Meat Grinder: Hotdog Simulator

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6142328/][b] With 1,500+ reviews, please consider following The Cpt Froggy Club Curator Page for plenty more![/b][/url][/quote] Meat Grinder: Hotdog Simulator: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You're a butcher by trade, and like any vocation, there are times when you question yourself about the job you've known and executed so well for many years. That question is: is this really what I want to do for the rest of my working life? That, my friends, is called the midlife crisis. And please, don't be scared or ashamed of thinking that way. After all, up to 26% of the global population in the 40-49-year-old bracket are in the same boat as you - you're one of the 260 million people globally who are thinking about that. And I can't judge you for ditching your butcher career for a brand-new, exciting hot dog restaurant by the seaside in a small village named Grimshore. Welcome to Meat Grinder: Hotdog Simulator. Meat Grinder: Hotdog Simulator is a pixelated, first-person, story-driven cooking simulation developed by Panic Panda and published by Ultimate Publishing on the 11th of August 2026 on the Steam platform. Here you are, in Grimshore with the keys to your new restaurant in your hand. But it becomes clear that the venue has been run down and needs major repairs, especially as most of the equipment is broken. Only the grill, the sausage maker and the meat grinder are operational. And the deal you've made with the local butcher for cheap meat has fallen through. Thankfully, you have a little bit of meat in the cool room to see you through the first day. Then you came up with this cunning plan! Serve hot dogs during the day and dig up cadavers during the night! Constant supplies of meat from the next-door cemetery! So the game works in two sequences: the day, where you serve food to customers, and the night, for restocking. The game has a story attached to it that runs for several days; you'll have to complete a few tasks, mostly at night, to progress in the game. After you have done so, you can still play the game as long as you wish. I really like the setting of the game with its nice pixelated graphics, and how easy the gameplay is. You have the bare minimum of ingredients and sauces at your disposal and no money in your cash register. You'll have around ten-plus customers per day to serve, and it will be fairly smooth, which is one of the good as well as the bad aspects of the game. It's good because you can take your time preparing your food, and it is particularly handy when you have an order with a hot dog, a drink, and a packet of French fries. And the only way to upset your customers is to give them a hot dog with the incorrect condiment, or forget to put the hot dog in its box, or give the wrong drink. You also get a negative response if you throw rubbish at them. I had a few laughs at that - I actually was aiming at the rubbish bin! Oh, well, I’m glad I didn't pursue a basketball career! The game was missing time constraints that would have added some tension - yes, it’s a straightforward cooking game, but there does need to be an element of stress in this genre. The only stressful component is that you will run out of products like buns, sauces, potatoes, hot dog boxes, or meat; but then you can call the supplier, and as long as you have the money, they'll deliver the goods straightaway. The night is purely about digging up bodies from the cemetery, and as long as you have a shovel with you and can avoid being seen by the local cops (who are way too lenient), you'll be all good. Then you're back at the restaurant, dismantling corpses and putting the body parts in the meat grinders. If you do get caught by the cops, you'll lose your meat and shovel. You'll also need to explore the tiny area of Grimshore to find a few interesting ingredients to create new sauces for your main dish. Some sauces will make your customers explode, while others will make them lose consciousness, drop money on the floor or become an alien - it's lighthearted fun! The only other thing you have to do, as in any restaurant, is to keep the floor and the toilets clean for your customers. And that's about it! The game’s not bad, but it could've been better, especially if they had some timing constraints for serving customers and a clock showing the passage of time. The game does have a few technical issues, such as rubbish going through walls after you throw it, and walking on top of the trees on the shortcut path back from the cemetery. It’s not ideal, but it’s ok. I did experience a couple of crashes to the desktop, however, so that will need to be addressed asap. Positives: ~~~~~~~ + Fun pixelated graphics + Fun and short story, and you can keep playing as long as you wish + Well implemented and easy gameplay + Crafting new sauces delivers interesting outcomes to your customer + A good starting point for people who want to try giving a go at a cooking game, although it is a bit gruesome + Good price point + Achievements and trading cards Negatives: ~~~~~~~~ - There are no time constraints while serving customers - The Grimshore area is very small to explore - The cops who guard the cemetery are too lenient - Need more content Although a bit gruesome in some parts, Meat Grinder: Hotdog Simulator is a fun little cooking game with easy gameplay. It needs some tweaking to elevate it. 6/10 Note: Key provided directly by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!