Solo Chef Simulator

Unfortunately, the game’s cute visuals and appealing cooking theme can’t make up for its poor design and broken mechanics, which aren't even fully covered by the tutorial. The game requires a controller, yet the menus can’t be navigated with one, and controller input isn’t recognized until the actual gameplay begins, which happens after the tutorial. Even then, in-game prompts continue to display keyboard bindings despite using a controller. The core gameplay loop consists of fulfilling ingredient preparation orders under an extremely strict time limit. After selecting the required ingredient from a crate, you carry it to a cutting station, and complete a cutting minigame that requires stopping a slider at precise points. These targets are extremely small and hard to see (only a few pixels wide), and multiple successful stops are required; missing even one forces you to restart the entire minigame. Further levels add new cooking stations and extra mechanics on top of this. After a successful cut, you must retrieve a plate from another counter, place the ingredient on it, and rush it to checkout (assuming you still have time to do that) while completing yet another minigame. This checkout minigame appears to be partially broken (or rather, inconsistent with the tutorial explanations), often causing orders to fail even when executed correctly. On the rare occasions an order is completed, coins spawn beyond the counter, forcing you to run around the kitchen to collect them and waste valuable time that could be spent on new, randomly generated orders. Failing a level results in a coin penalty, and if your balance drops below zero, you fail the entire level. With unforgiving time limits, a very slow-moving player character, and the accumulation of these issues, the experience quickly becomes frustrating rather than fun.

The game is challenging, but there's a sweet sense of accomplishment that comes with success.

a game that looks simple at first but stands out with its challenging design. since it’s in early access i didn’t mind the minor issues. definitely worth trying