Release Date: November 9, 2023
An action RPG with roguelike and restaurant sim elements. In Cuisineer we play as Pom, her goal being to restore the former glory of the restaurant she inherited. To do so, she traverses the world and faces various threats, acquiring recipes and ingredients.
Cuisineer is a combination of an action RPG, a roguelike and a restaurant sim. It was developed by the independent studio BattleBrew Productions and published by XSEED Games.
Cuisineer takes place in a fantasy world. The game's protagonist, Pom, is asked by her parents to return to her hometown. Upon arriving in Paell, she discovers her parents disappeared without a trace and willed their restaurant to her. Unfortunately, this once reputable and profitable place is now ruined and debt-ridden.
Pom is left with no choice other than get to work, reopen the family restaurant and return it to its former glory.
The gameplay of Cuisineer is shown from the isometric perspective. The player gets to visit many different areas - other than Paell, Pom will brave dense forests, volcanic wastelands, frosty caves or deadly swamps. Each area is procedurally generated, offering different challenges and rewards with every visit.
Our main objective is to acquire ingredients. While searching for them we must face enemies and powerful bosses. Clombat is dynamic, with Pom making use of kitchen utensils (primarily her spatula) and various powers inspired by flavors - salty, sour, sweet, bitter or even frosty. Pom can recover lost health drinking boba tea.
Between our escapades we return to Paell, where our restaurant is. In order to serve our guests increasingly exquisite and varied meals we must stock up on different recipes, found in the game world or received from Paell's residents in exchange for completing quests. Other than recipes, these also reward us with gold and new items. Money can be used to expand and improve the restaurant, while additional gear may prove useful on future expeditions.
The visuals of Cuisineer are simple, though colorful, clear, with a pleasant cartoonish artstyle.
Platforms:
PC Windows November 9, 2023
Nintendo Switch January 28, 2025
PlayStation 5 January 28, 2025
Xbox Series X/S January 28, 2025
Developer: BattleBrew Productions
Publisher: XSEED Games
Age restrictions: none
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System Requirements for Cuisineer Video Game:
PC / Windows
Minimum System Requirements:
Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5 GHz / AMD Ryzen 5 2500U 2.0 GHz, 16 GB RAM, graphic card 4 GB GeForce GTX 960 / Radeon RX 560X or better, 7 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit.
Game Ratings for Cuisineer Video Game.
Final Weapon: 3.5 / 5 by Payne Grist
Cuisineer is an adorable game. If aesthetics, side content, and difficulty were deterrents to you in other roguelikes then Cuisineer is a perfect game for you! Half of the draw of the game is running a restaurant while interacting with cute townsfolk. The roguelike elements are designed to be more forgiving and less brutal than many of its contemporaries while keeping an incredibly solid and polished combat experience. Many of these elements Cuisineer don't wholly appeal to me beyond a different flavor of this genre. However, I believe this game can attract a new audience to the Rogelike genre. Even roguelike fans should enjoy the more laid-back tone and additional sim elements. In short, Cuisineer is very 'to taste'.
PS4Blog.net: 8 / 10
Time to work hard to pay your parents' debt and save the Potato Palace!
Niche Gamer: 8 / 10 by Brandon Lyttle
Ultimately, Cuisineer is a grindy game that will appeal to casual roguelike fans, weebs, or anyone looking for a grindy game to lose dozens of hours into. That same grind will likely alienate a handful of you, but if this kind of isometric combat is your thing then it’s worth pushing through.