After creating the popular Cook, Serve, Delicious! trilogy, Vertigo Gaming announced that they'll be releasing a spiritual successor to the series titled Cook Serve Forever in early 2023. Despite having just released Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3 in 2020, the consistent popularity of the series has led to the immediate creation of this new installment.
Combined with the Cooking Mama franchise selling more than 12 million units (via Game Developer), it's obvious that cooking games are immensely popular. Because of this, it's not surprising that the genre is filled with plenty of excellent titles such as the Overcooked! series.
The Midnight Bakery (2019)
Created for the "JamCraft 3" game jam on Itch.io, The Midnight Bakery is a short pixelated indie adventure game. When Auntie K is unable to look after her bakery for the night, the main character, Jay, runs the shift instead. While working at the bakery, Jay serves cakes to various supernatural creatures like witches, vampires, ghosts, and more.
As Jay makes the cakes, the player will have to make decisions about how the cake is made, which will lead to the customers either loving or hating the cake. Although most of these customers simply leave the bakery unsatisfied if the cake isn't made correctly, the last customer, Xzagaroth the destroyer of worlds, will literally destroy the world if the cake doesn't satisfy them.
A Taste of the Past (2022)
Released earlier this year, A Taste of the Past is a short emotional adventure game with a hand-painted storybook-esque art-style about dealing with grief and reconnecting with the past. The game follows a Chinese-American high school student named Mei, who has recently lost her mother and is trying to recover the lost family recipes in order to connect with her. After falling asleep on a train, she wakes up and discovers that she's now traveling alongside the spirits of her ancestors.
As she explores the train and talks with her deceased relatives, she learns more about her family's history, her mom, and herself. Also, through several cooking mini-games, she remembers how to cook the forgotten meals. After having one last talk with her mother, Mei wakes up and decides to look toward the future with hope.
Ravenous Devils (2022)
A cooking horror game about cannibalism that is set in an Victorian-esque era, Ravenous Devils made quite an impression on gamers when it was released in April of this year. This cooking management sim follows a murderous couple, who are trying to get rich in the dark crime-infested city. The husband, Percival, runs a tailor shop where he secretly kills his clients. Once the deed is done, he throws the corpse down a trap door that leads to the kitchen.
The wife, Hildred, runs a pub where she feeds the customers the remains of the murdered clients. As the game continues, the player will upgrade the shops, buy new tools, and obtain new recipes. But, this villainous duo will need to be careful because one anonymous person seems to know their secrets. It might not be to everyone's taste, but those who love the horror genre and dark mysteries might be compelled by this game.
Cooking Mama Series (2006-present)
Beginning with the iconic original 2006 DS game Cooking Mama, the Cooking Mama franchise is an ongoing simulation-focused mini-game compilation series, where players typically cook various meals with the help of the titular "Mama." Although the games usually receive average scores from critics, the series is extremely popular and has had plenty of sequels, remakes, and spin-offs.
Players attempt each step of the cooking process by completing short mini-games, which include cutting vegetables or stirring ingredients. The quality of the dish is determined by the success or failure of these tasks. According to Polygon and other sites, the latest mainline installment, Cooking Mama: Cookstar, had multiple controversies surrounding it. But, even with this, the series remains one of the most well-known cooking game franchises.
Good Pizza, Great Pizza (2018)
Originally released as a free-to-play mobile game, Good Pizza, Great Pizza is a 2018 pizza cooking sim that's available on Switch and PC. In this game, the player runs their own pizzeria by serving over 100 unique customers that have their own personalities, dialogues, and preferences.
Though the player starts with only the ingredients to make cheese pizzas, they can use the profits gained each day to buy more toppings. The money can also be used to buy new cooking equipment, upgrades, and accessories for the shop (which are all necessary to personalize the shop and stay competitive with the rival pizzeria, Alicante).
Battle Chef Brigade (2017)
Released in 2017, Battle Chef Brigade is an RPG cooking game that combines tile-based puzzles with side-scrolling hack and slash gameplay. In the fantasy realm of Victusia, the whole world almost died from starvation after many dangerous and poisonous monsters began appearing and eating all the local wildlife. But, one day, a king and a chef discovered a way to safely cook and eat the monsters.
Now, a group of warrior-chefs known as the Battle Chef Brigade bravely risk their lives to protect everyone by killing the monsters and making delicious meals out of their remains. In this beautifully animated adventure, players control a young girl named Mina Han and an orc named Thrash as they enter a tournament to become the next members of this group. To possibly achieve their dreams, players must battle monsters and then solve tile-based puzzles in order to cook the meals.
Cooking Simulator (2019)
Considered to be the most realistic cooking game available at the moment, Cooking Simulator is a 2019 game that uses a physics engine to make players feel as if they're cooking in real life rather than inside a virtual world. In the main mode, which is called "Career Mode," players take control of a kitchen and try to make their restaurant famous by successfully completing certain dishes.
Other modes include the "Sandbox Mode," which allows players to make whatever they want, and "Leaderboard Challenge," which has players compete against each other. With over 80 recipes, more than 140 ingredients, various pieces of equipment, and several DLCs, this game truly allows players to experience the joys of cooking without the real-life messes.
Overcooked! Series (2016-present)
With the recent release of Overcooked!: All You Can Eat, which is a compilation re-release that includes both current games in the series, now is the perfect time to play this comedic co-op party cooking duology. Beginning with the original 2016 game Overcooked!, this series features up to four players working together as chefs to create as many dishes as possible within a certain time limit while also keeping the kitchen clean and functional.
Besides the basic struggles of working together, the players will also have to navigate various kitchens in places like icebergs, moving cars, and outer space (which each have its own obstacles). In both games, the players are working as chefs to save the magical Onion Kingdom from creatures such as the Ever Peckish and the Unbread.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! Trilogy (2012-2020)
Originally created as a fan-made English sequel to the PS1 Japan-only cooking game Ore no Ryouri, Cook, Serve, Delicious! is a trilogy of restaurant management sims. In the original 2012 game, the player is tasked with restoring the once-famous "Cook, Serve, Delicious!" restaurant in the SherriSoda Tower (which is done by cooking and serving meals by pressing the right keys).
After corrupt management led to the destruction of the tower, the 2017 sequel had the player reestablish themself in the Teragon Supertower. Then, in the 2020 sequel, the dystopian world outside forced the player to become a food truck vendor. Now, the story continues with the upcoming title Cook Serve Forever.