#Cuisineer

[punigamefoodie]

3 Meat Set

[onemillionspiders]

he doesn't even fit in the screen!

he has to bend down! that's so funny!

[shokocontane]

I'm a simple guy. Men with big tiddies get my gears going.

[satoshi-mochida]

Marvelous USA and XSEED Games PAX West 2024 gameplay - Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion, Slitterhead, more - Gematsu

Marvelous USA and XSEED Games have released several new direct-feed gameplay videos of the games from its PAX West 2024 playable lineup, including Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion, Slitterhead, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, and more.

Watch the footage below.

Marvelous USA

Death the Guitar

XSEED Games

The Big Catch

Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion

Cuisineer (Consoles)

Moonlight Peaks

Potionomics: Masterwork Edition

Slitterhead

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana

[gamesline]

Bulletin+: Indie World and Partner Showcase 8/27/24

Nintendo fed us good this morning. Both an Indie World and a Partner Showcase were shown, and we have the full lowdown. Read the full article

[kkakong]

[itsbenedict]

Just finished this game, which I played because my brain has been fried by work problems and I needed something to chill with, but mainly because @konec0 did the soundtrack and I wanna support what he's doing. Still appreciate you pitching in on Nepetaquest 2011 back in the day, dude!

Cuisineer is an arcadey restaurant manager game, and also an isometric hack-and-slash dungeon-crawler roguelike. You delve dungeons to get ingredients, you cook and serve those ingredients in your restaurant, you get money with which to upgrade things and get more ingredients and serve more food. Solid concept!

Does it work? Well... It's very cute, and very polished, but it's held back by some very strange design decisions.

In short... its primary and secondary gameplay loops clearly had a lot of love put into them, but the tertiary loop- the progression systems- are very weirdly balanced to the point of being almost broken.

Bad thing 1

The main problem: everything costs wood and stone. Everything costs wood and stone, and costs more wood and stone the further you upgrade things. But you don't get more wood and stone the further you get in the game, at least once your inventory space maxes out. Wood and stone give way to Magic Wood and Super-Stone of various sorts, which are required for stronger upgrades, but you still need big piles of the basic stuff and can't substitute the advanced stuff, and it's the limiting factor on every single purchase in the game except health potions and rugs for some reason. Combine that with sharply limited inventory space, and money from running the restaurant very swiftly stops mattering compared to how many times you've farmed the starting level for crafting materials. It functionally locks you out of what might be fun systems, like the decoration and furniture stuff- since doing anything cosmetic trades off against progression.

Bad thing 2

Also- in the dungeon-crawler half, there's not much advancement to speak of. You might think these resources could be spent to make you stronger, but... upgrading weapons is expensive and time-consuming and has extremely marginal rewards. Like, the starting weapon does 10 damage, and a fully-upgraded endgame weapon might do 15. The game seems to be trying really hard to avoid being an RPG and letting the player get stronger over time- the various mechanics for upgrading your combat capabilities are just not worth it, and the random weapon drops are mostly identical and do nothing but clutter your inventory.

(It feels like it's trying to limit progression so it can bill itself as a roguelike, even though that's not really what the game is on any meaningful level? Not a choice that really works for it as its own game, imo.)

Bad thing(?) 3

The game's combat is an odd duck. It's... very polished, and very compelling, if you use the one approach that actually works. There's nine weapons, but only a handful are viable with the way combat is designed.

Enemies have very short windows where it's safe to attack them, and are quick to punish you for bad timing or wrong positioning. Reminds me of a soulslike, almost. Healing is sharply limited, so you really need to be careful not to get hit by stuff- and there's so much stuff. Walk into a room, or too close to a room, and everything in it will instantly aggro you, including artillery enemies with long-distance ranged attacks. Problems appear quickly and overwhelmingly, so combat ends up being a case of... dodging massive walls of tomato danmaku and miscellaneous enemy projectiles as you charge into rooms full of enemies and hazards, trying to find one safe place to stand for one second while you hit one enemy for chip damage, over and over again until you gradually thin the enemy numbers and win yourself room to breathe. It's very intense and very fun once you get the rhythm...

...but some weapons just plain don't fit into that rhythm. Many enemies need to be consistently stunlocked to deal damage to them safely, and the reloading projectile weapons and slow hard-hitting weapons just can't do that, forcing you to take hits, which you can't afford to do. Narrow-hitbox spear-type weapons fare poorly against crowds of small enemies who can slip past your guard, which are Everywhere. There's a fun kebab weapon that lets you charge and dash around the stage, but levels are claustrophobic and full of hazards that punish you for doing that. As Chiyo Kumasawa foretold: the only thing you can rely on is your trusty mackerel.

There's also a weird and kind of funny tradeoff where... you can't meaningfully upgrade your damage, but you can roll elemental status effects that can give you some multipliers and useful passive AoE damage as you're dashing around trying not to die. But... these huge AoE elemental effects have very wide, obtrusive visuals that hide the enemies on the screen, and you really need to be paying attention to enemy animations so you don't get hit. It's a sort of unintentional tradeoff of defense for strength, which weirdly works.

Bad thing 4

The writing's kinda flat. You've been hoodwinked into taking on your parents' debt and running their restaurant, you have to pay it off- it's established pretty hastily and mainly ignored. The townspeople have very cute designs, but they're all kind of nothingburger characters whose lives revolve around the urgent need for you to deliver them lots of random food items for contrived reasons in exchange for recipes and stuff. Cast kind of comes off like some softcore smut artist's stable of OCs whose personalities were afterthoughts. Doesn't really go anywhere, the localization's pretty stiff, most jokes don't land... doesn't seem like there was a lot of effort put in there.

Good thing 1

I spill way more words nitpicking flaws than I do praising stuff, but I did enjoy this game enough to finish it, and it's not for no reason.

Firstly- the restaurant section. I have no complaints about the restaurant mode! It's polished to a mirror sheen, honestly. I'm given to understand the restaurant sim is a genre, mainly native to phones, and maybe this all works because it's cribbing mechanics from some more successful inspiration I've never heard of, but... it's just very enjoyable, void of potentially annoying cooking mechanics and letting you focus on queuing up dishes, keeping track of orders, and dashing around making sure everything is running smoothly. The balance job is very nice- the difficulty during lunch and dinner rushes is just enough to make you sweat a little as things ramp up, and they last just long enough to get the most out of the pressure without totally overwhelming you. Chef's kiss, no notes.

Good thing 2

konec0's soundtrack is real good! I mostly know him for his electroswing and HS fanmusic, but he can clearly pull off a wide range of styles. It matches the overall sound design really well and it's enjoyable to listen to. Excellent job there!

Good thing 3

The "final dungeon" segment does this very cool and fun thing where it combines the dungeon-crawling combat and the restaurant management into one challenging final exam where you have to survive combat arenas to scrounge up ingredients as you cook them up and serve them, which would maybe get exhausting in core gameplay but works really well as a challenge for the end of the game. Liiiiittle bit too easy in the first two rounds, but it's fine.

Good thing 4

I already mentioned this alongside the nitpicks, but: when the combat works, it works- the feel of it is satisfying, the challenge is well-calibrated, and the animations look great and convey what's happening well.

Good thing 5

Also the character art is very cute. Lot of fun designs there, even if as mentioned the characters they're attached to are pretty flat. The game's just gorgeous in general- the artists knocked it out of the park.

OH WAIT BAD THING 5

The game's cover/key art prominently features a squid that throws ninja stars! But there's no squid that throws ninja stars in the game! How the heck did that happen!!! Give me the ninja squid!!!!!

[alienjoyful]

Incoming Broadcast From Galazy Station: Cooking up some fun in Cuisineer!

I've been obsessively stalking this game for months so i could not put off playing it anymore! (I'm sorry Tunic I promise Il beat you later...) anyway feel free to drop by and chat with me for awhile!

CLICK THIS LINK TO JOIN THE CHATROOM TO BEHOLD MY MAD COOKING SKILLS!

[littlemxhoney]

Games for tea lovers ☕

Teacup (Steam & Nintendo Switch)

You play as Teacup, a shy and introverted young frog who loves drinking tea and reading. Before hosting a tea party, she realizes she is completely out of tea, and must venture into the woods around her to find the herbs she needs to restock her pantry.

Kabaret (Steam)

Welcome to the Kabaret - where monsters from Southeast Asian myths and folklores dwell. Perform tea ceremonies, play traditional games, and question your humanity in this dark fantasy folklore adventure game.

Pekoe (Steam)

Pekoe is a cute cat-filled tea-making simulation game about taking the time for self-care and connecting with the things that make you happy. As the newest resident and teahouse owner in town, you’ll learn everything there is to harvesting, preparing, and serving tea.

Cuisineer (Steam)

Cuisineer is a wholesome food-focused game where you play as Pom, a young adventurer turned restaurateur. One day, you return to your hometown only to find your parents’ restaurant closed for business and deep in debt. With boba and spatula in hand, you must dungeon-delve to collect ingredients and re-open your family's shop!

[theluigiguy-vids]

New game stream soon! Cuisineer!

NEW GAME ALERT! Stream announcement for Dec. 6, 2023!

Tonight, we're finally trying this cute game called Cuisineer, which is all about raising a restaurant with the spoils from a dungeon! Join me later today for the PREMIERE of this game!

Starts ~ 9 PM Eastern / 6 PM Pacific / 2 AM UTC on my Twitch channel! 🦆 twitch.tv/theluigiguy

[tomorrowedblog]

Cuisineer is out today

Cuisineer, the new game from BattleBrew Productions, Marvelous Europe, and XSEED Games, is out today.

A super cute and tasty roguelite-flavored dungeon crawler! Explore a lush world and defeat monsters with your trusty spatula and some boba tea, then gather delicious ingredients and bring them home to cook and serve at your restaurant!

[punigamefoodie]

Pizza Party

[onemillionspiders]

oh hi there

[erinobaron]

I have not played Cuisineer solely for the big floof. However the big floof plays an important part in me enjoying the game.

[satoshi-mochida]

Cuisineer coming to PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch on January 28, 2025 - Gematsu

Publishers XSEED Games and Marvelous Europe, and developer BattleBrew Productions will release food-focused roguelike action game Cuisineer for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and Switch on January 28, 2025, the companies announced.

Cuisineer first launched for PC via Steam on November 9, 2023.

In North America, a physical “Day One Edition” will be available via the Marvelous USA Store and participating retailers for all platforms for $49.99. It includes the game, a soundtrack featuring more than 40 songs, an art book with over 160 pages, and a “face” towel.

In Europe, a standard physical edition of the game will be available for all platforms via participating retailers.

Details on digital editions will be announced at a later date.

Here is an overview of the game, via XSEED Games:

Elevating its lauded recipe on PC, the beloved roguelite/restaurant sim now plates its enticing gameplay with fresh ingredients like new weapons, year-round festivals, a wardrobe feature, and more tasty inclusions that are sure to spice things up. The new content and features will also be made available to the PC version of Cuisineer simultaneously with the release of the console editions. Cuisineer‘s food-focused action challenges players to earn their dinner the hard way: by fighting it in a dungeon. Pursue adventure in the world outside Paell, wielding Pom’s cooking utensils against giant chickens, artillery shrimps, fire-breathing peppers, and other pesky perils, sipping boba tea along the way. Work with local artisans to customize her kitchen, and tailor her dining hall to the needs of loyal patrons eager to experience the rare recipes she’s cooked up. The delectable gameplay of Cuisineer is a mélange of flavors sure to please any palate, whether it’s the first bite or a second serving.

Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Consoles Announce Trailer