Cuisineer - PC Review

Pom holding her trusty spatula in one hand and a boba in the other. With a Chili pepper creature spewing fire, a sentient mushroom and ball of flour.

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Through my journey in Cuisineer I’ve learned some things. Food is very paw-erful and if you know what you’re doing, you’ll be the cat’s meow. Don’t worry, there’ll be more cat puns.

Cuisineer is an Action, Adventure, RPG developed by perfectly named BattleBrew Production and published by Marvelous Europe and XSEED. I originally heard about this game through Steam Next Fest in June and fell in love with the demo. This hidden gem of a game has been the cat’s meow ever since and it’s well earned. The love and support the community shows for this game before it’s even released is both impressive and heartwarming. The devs even made a Twitter for Pom, the protagonist of the game in 2021 showing off fan-made content.

Gameplay

The story of Cuisineer starts with Pom returning home after receiving a letter from her parents. So, to keep Potato Palace alive and kicking, you take up the mantle to re-open for everyone.

Where you were once told your parents closed their restaurant to go to a heavenly place after years of working hard, the reality is that they’ve gone on a trip around the world and sold everything they owned to afford the trip. With a restaurant as empty as if it had been robbed you are tasked with re-furnishing the place, gathering ingredients, and cooking for customers.

Have no supplier? Then become your own supplier nyan-ting to worry about freshness or the source. Getting to slap different creatures with a spatula and hitting them with dishes like frisbees is just a blessing to me.

A book listing recipes with noodles being the only option. A bowl of noodles showing one star. It's cost of 14 coins and a hourglass showing four seconds. A bag of flour needed to make this dish. Cooking Capacity is shown with zero of one being used . — So what you’re saying is, all I need is flour to make these noodles.

The maps you get to visit to get different ingredients are well presented and clever with their approach to traps. It was a brilliant idea to highlight to players the trees and rocks that would give resources to build things for themselves. Having an escape from the map when your bag is completely full is a great addition and one I wish more games utilised. The arenas are another dungeon highlight due to the loot chests…but not the evil ranged enemies!

The running of Potato Palace is fun, as alongside cooking you can upgrade your restaurant to create a customised space. As you earn more reputation points you’ll get access to new types of furniture and to expand your building. As long as you have the materials needed, almost anything is possible!

The town calendars highlight special days, whether this is a character’s birthday or a day when a particular food will be more popular. This is especially helpful as you know what to focus on during dungeon runs, sorry ingredient gathering. What’s even more adorable to see is the calenders have days named after each of the five taste elements: Sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami.

A young lady with pink hair and lavender tips holding a tray of boba teas. With her boba shop in the background with slight glimpse of the village. The shop has their own disposable cups on one side and ingredients located on the opposite direction. — Naicha is the sweetest, and so are the crazy combos of boba teas she sells.

Graphics & Audio

As per usual when I do PC reviews, I play through both my PC and the Steam Deck to compare. There were small moments when the game would freeze up when moving around too fast or fighting on both systems. I mostly believe it’s because I’m playing before the release and the patch needed hasn’t been put in place. Yet, that hasn’t stopped me from having a great time gathering resources. Even with that only issue, I find it acceptable on both the PC and the Steam Deck.

A bowl of Chashu Ramen in all it's glory. Three pieces of Chashu pork, a split soft boiled egg, onion sprouts, two sheets of nori, a bit of garnish on top with a single slice of naruto. With firm noodles and what seems to be pork broth in a nice black bowl. A blue ribbion with text reading Chashu ramen across it. — If you look at this and don’t crave ramen, we can’t be friends.

The art in this game is nothing to mew at. From the 3-D character models and environments to the immaculate display of the recipes when you acquire them from quests. I had never wanted to learn or order certain food dishes, that is until I played this game. The artists behind this game must have had the patience of a saint when they drew all these dishes. With how delicious each of the recipes looks, I hope the team at least got to sample the real-life versions of each dish. For true inspiration of course.

Each enemy type is unique, from how they attack to their appearance. It was fun to see an Octopus with boxing gloves attacking as if they were Monkey D. Luffy using a Gatling Gun on me. Even more so when they dropped the much-needed ingredients!

The music playing never got annoying to me from the hours I’ve played. I’ve had several cat naps with my two cats to just the music played in Potato Palace music. The nice meaty thwacks made when I hit people with either a spatula, tenderizer or even the swordfish was satisfying.

A black chicken is located at the center of the arena. The edges of the map is surrounded by tall rocks. With water all around the the outer layer. Trees and boulders in different conditions and colors. A wooden ladle showing Pom's health. A belt showing a spatula and plate left of the buckle. — I’m sorry…this mini boss is called the WHAT?!

Longevity

Not only will gathering materials and ingredients keep you busy, but so will running the Potato Palace. Undertaking quests for the villagers and Pom’s old friends feels rewarding due to the lure of new recipes that will in turn increase restaurant visitors. Upgrading your place and tools will also keep you busy because of the amount of materials needed. Add into it the fact there are many types of weapons with different buffs to help with mixing and matching your play styles as well, this game has so many different ways to play through.

As of today, I’ve played over 20 hours of Cuisineer and I will definitely be putting more hours into it.

Final Thoughts

Cuisineer is an amazing game that you can really sink your teeth into and feel satisfied when playing, no matter how you play. This game was in the oven cooking for who knows how long and it came out spectacular. I didn’t allow any cat to try to take my tongue from letting people know to pick this up. This game gave me similar vibes to Moonlighter and Battle Chef Brigade and I love every minute of it. I’ve run out of cat puns, but I know this game has all nine lives left.

Cuisineer receives the coveted Thumb Culture Platinum Award!