Cooking Witch

About

Cooking Witch is a single player casual shooter game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by VaragtP and was released on May 18, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

In Cooking Witch you are a witch flying to a party in the woods, abducting the children and cooking and eating them.

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 148 reviews

gameplay19 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

Addictive and simple gameplay loop with a quirky and darkly humorous concept that is easy to pick up and play for short bursts.
Progression system with upgrades that feel rewarding and enhance replayability by improving speed, stamina, and other stats.
Bright, colorful pixel art and catchy classical and carnival-themed music that complement the weird and playful atmosphere.

Gameplay becomes repetitive quickly due to limited variety in environments, enemies, and objectives, leading to reduced long-term appeal.
Lack of features such as controller support, customizable controls, volume settings, and window/mouse cursor locking which detract from the PC experience.
Performance issues including inconsistent framerate and bugs related to achievements and score registration, especially problematic on multi-monitor setups.

gameplay
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
60%
11%
Cooking Witch offers a simple, fast-paced, and addictive arcade-style gameplay loop centered on catching and cooking children while avoiding adversaries, with mouse-based controls that ensure accessibility. Though the mechanics are straightforward and initially fun, many players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in variety or depth, limiting long-term engagement. Its quirky premise and upgrade system add charm, making it a satisfying casual experience for those seeking bite-sized, score-chasing fun.
- “Cooking Witch, developed and published by varagtp, is an unapologetically bizarre arcade-style action game that leans heavily into absurd dark humor and simple, fast-paced mechanics.”
- “Early stages ease players into the mechanics, but as sessions progress, the difficulty escalates with larger crowds, time pressure, and the introduction of armed adversaries. These enemies force players to maneuver more carefully, adding moments of chaos and urgency to what would otherwise be a straightforward collection mechanic.”
- “The fun gameplay combined with this level-up system makes this one of those 'just-one-more-turn!' games that keep you eager to chase ever-higher scores as you try out your new upgrades.”
- “Very boring gameplay, no changes during the progression of the game.”
- “My rating is 5/10 only one level, repetitive gameplay, weird resolution.”
- “While it does have a moderate bit of progress to keep you playing, the gameplay, music, and environments are repetitive meaning that progress feels like a grind rather than quality growth.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
61%
8%
The game features retro, pixelated graphics with a charming, colorful, and cartoonish art style that fits its quirky theme well, though it lacks advanced customization or resolution options. While the visuals are not cutting-edge and may show inconsistent frame rates on some settings, most reviews find the graphics cute, well-executed, and appropriate for the game's modest price and indie scope. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's fun and unique atmosphere despite their simplicity.
- “Visually, the game uses a bright, cartoonish aesthetic that contrasts sharply with its macabre premise.”
- “The artwork is very well-made, it's cute, realistic in a cartoon-ish way, but so good!”
- “The graphics are awesome as well, I love how the meat and other items from the cauldron sparkle off the shimmering lake!”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades old retro pixel "art" as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “There's no options to change the resolution for the game or customise the graphics settings.”
- “The final nail in the coffin for me was that, no matter the changes to the graphical quality, I could never really have a consistent framerate or one that stayed at 60 fps.”
music
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
9%
The music in the game is generally praised for fitting well with the gameplay and featuring recognizable classical and carnival tracks, creating a pleasant atmosphere. However, it is limited in variety, repetitive, and lacks volume or toggle controls, which some players find detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, the use of copyrighted or public domain music poses challenges for content creators recording gameplay.
- “Good use of classical music as background tracks.”
- “I love the sound effects and the music; I could play this for hours and not get tired of the background song.”
- “The soundtrack and other in-game sounds are just too awesome and well-fitting.”
- “You can't toggle the sound or turn the music off it seems.”
- “The music gets repetitive really fast.”
- “After the 10th or so time you load back in to the same map with the same background and the same songs playing to pick up the same children and dodge the same enemy attacks, you really start to feel like you shouldn't even be investing any more of your time.”
story
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The game's story is minimal and straightforward, centered on a hungry witch capturing and cooking children while fending off dads, with no deep narrative or character development. Missions follow simple, repetitive objectives, and the story serves primarily as a casual backdrop rather than a key element, offering limited long-term engagement.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “The story is simple: you are a hungry witch, and your mission is to catch and cook delicious kids, and you must stop kids from ringing the bell, because dads will try to kill you.”
- “Witches abandon simmering potions for soaring through eerie woods on broomsticks, shifting their mission from brewing magical concoctions to capturing unsuspecting children.”
- “It does not attempt to offer deep storytelling, complex systems, or varied gameplay modes.”
- “I don't see me coming back to this game long term, as the gameplay does leave a lack of story (let's be honest here, this game wasn't made for a story, lol).”
- “The story is simple: you are a hungry witch, and your mission is to catch and cook delicious kids, and you must stop kids from ringing the bell, because dads will try to kill you :(”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by absurd, dark, and unapologetically bizarre elements that many find funny and entertaining. Players appreciate its playful and simple approach to dark themes, leading to frequent laughs and an enjoyable, quirky experience. Overall, the humor is a standout aspect, mixing dark comedy with lighthearted fun.
- “Cooking Witch, developed and published by Varagtp, is an unapologetically bizarre arcade-style action game that leans heavily into absurd dark humor and simple, fast-paced mechanics.”
- “This playful presentation softens the darker humor, framing it as absurd rather than genuinely disturbing.”
- “I feel so sorry for my neighbours... played this on stream and it was fun. Good little quests, something I didn't get bored with and just plain funny for some lols. Played for 3 hours and could go back for more :)”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect is often described as tedious and artificially prolonging gameplay, with some players frustrated by repeated effort required to unlock achievements or upgrades. While enjoyable for those who like grinding, others find it monotonous and wish for more varied content beyond repetitive score farming.
- “Last achievement is just hidden behind a lot of grinding to desperately try and stretch out the playtime of the game.”
- “I hope that they add more to the upgrade section as once you get everything you are basically done; the only thing you are doing then is grinding to see if you can beat the world in getting the most meat score.”
- “They artificially hold back your ability then you unlock by grinding.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Optimization is generally satisfactory, with stable performance and smoother gameplay when using true fullscreen mode. However, the game's repetitive environments and lack of diverse content limit the motivation for continued score optimization. Improvements in variety and audio could enhance the overall experience.
- “If Cooking Witch had some more unique and diverse music, some more environments, different types of enemies and hazards, and solid performance, I'd recommend it.”
- “Performance was fine, and it seems to run more smoothly when pressing Alt+Enter to force true fullscreen.”
- “Environments and objectives do not evolve significantly, and once upgrades are unlocked, the primary motivation becomes pure score optimization.”
- “If Cooking Witch had more unique and diverse music, additional environments, different types of enemies and hazards, and solid performance, I would recommend it.”
- “Performance was fine for me, though it seems to run a bit more smoothly when I press Alt+Enter to force true fullscreen.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
Replayability in the game is praised for its quirky indie style, score-based challenges, and features like item upgrades, achievements, and leaderboards that encourage repeated play. However, some players desire more content updates or variety to prevent the experience from becoming repetitive over time.
- “For players who enjoy unconventional indie experiments and quick, replayable score-based challenges, it provides a memorable and eccentric experience.”
- “Upgrading items, achievements, and the competitive leaderboard makes it very replayable.”
- “I hope for replayability in this game; additional patches, DLC, and added content would help, as playing on the same level repeatedly gets repetitive.”
- “What I hope for in this game is replayability; meaning I would like to see patches, DLC, added content, etc. For instance, playing on the same level the entire time gets repetitive.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its light-hearted and playful tone, which makes its quirky premise feel silly and entertaining rather than disturbing. The developers successfully create an engaging and fun environment that complements the gameplay.
- “The devs did a great job with the atmosphere in the game as well.”
- “The premise is simple: swipe children and put them in a cauldron. The atmosphere is so light-hearted that this feels silly rather than obscene.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes a complex emotional response by blending dark, unsettling themes with a seemingly wholesome, casual gameplay style, creating a unique and provocative experience.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates strong stability with virtually no bugs or glitches, offering a smooth experience compared to other titles like Cyberpunk 2077.