I was excited to expand my gaming palette by playing BattleBrew Production’s new adventure game, Cuisineer. It came out in November of 2023 and I got a chance to try it on Xbox. This game was a fresh combination of adventuring and cooking– some of the best activities of any cozy game. I found the look of this game to be absolutely adorable, I had complicated feelings on the actual Restaurateur-Adventurer experience.

The opening was reminiscent of many games I like, an exciting call to adventure. That being said, this game is a twist on the usual calling. Rather, our main character Pom has been called to stop adventuring and turn to restauranteering in lieu of her parents. We start in a dungeon, and exit the battle to head back home and take over the restaurant. I think the overall setup is nicely creative, a nice twist, as you have two different types of gameplay merged into one. Grind at the dungeons for ingredients, use those fast paced skills for management. However, I wish we had more history before being thrown into taking over for our parents. I was left wondering why they up and left, no matter how cool their trip sounded, and curious about our pre-established friendship with Biscotti. She served as a tutorial character and I think she could be expanded even more, and in doing so the tutorial would be better.

It is similar to a customizable tycoon game, with a soft guide sending you off into town to begin finding furniture for your empty place. Every part of the restaurant was up to us as a player. However, as much as I love customizing my own character, I can’t say I care for room decoration as a whole. I often take little time to make my digital space look presentable. But some players love it, there’s been games made just for that gameplay mechanic, so if that’s your thing you would certainly enjoy it. There was lots of furniture and items to unlock. If you work hard there are many imaginative ways to decorate.

The gameplay was not what I expected and I found the mechanics to be very good. However, not something I love to grind with for very long. For one, the dungeons and exploration of the ruins did not entice me. I did not love the environments, even as I unlocked new ones, nor did I have fun getting supplies there. It was odd to be attacking chickens when I’m used to kindness towards my virtual animals. Grinding is never the most fun part of the usual “cozy game” but for some reason it was especially boring here. I liked the variety of items that supported her in her battles, especially the Boba Tea, but the actual combat itself was not my thing. I was happier to be around the townsfolk who enticed me with cool designs and stories. I tried to meet them all day one. 

As for the actual restaurant management, it was fun! I liked serving the customers, I liked the high stress environment. It lacked the usual cooking minigame, which was a bit disappointing, but it was unique in the sense that it seemed like an adventurer cooking. I was inspired to get more ingredients and cook every recipe. As the days went on, I was more and more engaged with visiting Aldar and getting more furniture for the place. This was definitely the highlight of the game. I just wish I enjoyed the method of questing for the stuff we needed a little more. The side quests were basic and tedious, and I wished I had more fun with them. 

I liked having a journal, it is usually one of my favorite features in a game. It was a handy list of all my recipes and quests and townsfolk. The interface was well thought out and adorable. I am often one to become addicted to cooking every single recipe a game offers, and filling out each character description. They had great and interesting stories right alongside the designs. The art is really special, as well as lots of the character designs. Plus, some of their names were hilarious food puns. I think building a world that I care about is a super important aspect of games like these, and I was happy the Potato Palace was open for this lovely town. As far as activity goes, I suppose I prefer something a bit more relaxed, something at a pace I decide. This reminded me of a complicated mobile game.

I have an affinity towards story-driven games, and while I appreciate the efforts within dialogue, I definitely think there is a lot of potential for more lore. It is one of my favorite aspects of any game like this. The characters felt a bit empty even as I talked to them more. Very cutesy, and I must emphasize there is a lot of opportunity to expand this lore, but as it is now it won’t stick with me.

The music was lovely, and it perfectly encapsulated the combination game that this is. I let it play in the background even when I took a break. I applaud this game for its art and creativity. While not all of the gameplay was for me, and that is super important, I definitely think there’s a player base that would like this game. As is, I found it a fun experience that merged cuisine and combat that has a lot of room to grow.

Score: 6 out of 10

Reviewed on Xbox