0 
0 KuloNiku: Bowl Up! is Casual, Indie, Simulator from the same minds from Knight vs Giants, Gambir Studio. With the well known publisher Raw Fury. The same company that helped release Two Crowns, one very addictive game that I have over 100 hours in. KuloNiku is honestly inspiring me to make some interesting and tasty dishes. Yet, I’ve been really curious about the meatballs recipe that grandma made for the Protag to use.
Now, let’s get ready to chop some chilis, add some meatballs and start this review.
Who comes into a ramen to ask for no soup in there ramen?! There’s an Olive Oil Greenhouse down the road!
Order up!
KuloNiku: Bowl Up! has us starting by choosing the name and gender of the Protag. (Who I picked as my partner Yami) Which afterwards we discover that us with our close friend Cassie reopen our grandmother’s restaurant Bakuso. Meanwhile, we start learning the ropes by working with grandma’s old recipes and using the equipment. Although we work with a bare bone set-up, it is a great way to get ourselves ready for what’s to come. After a few days and interesting events come to happen that are completely out of hand, we learn about Meatball Brawls.
Pretty much, we go up against other cooks where we stake our rep and advance our restaurant to more equipment and ingredients. Generally, to win these Meatball Brawls, you’ll not only need to focus on the bonuses and flavor profile. Moreover your focus needs to be on the activity that will garner more points from the judge and the audience. For example, you’ll see in the top middle of the screen having an icon with either a flavor or a cooking skill to show off. Which will have you go through QTEs to perform to the best of your ability.
But, don’t think that soup and meatball brawls are your own means of entertainment this evening. The meatball brawls are an appetizer, with the cooking being the entree for this fancy meal. The dessert is honestly hanging out with certain NPCs and the customization of Bakuso. The hang out segments are almost like a dating sim with the choices that anyone with common sense shouldn’t have any issues answering.
Now, everyone should always be expecting to have their workstation of the game grow more and more. In just about eight hours, I unlocked all of the additional stations in the game. However, getting the workstation is the easy part, getting the ingredients for each one is going to be another task alone. Because you’ll need to pray to our orange cat that Ume has it on rotation. Also if you have the funds, you can buy equipment for the restaurant, buy new ingredients or learn new dishes.
Dish Presentation
The looks and sounds when it comes to KuloNiku is really befitting for a cozy game. The 3-d models of the food, characters and environment are actually pleasing to the eyes. Identically the soft crayon style used for still cutscenes gives it that adorable appeal that most cozy games offer. And the presentation of the food makes me salivate with such ferocity that I already plan to make some of the dishes to eat.
Now with the music and sfx from the game it is also very well done. My partner actually got concerned about how I put on a serious face when using the cutting board and soup. However, once we got all the workstations and a single had more lines than Bubble Bass from SpongeBob SquarePants. Eventually, she also locked in and is currently playing the game on my Steam Deck.
This OST in this game is one of a few games that I would have above 80% on the master volume. It’s actually become a strong earworm that I’m humming the normal OST when assisting people at work. And you all know the cure to an earworm is to listen to an even bigger earworm. But, I think I’ll hang on to it a bit longer for how catchy it is.
Lates Nights in the Kitchen
Some readers know I usually tell you the hours it takes to complete the game for its main story and 100% it. However, I didn’t keep track of it this time. I just let myself be absorbed into the cooking and switching between workstations to see I beat the game. Hopefully this tells you to take your time and just play at your own pace and you’ll complete without even trying.
Getting a Good Night’s Rest
KuloNiku: Bowl Up! honestly bet any cozy game that I’ve played so far this year. It eased my mind with how I unlock new dishes with the Cooking Mama mechanics. And just like Cooking Mama, it inspired me to make those same dishes and enjoy the same efforts I get in-game. The time spent was each character and the silliness that they invited into the game was superb. With my favorite character in the game being Ume and our orange cat which I named Ka-rat.
There are cozy games that invite you to its world to escape the craziness of our real world. However, a cozy game that can bring the feeling of accomplishment and realism with these dishes is a true treasure. I highly recommend to anyone who misses playing Cooking Mama to give this game a shot.
I give KuloNiku: Bowl Up! the Thumb Culture Platinum Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast
About Author
