This article gives you all the information you need to know if you should play Cuisineer.
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The love of business management sims is still going strong in the cozy gaming community and its easy to see why with this week’s newest release. I know for myself that sometimes it can be really relaxing, and even feel rewarding, to play a game from this genre.
Managing your own business allows you to step away from reality and try something new for a change and in this case it’s being a cat girl hybrid who runs her parents’ restaurant. Cusineer is a cute and cozy style business management sim where you play as Pom who has moved home to revive her parent’s old restaurant. This game blends together restaurant style business management with dungeon crawling cookery. Ready to see if this game is right for you? Then keep on reading to see if you should play Cuisineer.
Story
In this game you play as the adorable Pom who has been summoned home by her parents under the pretense of urgent matters. However, upon her arrival she soon discovers “urgent” isn’t actually urgent at all. Pom has now been swept into the task of breathing life into her parents’ old restaurant and to keep the bellies of her hometown full. Despite this, Pom soon learns that there is more adventuring to this profession than she initially realized and will need the help of those around her to complete her quest.
This game comes with a cute story and an even cuter aesthetic. When you move into the town you get to meet a wide array of NPCs that have their own stories and some even have their own businesses. Each day you get new information about the town and are met with birthday’s, festivals, and different events happening throughout the game.
Along with the main quest you also get to complete side quests that help further your relationship with some of the villagers and gain some sweet recipes in the process. Making certain recipes and gathering certain ingredients is the key to furthering many of these quest lines. This is the main way that you gain recipes for your business so you should be actively helping others in town if you want to progress your business.
As you progress you do have to pay off some debts (surprise surprise) but as you do so you are able to upgrade your restaurant even further. I personally loved the overall charm and feel of the game. It felt a kin playing a toned down food centric version of Genshin Impact. The well designed characters all make you want to talk to them and even add to the overall aesthetic that the game initially has with its story. If this sounds like you then you should definitely check out this game.
Gameplay
As far as gameplay goes there isn’t anything too complex. When you’re in the village you’re generally in quest fulfillment or restaurant management mode. You can choose to open the restaurant whenever you like and can run it all the way to midnight if you wish without running out of all of your health.
As customers come into you restaurant your have to prepare each dish and some you must bring to their table or else they won’t get it i.e the nobles (adding a new layer to eat the rich there). In the beginnings service can be a bit disappointing as you won’t have enough recipes or tables to accommodate everyone. Actively upgrading your restaurant, purchasing more tables, and upgrading your cook ware is the key to accommodating multiple customers.
Thankfully in this game gaining coin is not as hard in other games and it is relatively painless to fund your business while also providing a bit of a challenge.
The dungeon crawling aspect of the game adds a fun diversion so that you don’t get bored with just running your restaurant. As you progress through the game you will acquire new resources and ingredients by plundering the dungeon.
Fighting monsters, crashing through crates, and banging into anything that looks lootable is that name of the game when it comes to the dungeon. Though the game is not as grindy as others when it comes to making money it can become difficult real quick when it comes to the dungeon.
Upgrades are also important here as the further you go the harder the monsters become. Luckily the fighting mechanics are quite fun and you can teleport out of the dungeon at any time so long as you don’t have any enemies attacking you directly. This side of the game feels far different that the cooking aspect and creates another layer to the game play that adds more complexity to your overall experience.
Those looking for a solely business management style game may want to look elsewhere as you will not find it in Cusineer. However, if you prefer your cooking with a side of dungeon crawling then definitely give this game a go.
Pros
- Engaging business management.
- Fun dungeon crawling.
- Cute aesthetic.
- Just the right amount of challenging.
Cons
- Not as challenging as some would like.
- No romance options for those who are looking for that.
Conclusion
Cuisineer is a fun game for those who love a restaurant style business management game with a fun side of dungeon crawling. The story is a light one and not anything too in-depth so it fits perfectly into the cozy gaming genre. If you are someone who is looking for more dungeon crawling and more story then you may not enjoy this game. However, if playing as a cute cat girl and fighting onslaughts of chickens to supply your restaurant with ingredients sounds like more your speed than you should play Cuisneer.
You can snag Cuisineer here for PC.
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