Cooking games are seemingly popping up every day and it’s been happening for over a decade. A love of cooking content like Gordon Ramsay’s various shows may be one reason why developers jumped onto the cooking wagon. It’s also a subject that a lot of people can understand from a multiplayer game likeOvercookedto a classic arcade game likeBurger Time.
People live in a food-based economy. Behindthese food-based gamesare chefs, or cooks that help make the magic happen. However, chefs appear in more than cooking games, including RPGs and shooters. Here are just a few cooks that stand out from the crowd.
Chef Saltbaker appears inCuphead: The Delicious Last Coursewhich is DLCfor the main game. He is seemingly an honorable character who tasks Cuphead and Mugman with hunting down rare ingredients to craft the ultimate snack. This sends the boys down a boss run, just like in the original game.
The big twist is that Chef Saltbaker needs them for the recipe too and the final boss is with him. He grows in size, demonstrating his skills as a chef from knife work to fire skills. It’s terrifying as he is incredibly strong, however, going with the canon of the game means that he dies. So, he can’t rank that high on the list.
The titular Mama from theCooking Mamaseries has to make it on here due to the immense amount of games she has starred in. The franchise was huge during the DS and Wii era. From making sushi to cooking rice, Mama has all the skills to run a business or to become a caretaker.
There were even spinoffs wherein Mama was tasked with other things like childcare. She is a jack of all trades which is somethinga lot of mothershave to wrestle with. While her food may not look extremely complicated, the quality is consistent.
Sojiro Sakura is kind of like Mama from Cooking Nama in that he is a caretaker. On the surface, he is a grumpy barista trying to run a small business while dealing with a troublemaking teen inPersona 5. As the game progresses, players will discover Sojiro has an adopted daughter,Futaba who he is extremely patient withPersona 5.
As Sojiro grows fonder of the main character, codenamed Joker, he starts to teach Joker about how to make a good brew in fine detail. He will also teach him how to make a good curry, giving Sojiro two skills in the cooking market. Based on feedback, everyone seems to love his recipes, too.
Garl is the best friend of thetwo protagonists ofSea of Stars, Valere and Zale. In their training, Garl is shooed away by their master since Garl cannot perform magic, even though he knows that Garl trained away from them to become a competent fighter and a master chef.
If he can’t use magic, then he can at least help his friends by nourishing them during and after battle with snacks. A lot of his attacks are based on cookware which is funny to see animated in pixel form. As a kind warrior, he also sacrifices himself in the end for a tearful goodbye.
Ignis is like the eldest brother in the foursome ofFinal Fantasy 15. He directs Noctis and the others where to go next and he also manages the camp food. He’s not just making navy beans for the crew either. New enemies, quests, and documents will give Ignis new ideas for restaurant-quality meals that look good enough to eat onscreen.
They are beyond fancy which is astounding given the equipment Ignis has at camps. Eating before venturing out is a good way to boost stats. Ignis is knowledgeable in all sorts ofdetails inFinal Fantasy 15and food is just a small part of his talents.
Ignis’ cooking skills have to be inspired by the meal prep work of theMonster Hunterseries. To prepare for big bosses, players are encouraged to consume a wide variety of meals at camp to raise stats like defense or attack. The cat chefs, or Palicoes, inMonster Hunter: Worldstand out in particular as the cutscenes that play for every meal are infectious.
In charge of them all is the Meowscular Chef, which is a fun pun. The meal afterward looks incredible too even when they just look like hunks of meat. One could say the Palico chefs inMonster Hunter: Worldare meow-velous. Bad cat puns aside, without these Palico chefs, players wouldn’t get very far in the game. They are necessary for a successful hunt.
