I was afraid, that it was targeting a young audience, but this isn't the case. Witty characters, great punchlines.

It is also more in depth than I thought. Not mentioning spoilers, there is a lot more going on, than just building your farm and the cooking competitions.

If you look for a great story game, combined with some farming, resource gathering and cooking, you are going to love this game! I would not recommend it, for people who don't care about a story and are looking more for a cooking simulator.
This would also be the only critique: you do not seem to have a lot of direct influence on the dish-display. The amount of combinations and the score system improves a lot over time, the more resources you unlock. It seems simple and disappointing at the beginning, but this changes throughout. But I wish, the player could have more of an influence, what the sides, the main ingredient, etc are. You throw ingredients together and at the end it can turn out to be a cake or fries... all look pretty though!
Just buy it for that price it is amazing. For me personally my favourite game 2021!

Mozzairra
Mozzairra

I wish the progression was faster, but it's still an entertaining game. It took me a few times to beat the mafia orc chef, but I had fun with it and when I won it was satisfying. Only thing I really hate about this game is that you can't skip cutscenes, and the quests sometimes aren't too specific enough.

erfqfrqe
erfqfrqe

Im quite unwell atm and have been finding gaming is my only distraction. Unfortunately my ability to understand even basic game systems is slipping away. In the couple of hours ive played so far, Ive found this game to have enough things to do to keep me engaged and the mechanics are designed and introduced in a way that i can manage. Thank you to the devs for giving me a few hours of relief.

thedoc617
thedoc617

Really cute game- I'm only about 2 hours in but I like where it's going. It has hints of Overcooked but also My Time at Portia and Stardew Valley.
There are a few quality of life things that I hope they change (like item stacking and certain sound effects) but I think it has great potential and I'm excited to see where the story goes.

It's obvious that main character you play, Zest is supposed to resemble Gordon Ramsay

Duke Dudeston
Duke Dudeston

I had been looking forward to this game since I heard about it a while ago, I refused to play any demo's or watch any other stream or play through as I wanted to play it with a fresh set of eyes.

Now when the game released I was still a bit unsure whether or not this game is for me, and I found in the discussion boards one of the devs say to someone else that the cooking can be intimidating.. this put me off from buying it at first but then someone said "You are missing out" and they didn't think it was intimidating at all.. Well knowing I could always request a refund if I didn't get on with it, I delve in.. and as you can probably tell by my playtime at writing this review (and most likely after) that I have indeed enjoyed this game and have gone over the 2 hour window - without even realising it!

This game is a lot like Stardew Valley or My Time at Portia, but with the emphasis mostly on cooking of course, I haven't got far into the game as I am too busy doing my own thing, I am not just progressing through the story, I am taking my time gathering materials and making money in order to get a firm base going on. The humour in the game is just fantastic I have smirked a lot of the text in this game, the graphics get the job done and suit the gameplay perfectly, sure there are a few teething problems here and there but the game is very playable, nothing seems to be game breaking my end at least.

So if you like your "crafting" simulators like My Time at Portia and enjoy the farming in Stardew Valley, you will like this, the cooking mechanics remind me a bit of Zelda Breath of the Wild (in fact you pop things in a pan and hope for the best) and a bit from the Atelier series (the game that has a very intimidating crafting system) I will be heading back into this game very soon but all this cooking is making me peckish. I don't think I will be cooking anything from this game however...

lemonmuffins
lemonmuffins

It's a great game so far, 4 hour in

HarrianFinny
HarrianFinny

This is a really addictive game and exactly what I was looking for in a time killer.

Let it be said, this game is ugly, the character models are so off putting and the graphics are meh even if they are stylised. The controls on controller feel really off and the game doesn't really have much in the way of showing you correct onscreen prompts but it wasn't too hard to figure out.

The game play is awesome. Really addictive game play loop with seriously funny writing. I actually laughed at some of these ridiculous situations. More than I thought I would. The characters are crazy and really great. Some of the random situations that can happen are sudden and often hilarious. This is kind of a kids game just with a few bad words so I like that it has that edge. The farming is basic, very Stardew/My Time at Portia with its gadgets but thankfully you don't need to wait for items to craft.
The cooking is good and easy to understand eventually.
The environments are nice and I can't wait to explore the areas around the house.

Gainesbros
Gainesbros

Love this game so much. It is funny waking up to a screaming bird

Edit: The screaming bird in no more. Now it is a new encounter. lol

Nightmare_Moon
Nightmare_Moon

This is a pretty moderately good grinding game(not as good as My Time at Portia) however it isnt for everyone since there is no way to auto farm or even lightly mass farm basic ingredients in the mid early game, so you do need a lot of patience to mindlessly mass farm things and store them in a lot of containers since each inv slot only hold 1 of each item. There is no jumping which leads to a lot of places just stopping you from moving even if there looks like a clear path or there is a slight difference in ground levels.

Wish the cooking aspect was a little more developed instead of just adding in ingredients and stirring a pan over and over again, i only say this since im a cook and this feels like the mega simplified version of what actual cooking is even when compared to cooking mama.

Definitely a lot that could be added to the restaurant aspect of the game since you mostly just decorate and add things to the menu. For sure could have added mass auto farming to supply your restaurant with the needed ingredients from your base, then add a mini game to actually cook your menu items for your customers with varying success for better reviews or rewards.

This is a okay game at the moment however there is definitely a lot of potential and many things could be improved, added or even taken out to make this a really top tier farming/cooking game. For now this just isnt a game i would recommended to more then 50% of people.

Will try to finish the game(if i dont get bored of manual farming), and hope to see more with updates or DLC

Sir Guud-Boi
Sir Guud-Boi

The game look awesome but everytime i try to open it i get a black screen for like ten minute until it crash and i cannot do anything until then (no alt f4, no ctrl alt delete, no anything). i hope it get fixed sometime!

ArgylePlatypus
ArgylePlatypus

It's like a mix of Harvest Moon, My Time at Portia, and an easy to learn but trickier than you'd expect cooking mini-game.
The days go by about as fast as you'd expect for this type of game, but refreshingly there's no time limits for any quests (that I've found), you don't need to water your crops, and you can just leave them in the ground indefinitely if you don't need them right away. You get a solid amount of crops per plot, and the story is funny and well-written.

smol
smol

Jesus is proud of my new addiction.

TheyCallMeGod
TheyCallMeGod

Meh
Sauces are OP
Im disapointed in they make it seem like its heavy restuarnt focused with a side of gardening.... when you in reality spend 0 time in the resturant and guests get served kinda by magic?
the chef battles are fun but the sauces are so strong.... that as long as you use those you win with ease

Wish it was more "Resturant to another world" and not a story driven harvest moon

Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi

Volume blew my ears out at first, no big deal, turn 3 volume sliders down until I was happy. Enter and exit a door though? Eardrum explosion. Get an ingredient synergy? Eardrum explosion. Change clothes in the morning? EARDRUM EXPLOSION.

Please patch this so that these sounds are affected by the volume sliders, it's pretty painful to have sudden super-loud bursts of sound when you've turned all the sliders down.

$igma
$igma

game is hilarious so far, actually laugh often. but the audio sliders do not affect like 30% of the actual audio in game, to the point where I have to play the game almost completely muted to avoid getting my ears blasted by sound effects.
other than that , cute game

tincheng315
tincheng315

I want to play this game, but when I get into the game, the language is English and I want to play in other languages. Is that possible to change the language in the game?

esb1026
esb1026

I'm really enjoying this game and the pace. I play other farming sims and I like the cooking challenges in this one.

Jakouille La Fripouille
Jakouille La F…

Animal Crossing with RPG quests and Restaurant Tycoon (Roblox) Its so good ive been waiting so long for a game like this! art is very cute and satisfying when cooking!

chemical_emily
chemical_emily

I'm such a huge fan of everything these guys make. I think people underestimate how difficult it is to put a new spin on a super hype gaming trend, especially on the jet tail end of Stardew. MTAP brought the same energy of something new in a comforting gameplay. Having just released, this game is still definitely a bit rough, and there are improvements to be made, especially in menu navigation. Though I for one have a soft spot for bad graphics, I can see why most would want the game to look a bit better.

However, I can live with the game being exactly as is, if please, please, the devs went against everything they believe in, and allowed us to save when we wanted. Some of us NNT's use gaming as a relaxing coping mechanism, but can't always focus on the 30+ minutes (at best sometimes) it takes to finish an entire day. I'd even be ok with a 'nap' option, maybe penalized for the time, but a chance to save. Overall, this game is everything I was stoked for it to be, and you should buy it, as long as the devs do exactly as I say.

Pie
Pie

I want to like this. But I can't until there are some updates. (God I wish Steam for a middling option.)

In any creative process, the final 10% is the hardest. The final touches put it all together, and smooth off the rough edges. This lacks some absolute basics - there is no key mapping, so you are sort of left to guess a lot. I don't think there's a map, but I wouldn't know -- because it's all guess work. The lack of map also means you're going to spend ages not understanding a quest is actually accessible when you don't think it is.

Creating the food can be a bit too hard sometimes, as despite tossing my food like suggested, it can still burn really easily.

Saving is really frustrating. As you have to wait until night time specifically.

In the tutorial you're asked to put up a sawmill. And then it promptly never asks you about it in the rest of the tutorial. Which feels odd. Either things are spoon fed to you or not explained at all.

The story is fun, absurd and enjoyable. The idea is fantastic. It's missing those final touches to turn it from Okay, to Great.

Kurdor
Kurdor

The key to comedy is timing. The simple nature of the game mechanics allows the humor to just keep rolling. Is this some new avante garde game? No.

It is fun. Pure and simple fun. Stop worrying about how hard or easy the game is and let it take you on a ride worth the price. If you only care about being some hoity toity gamer critic? Move on.

The cooking is more of a puzzle with ingredients than a mechanic. It sets the canvas for a fun story with characters you will remember and not have to wiki when you need to find them.

They have avoided all the padding we hate:
-No running from one end to another of a needlessly large map for a simple errand just as time fill.
-The only things resembling fetch quests both unlock new materials and expand the amount of land you can purchase.
-More than one way to solve the cooking puzzles
-You get all your materials back when you want to move your constructions. (Which can be considered padding because otherwise you have to go waste time refarming the loss)
-No wasteful items. All actions benefit you including taking a swim for fun, chatting with NPCs, golfing, etc. Not just the active farming and such.

Cons:
-has some bugs
-inventory management. Don't harvest every day. Just have enough plants to harvest as needed rather than mass grinding. The battles are more like puzzles so you can go in with a preplanned inventory based on the hints. If you approach farming like My Time At Portia, you will have a bad time.

AerynK
AerynK

I played for 104 minutes for my first play session. I played through the entire tutorial, learned a bit about the mechanics, started to speak with people around down, and then the game crashed on me. I lost all my progress because, upon reloading, you find you can ONLY save the game by sleeping. And the earliest you can sleep? 10PM! My game crashed at 8pm in game and that means that, even if I wanted to save that progress and *hadn't* thought it was autosaving for me, I would have been unable to. All in all I was left with a sense of having just wasted my morning.

Shio
Shio

This doesn't feel like it's made by the same devs as Overcooked. It's trying really hard to joke away the demerits.

- The walking speed is boringly slow, and judging by the clunky terrain it might be to prevent clipping.
- The town has no memorable features and the "red arrow beer company" is supposed to help with pointing you at quests.
- There are "hold E to dismiss" tutorial tips, but also a lot of information in brackets in dialogues.

This really feels like the developers had created an inferior RPG Maker within Unity and the lead left and the rest of the team were stuck with a system they couldn't improve. Tech limits are everywhere (background music always played diegetically, probably didn't figure out how to play music; click to interact when standing at location, probably didn't figure out how to get what player is looking at; awkward static camera angles sometimes.. just what are you hiding??). It feels like what my final year project might have become if given just a little more time.

Gen
Gen

Not sure what happened, but when I opened the game today it had rolled back about 5 hours worth of gameplay - meaning several save points ago. It's too bad, I enjoyed the game. But if stuff like this happens in a game like this I can't find the motivation to play it.

smithii.boshi
smithii.boshi

Very fun! Lot's of pun, some good (albit simple) mechanics. Compelling (if predictable) story.
A nice game to chill with :-)

wiZZ
wiZZ

Winning is made in the kitchen!

nicolas.boria
nicolas.boria

Very enjoyable game if you liked stardew valley and my time at portia. I like the monthy-pythonesque humor a lot, and the cooking mechanics are really fun and smart !

Kesuke
Kesuke

I can see similarities in art design, and to a lesser extent gameplay, to My Time at Portia.

Part gather-crafter, part RPG, and rounded out with what I'll call variable math puzzler, Epic Chef carries its story on humor that some other reviewers have said is inspired by Discworld/Terry Pratchett (sic?).

Some of the jokes did get me by surprise and make me laugh (the carpenter can relate to why you don't like your bed) but some of it simply drags on, feels forced, or draws from the same well you've seen a couple times already (such as large conversations that are only arguing semantics). If this is the part that constitutes being inspired by Terry Pratchett, I'm glad I've never read Disc world.

The game itself is a fun time killer when grinding out materials to ensure victory in the cooking battles, though I personally have found myself theory-crafting for quite a while and restarting challenges after learning the "tastes" layout of each round of each challenge which, along with the tactics and score of your enemy, doesn't seem to change. This is why I call it a math puzzler, and the "interactive" comes from the process of making your own dish. A mathematical base score changing by a few points depending on how attentive and reactive you are during the mini-game.

So far I enjoy it. It's not the mot in-depth simulator, but for some it may not need to be. I find the complex movin parts of each dish ingredient to be the real core of what attracts me to the game - i like puzzling and finding out optimized solutions from everything available. If you're the type that does this quickly, the game may not have much replay value for you. I haven't gotten very far in the game's story yet, but I can see that the contests are largely scripted and static, so once you crack a challenge, there's little else to see.

I may update the review once I get more hours and progression in, but for now I can recommend this game to anyone who liked My Time at Portia for the daily "chores to do" aspect, anyone who's a fan of cooking games, or those who like to brainstorm the answer to moderate puzzles. Not a bad outing.

spotlight_s
spotlight_s

I. Love. This. GAME. It's an absolute blast to play, much longer than I thought so far, and the story and characters are FANTASTIC. I'm currently sitting here trying to craft the best recipes mathematically on a notepad, lol. My favorite thing has to be that while this game is dripping in chaos and zaniness, it's all explained. There's a lore to everyone and everything, and I love that it's not unexplained randomness. Seriously, pick this game up for a good time.

Fen_
Fen_

Fun adventure mixed with life sim

Serenity Mae ♥
Serenity Mae ♥

This game has been super cute so far. There's also inside jokes that the game has for humour. This game is great if you just want to sit back and relax a little. It's been really casual, and not super grindy.

AbbyTheDragon
AbbyTheDragon

The story in this game is actually really entertaining, and although I usually don't do a lot of cooking, I've really enjoyed this game so far! I enjoy farming games like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon, and this game is on a whole other level. The graphics are very pleasing and the gameplay progresses at a fairly steady pace as you go through the story. You can also take all the time you want to either do side quests or organize your farm, although I would definitely appreciate a cook book with recipes I've made and/or a better storage system, since it can get overwhelming trying to manage all of my ingredients in like 20 different storage boxes.

Falien
Falien

This game is really fun, the humor is nice.
It looks pretty adorable and sweet !
The only thing that i'm not a fan of is the heavy story line.
Everytime you get to talk to someone and that will stop the game, just to talk.
But, if you like storybased games this one is for you and pretty awesome

Eggs and Pantsbrowns
Eggs and Pantsbrowns

Super quirky and fun game. I like the art style and have been having fun with the side quests. There is a lot to explore and the story is great.

Kitty
Kitty

When I first saw this game a year or so ago I knew I'd love it. Then I played the Demo during the Next Fest and it was even better than I was expecting. I loved every second of that demo and it only fuelled my hype for the release!

Epic Chef is such a fun ride, with the cooking mechanics, the farming and the interactions with the people in town. The humour is fantastic and has made me laugh a lot in my time with it already! Highly recommend this, especially if you enjoyed My Time at Portia!

mskitty
mskitty

If you buy this game you will meet Jesus.

ccwscott
ccwscott

If you have played other farm sim games and like the cooking element but wished it was more detailed, this is the game for you. There's quite a bit more to cooking, and that means min/maxing is harder, because the food you grow is not just for selling, and you have to keep a wider variety of crops/fish/forageables to be ready for whatever you may need to make, and it becomes a bit of a resource management game predicting what you're going to need and keeping a good stock of everything; one or two of your ingredients are always short, and you have to make decisions about what to use them for. You also get a restaurant pretty early which adds another interesting aspect to the game.

Downsides, it's quite a bit less open world then others in the genre, there's less to do in terms of customizing anything, the humor is really wacky/madcap slap stick bad hāremumono humor, and the dialog is poorly written and goes on and on and on, and the plot is bad and takes up so much time. There's also no combat.

Thimmy
Thimmy

So many funny moments in the story. Laughed out loud at several parts.

HeyBreeMarie
HeyBreeMarie

It's a little slow in the beginning, but it's a fun little game. Something to play when you dont really have anything else to do and dont wanna think.

BlinkRed
BlinkRed

one of the funniest games I have ever played, the story is fantastic, the grind is minimum as all the plants grow so fast. Zest is flawless

bigpoppagholz
bigpoppagholz

A slow to begin, but you have competitions, cooking and farming.

Day3FierceDiety
Day3FierceDiety

Funny story mixed with a surprisingly in-depth cooking mini game, as well as, farming and fishing. Recommend playing with controller, something about mouse gave me a headache visually (don't really know what specifically triggered, doesn't normally happen). Definitely think it's worth experiencing.

OneTwoStep
OneTwoStep

I liked the concept of this game, and if you only want to play it for 5-10 hours I think you will enjoy it. However, I have found trying to complete it incredibly frustrating. Firstly, there are a myriad of technical issues. Animals will randomly disappear/ die even though they have food available, items just go missing from your inventory even though you haven't used them, and you add things to cook and they just don't register. Additionally, the cooking just gets tedious at some point: the battles aren't fun towards the end, they are just a slog. The only reason I have played so many hours is because I kept feeling like I was close to finishing, but wasn't, and I really wanted to finish a game. As a final note, there is a butchering mechanic in the game, and it is impossible to complete the game without using it. I do hope the devs add in a ways to obtain meat products without having to do the butchering yourself in a future update.

Marick2Die
Marick2Die

This game hits the spot on so many levels. It's a cooking sim that is more about min/maxing ingredients than complex minigames. The art style is strange but grows on you quickly. The negative reviews I read on steam almost disuaded me from buying this but I'm glad I ignored them. I do not find any aspect of the game grindy so far. The characters and story are fun. The quest progression seems natural. The variety of ingredients and combinations you can put them in is a challenge in a good way. I highly recommend this if you like games like Harvest Moon and Fantasy Life. It's not Stardew Valley but it doesn't try to be. It's just a fun, unique, enjoyable adventure. I paid full price and haven't set it down since I bought it.

Stella Bella
Stella Bella

The game ive been waiting for forever. I have always been a HUGE fan of cooking games. Especially fantasy like ones. (dont really like the realistic ones) Grew up playing cake mania, and all those cooking games on coolmathgames. Id also recommend Lemon Cake if you enjoy the cooking aspect. This game is hilarious. The cooking gets surprisingly dynamic for only being able to use 3 ingredients and a sauce. Its also a decently lengthy game as I have 33 hours on it and still have a lot to do. Sure it has some flaws like you cant jump, collision can be a little funky, game doesnt tell you where or how to get certain items. I think the good outweighs the bad by a large margin though personally. The game is unlike any other game ive played and I LOVE IT! I think about it almost constantly which might be bad and obsessive lols. Honestly if you like cooking games and farming games such as Stardew Valley. You will love it. Just buy it. I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT TO MENTION HOW AMAZING THE STORY IS!!!! Coming back to edit this. The story is amazing. It is so unique and funny. Just a unique game. Totally amazing, I want more of this kind of game. Buy it.

racerabbit
racerabbit

The humor is what really drew me into this game. The cut scenes are hilarious, and the writing is far better than the average farm sim.

HappyPuppy
HappyPuppy

Loved my time with this gem.
Picked it up thinking it would be another solid crafting/management game in the vein of Portia, Stardew, etc., but with the unique cooking twist. As that type of game it's solid, but maybe not spectacular. Some parts can get a little tedious, especially towards the late game (looking at you, fishing), but it's fun enough to unlock new ingredients and set up your farm and restaurant. Cooking battles feel like math problems where you basically have to solve for the right combinations of ingredients to satisfy whatever criteria are laid out, but there's enough variety and rewards that it's reasonably interesting. I suspect there are a few bugs relating to achievements and some people have had issues with progression locks, but I didn't encounter anything game breaking.

Where the game really shines though is the writing. It's a good story and it's bloody HILARIOUS. The setting is bizarre but doesn't take itself too seriously, inviting you to get to know it but laugh at the absurdity of it all at the same time. As you slowly uncover the world and its inhabitants, the mix of ridiculous situations with an undertone of relatable personal issues and philosophical perspectives is often genuinely funny and works really well.

It might be a bit of a niche, but this game definitely deserves more attention and I'm looking forward to what Infinigon comes up with next. If you're at all interested, I highly recommend picking it up and giving it a try. The gameplay is a solid offering, but the story and humour give it a Michelin star.

dom
dom

Fun game. Quirky and funny and engaging. I would recommend it to anyone. I tend to like more realistic graphics, but the art work in this game is amazing.

The more I play, the more I like it. The humor is incredible, and there is just enough challenge for me. I am surprised it is not flying off the shelves.

TheFunkFox
TheFunkFox

This is a good game, you should play it. The humor is great, and the game play is fun.

I only have two real complaints.

First, inventory management on the second half of the game becomes more of a pain than it should be.

Second, I spent too much time moving back and forth between crafting machines just to look at different ingredients I could use in a recipe than I actually spent cooking in the second half. Having a way to just template some recipes and see what they could be, or at least a compendium of all the different ingredients in one place would be a welcome addition.

Even with these problems though, I still had a lot of fun and would recommend this game

pro_ninja78
pro_ninja78

This game is a breath of fresh air for farming sims! The game mechanics are simple and convenient. The farming in this game is fun and it won't take your whole day up, in game. There is even a neat mechanic were the time is stopped at 2am so you can get everything you need done before you sleep.
Farming isn't even the whole focus of this amazing game! You are a chef named Zest. Zest is able to cook food for various reasons in the game, and you are able to take part in cooking duels with the produce from your farm. The cooking mini game is simple at first and can get challenging, in a good way. The produce and various items you can make have stats and effects that add to the challenging aspect of cooking.
Let's not forget the top not humor and charm this game brings to the table!

Keep in mind this game isn't perfect, I have unfortunately experienced some bugs. I haven't come across any game breaking bugs as of yet, however I have had to restart a day because the menu glitched permanently on my screen. I still would absolutely recommend this game, especially if you are into cozy farming games and are looking for one that has more of a kick to the genre.

Hippiecab
Hippiecab

This game is like if Guybrush Threepwood from the Monkey Island series was stuck in a game about farming and cooking.

Simplified farming compared to other farming/crafting games but the cooking is where it's at. The rules for cooking are simple but there is a fun puzzle element to it so you need to think a little before perfecting your dish.

The graphics are nice and fun and works well. The music is upbeat and fun too.

But the story and characters is where this game truly shines! There is a lot of humor that made me smile and laugh many times just from the first few hours of playing.

I want to continue to see where the story is going!

Bella
Bella

This is a very good game. There is plenty to do with a lot of diversity. It is also story rich and often has me laughing. There is only one thing that does not appeal to me and that is the fishing. It is very hard to do. for me, anyway.

Other than that one thing, I would definitely recommend this game.

Guilherme (jgcasa)
Guilherme (jgcasa)

I found a really boring bug in my yard. A part where I simply cant`t get to pass it, like if there was a collider or something in there.

Unfortunatelly, until a response in my question in support or a bypass for the bug, I can`t recommend this game. It is a pitty. The game is fantastic. But, 34 hs of farming, crafting to end up stuck is a waste of time.

If any changes happen, I`ll change the review right away.

Sasha
Sasha

To me this is a nice fun farming and cooking game.
yes there are a few bugs which i believe the are working. the devs will suggest fixes or look into them more like the invisible wall stuff. my work around was find the item you placed that caused it remove it and change my farms lay out at bit.
I do wish there was a place that sells feed for your animals....might not unlocked it yet.
but what bugs me the most and this is a ME problem is that I MUST have a full large chest of every item and the fish i want are not working with me. ok i have a lot more farming to do.

I just hope that there isn't some kind of time limit on the game (like you bet the game in a short time good ending you took to long bad ending)

ferlitaaprilliaa
ferlitaaprilliaa

Loved this game. Refreshing and comfortable yet challenging.
Combination of harvest moon, animal crossing, and my time at portia. The story line is hilarious.
My kind of game to relieve stress and spend time to solve the quests of the game.

apram83
apram83

I haven't played it much on the computer, actually found this game by accident on the Amazon Fire Stick. I did a free trial to the gaming service they have and this was the only game that looked mildly interesting for me. So I started playing, why not, it's free. And man..... I couldn't stop playing it. This game has somewhat dark humor, farming, cooking, crafting, open world, story. It's pretty awesome. Normally I like to add whether or not to buy a game on sale, THIS game can be bought at full price imo. Great Game!

Winter
Winter

I love games like Stardew Valley, and that put this game right up my alley. I love the humor throughout the game, the hilarious cut scenes, and the way the cooking mechanics and battles are set up. Cooking for battles feels like a fun puzzle to solve each time and I enjoy making new dishes as much as I do seeing what their names and appearance will be. I also really enjoy the restaurant aspects of this. I'm always trying to improve my recipes and decorations.

Overall this is one of my favorite recent games.

RedHeadedNinja
RedHeadedNinja

Took 21 minutes of my life away and cooked not a single meal. What kind of chef? Gordon Ramsay would not approve. REFUNDED!

Nova
Nova

A game I wanted to enjoy because I thought it would be like a hat in time but with cooking (I like cooking) but it wasn't really that at all. More like a crafting and farming game with a logic puzzle disguised as cooking. Plus you can only save when you sleep which is such a tedious fucking mechanics god.

Chanel
Chanel

great experience for casual game
Love how the story do

Jimmy's Jam
Jimmy's Jam

Great game. Story is amazing, A few bugs here and there but they are few and far between and the developers seem to be actively searching for and fixing them

Mommsiewommsie
Mommsiewommsie

It's funny. It's really really funny. Or not humor is subjective, and long before the window to refund runs out you'll know if its your kind of funny. The game play is not the sell point here to me, it's not a cooking game if realistic cooking is your desire.

Savage Sack Sucker™
Savage Sack Sucker™

I love it. I wasn't sure at first because it didn't give me any relevant games at first, but reading that its kind of like Stardew Valley, which I do love I figured give it a shot. I really really love this game. Yes, please give me a chocobo mount thats disguised as an other world ostrich, and I am one happy woman.

lasker
lasker

after a few mins gameplay , it's quite a nice game , graphic is pretty and charming , gameplay mechanic is smooth but i need better saving system it's really suck u have to spend a day to save .if devs are going to change saving system , it's worth your time u guys should try it .

ObsessivePotato
ObsessivePotato

Oh my god the Humor. Even if you think you don't like games where you grow food and cook...The humor is absolute gold, fair warning not so kid friendly. Ever play the old animal crossing games and love how many of the villagers are complete assholes and you loved it? yeah, have at it.

Wizgo79
Wizgo79

Did not expect this game to be such a hidden gem!

KrasniiKot
KrasniiKot

I feel bad about giving a negative review when all I really wanted to call out is that the font used in the game is really hard to read for anyone with vision difficulties. It seemed perfectly fun except for this.

mahkra
mahkra

The cooking minigame is utterly boring -- in a game where the central plot (and even the title) is about cooking. They should have either spent the time to make an engaging minigame or just scrapped the minigame altogether and made it a crafting menu interaction where you simply select ingredients. The farming / crafting is much worse than Stardew Valley / My Time at Portia / Graveyard Keeper. Walking speed is pretty slow and environments are fairly empty, so visiting NPCs or traveling for quests feels pretty tedious. The only good thing I can say about the game is that the dialogue is funny -- but the gameplay is so painful that I don't think I can bear to keep playing just for the dialogue. Very disappointed with this one.

Nyanderthal
Nyanderthal

Story-driven game with farming, building, cooking battles and some of the most consistent comedic writing I've found in a game. The only problem for me has been that saving requires you to go to your home and sleep after 8pm (in game, obviously), which is a bit inconvenient, but not exactly a deal-breaker. So far at 4~ hrs in (which have flown by) it's been very enjoyable. If you like funny and charming games I would recommend it!

Bababooey Gaming
Bababooey Gaming

The game is a lot of fun. I really enjoy games like this. It takes a few to get rolling but once you do there is a lot to work on. Happy Gaming!

Umi
Umi

I absolutely love this game. I loved My Time at Portia, Stardew Valley, Runefactory 4, Graveyard Keeper, etc. This game tops them all because of the humor. Totally reminds me of Secret of Monkey Island. I’ve laughed in hysterics multiple times playing this game. There was one cut scene where something happened that I didn’t expect but was perfect so I just could not stop laughing and did not progress the cut scene for a few minutes because I was laughing so hard.

I also LOVE the game mechanic. It’s all about combo-ing synergies. I created a spreadsheet for all the ingredients I have so far to maximize each property - Vigor, Spirit, Sophistication. Normally, I don’t min max like this but I enjoy this game so much that I am. The game mechanic is surprisingly deep. Each chef battle has its own quirks - the judges have likes and dislikes, there’s variations in the number of rounds, you/your opponent can make sauces that change those likes/dislikes for a duration of dishes judged, and there’s a mechanic to determine whether you go first or second each round.

The characters you meet are complex and written in a very human way. Different things motivate them and you get to learn about the world and its history through talking to them and where they come from.

Tips: Do the side quests. Also pay attention to your surroundings. Explore the villa. You’ll find a cool egg that acts as a chocobo with an extra large carrying satchel on its back to help you carry stuff and have access to at any time. Also, you can pass the time by interacting with different characters you’ve helped or by doing things like sitting down. The game tells you which properties you’ll level up doing these activities which pass the time. I prefer hanging out with the golem in the hot tub since he boosts all the stats. You have to eat to level and that’s based on doing stuff that boosts your stats. I usually max out Sophistication - naturally happens through crafting - and then eat high sophistication food. Through leveling you discover more ingredient synergies.

If you love puzzle mechanics, basic farming and crafting sims, great storytelling, old school gaming (I had to draw my own map for the forest so that I didn’t get lost - so fun!), fantastic humor, uplifting hopeful sentiment, interesting and humorous relationship interactions, you will thoroughly enjoy this game.

Can’t recommend it enough. So glad Steam recommended this game to me since I didn’t even know it existed.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Epic Chef is a great game overall, with a huge emphasis on comedy and wacky shenanigans alongside some surprisingly thoughtful discussions about power and criticism that generally avoids getting too preachy. If you enjoyed the farming mechanics of Stardew Valley, then you ought to enjoy the farming here as well, despite it being more simplistic.

The game encourages bonding with the townsfolk throughout and rewards you for doing so by granting you more experience for increasing your chef level through various activities around the city and gaining new customers to attend your restaurant. Additionally, many outfits can be unlocked by completing these sidequests, allowing for more fun customization. And many of the side characters are fun and memorable without overstaying their welcome.

As for the main characters, I think they nailed the dynamics between the main cast and progressed them nicely. The main character, Zest, is about as far from the bland silent protagonist you can get, with his volatile and loud opinions and attitude kicking off much of the conflict throughout the game, but his caring nature and snappy sarcasm make him an entertaining and likable character. He is also set up with a mysterious backstory that takes time to come to fruition, but serves to heighten the stakes nicely enough.

As for the game's core mechanic - it's largely a math problem where you are looking to make the highest scoring dishes within provided restrictions. It is possible to break the system in the late game with vastly overpowered dishes worth more than a thousand points (which will conquer nearly any chef outside of a few specific cases), but it takes quite a while to reach that point, and the game offers enough leeway to encourage creativity in these duels. The pacing at which stronger ingredients and synergies are unlocked is solid, allowing you to get comfortable with your current options without getting overwhelmed and leaving room for some excitement about newer options.

However, I do have a few critiques about the experience. The game has some pretty notable bugs, often sprouting invisible barriers diagonally across crops that were annoying to traverse without getting stuck. The inability to stack ingredients is irritating, forcing much of one's farm to be devoted to storage space.

Additionally, I think the game gets off to a pretty slow start, with little to do besides farm until you unlock your restaurant. I also feel that the finale's pacing is dragged out a bit too long, forcing the player to unnecessarily wait out a few extra days before the final event. Likewise, the final tournament beforehand lacks the charm of its predecessors by reducing your remaining combatants to lifeless characters that you just need to defeat to get to the finale, only giving any meaningful characterization to the tournament's judge.

Ultimately, this is a very fun and entertaining game with a lot to offer despite a few missteps. Definitely recommend for any Stardew Valley fans especially, but I think most people will find the game enjoyable.

Pixel Puncher
Pixel Puncher

I really wanted to like this game, but it just wasn't for me. I love the story, the farming, the fishing, raising animals; I even love the cooking. What kills the game for me is there is nothing to record the recipes you have made. I might have to step away for a few days and When I get back to it I've forgotten that awesome recipe I made. So instead of doing battles I'd only complete battles when I have to. I've beaten all of the side quests and now it feels like an endless slew of cooking battles. If you want to play this game keep a notebook handy or maybe update the wiki

Einstein
Einstein

This is a fun RPG that is not too hard. The story is funny, the characters as well. It can get a bit repetitive but think of harvest moon with a twist but made by westerners.

pantspanjandrum
pantspanjandrum

Why's my character such a jerk to everyone?

Schfifty Five
Schfifty Five

A bit like stardew valley with less emphasis on farming, (no watering, less replanting) to expand on the cooking. The cooking minigame is fun, and actually can require some thought on how to put a dish together, especially in tournaments.

Worth a buy, even more so if on sale.

kira_jean
kira_jean

Definitely a different type of cooking game. To early to say how much I'll enjoy it

Puka, Mechanized Sentinel
Puka, Mechaniz…

Purchased this game because of reviews I saw on social media, and I'm refunding it right this second. I spent an hour and a half almost in a glorified tutorial, learning the basics and just screwing around because it was honestly very fluid and fun control-wise. Since it's so late in the night, I really wanted to go to bed both in game and in real life, but unfortunately in the game it wouldn't let me since it was...still in a tutorial phase. Even though I "slept" after a bunch of dialogue, it didn't save my progress, because I had given up at that point and had to shut the game down so I could go to bed and discovered all three of the game slots were STILL EMPTY. AFTER AN HOUR OF BS, THEY WERE EMPTY AND I COULDN'T PROGRESS ENOUGH TO SAVE AS IT WAS.

I've never seen anything have a problem like this before, so this gets a fat thumbs down from me and I'm taking my money elsewhere. Fantastic.

**Edit: The software is also very poorly optimized. My computer can run newer games at max settings with zero issue, but it gets hotter than hell running this voxel depression pack and even dipped below 60 FPS in some places. Huge yikes.

TiredEyeBags-Twitch
TiredEyeBags-Twitch

Fun game to pass the time. super addicting and hilarious.

Stuccoflexx
Stuccoflexx

Recommend buying on sale IF its your type of game. You can find out easily before the two hour refund mark.(if you don't find the part with the Knight and donkey entertaining, i'd skip this game)

The Good
- This game is funny as hell. If you liked "Iron Chef", you'll probably love how the battles go in this game. Some story battles even have "Food Wars"-esque cutscenes that had me rolling!
- Cooking mechanics are fun and satisfying.
- Art style / game atmosphere / theme is nice, and well polished.

The Bad
- placing items at your villa/restaurant is clunky and not intuitive in the slightest.
-has crashed on me a few times and you can only save when you sleep, which wasted me about 2 hours so far.
-Game is kind of cryptic with its "quests". I have side quests, but some i think are basically telling me I have to progress in the story more to progress in the side quest.
-Some aspects in this game are already feeling tedious/mundane.

The Meh
-farming is streamlined in this game. just like the humor, it might make or break the game for you.
-the cooking is fun, but i feel like there aren't enough different ingredients that go together.
- there's no recipe book in-game. I guess you could have a notebook or make a spreadsheet while playing, but i'm not a fan of working when i'm playing a game.
- wtf is up with the storage in this game..........

brightprotector
brightprotector

This game is very difficult. Challenged Mitrielle over 10 times and still losing the battles. Weird glitches as well on the farm where objects are stuck inside each other. Seems like a lot of the game is inaccesible and it's very frustrating.

ziQ gAucho
ziQ gAucho

highly recommend, for people who love strategy,grinding and satire humor all in one, i love that it is not predictable , and the story of zest is full of chaos and witty humor. I can just ignore the low quality of inventory and small collision bug here and there, it is enjoyable and a great experience.

Hinoishi
Hinoishi

long tutorial. lost all game progress :(

still fun..

Panchuker
Panchuker

Always wanted to battle an orc in a cook off

kana
kana

Fun game with lots of laughs and dumb humor. Like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, and Food Wars got mixed together. Just my speed.

zoo
zoo

tutorial took forever~~~ and lost my save

KIMERA
KIMERA

nice. It shows how a dish is made in the dish details so I just store one dish in a storage in case i forgot how i made the food. a bit inconvenient so I wish there's a recipe log or something.