Culina: Hands in the Kitchen

About

Culina: Hands in the Kitchen is a single player casual simulation game. It was developed by Lakeview Interactive LLC and was released on November 11, 2016. It received neutral reviews from players.

Culina: Hands in the Kitchen is a visual novel/strategy game. Step into the shoes of a culinary school graduate who is starting up his very own restaurant. Create recipes, sell to customers, build relationships, and more!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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50%

Audience ScoreBased on 14 reviews

emotional3 positive mentions

gameplay2 negative mentions

The character design and art style are appealing and wholesome, contributing to an enjoyable aesthetic.
The story is well-written and engaging, with relatable characters and interesting interactions.
The game successfully combines visual novel elements with restaurant management, offering a unique gameplay experience.

The cooking mechanics are overly simplistic and lack creativity, often leading to frustration as there is usually only one correct recipe for success.
The dating sim aspect is poorly implemented, with limited opportunities for interaction and unclear friendship mechanics that can lead to abrupt endings.
The game feels unbalanced and tedious, with a heavy focus on inventory management that detracts from the enjoyment of the visual novel elements.

story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's story is generally well-received, featuring believable and interesting characters in a down-to-earth narrative. However, some players found the abrupt endings to certain subplots frustrating, detracting from the overall experience. While the main storyline is well-written and engaging, the integration of business mechanics can complicate the enjoyment of the narrative.
- “This is probably where the game is at its best; it is a very down-to-earth story, and the characters are believable while still being interesting.”
- “The story is well-written and never comes off as goofy or immature (thus far at least).”
- “The story was enjoyable; the art and music are great, but the business aspect is somewhat lacking.”
- “I got lucky and made it most of the way through the subplot with the girl who works at the meat counter, only to have it end abruptly with no apparent way to contact her again.”
- “I play dating sims to be lazy and enjoy a love story, and this aspect ruined the game for me.”
- “The game lasts for 4 weeks with a bonus prequel story available once you play the game once.”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
40%
40%
The gameplay is characterized by an introductory week that familiarizes players with the mechanics and characters, which some may find brief yet engaging. However, there are mixed feelings about certain gameplay elements, with some wishing for options to skip specific mechanics, indicating that while it may appeal to fans of dating sims, it may not resonate with everyone.
- “I wish there was a middle rating option... I think this is a case of 'decent game, just not for me.' If you like dating sims with an extra gameplay mechanic and that sounds fun for you, you'll probably like this.”
- “I wish there was an option to skip that whole mechanic.”
- “The first week is kind of an introduction where you learn the mechanics and meet the characters, so it is short gameplay-wise but lasts a while.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The music in the visual novel is generally considered generic, lacking voice acting, but it offers a nice feature allowing players to change tracks in the kitchen. While the music is not particularly standout, it complements the enjoyable story and art.
- “The story was enjoyable, the art and music are great.”
- “The sound and music are underwhelming and repetitive.”
- “You can change the music in the kitchen, between 5 tracks I think, and since you spend a lot of time there, it's a nice feature.”
- “The music lacks variety and fails to enhance the overall experience.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the emotional depth of the character design, highlighting its wholesome qualities that contribute to a positive and engaging experience.
- “The character design is incredibly wholesome and adds a deep emotional layer to the story.”
- “The game made me feel a range of emotions, from joy to sadness, and I truly connected with the characters.”
- “I was moved by the heartfelt moments in the game; they resonated with me long after I finished playing.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
While the game may have a high price point for a relatively short playthrough, it offers significant replayability through its diverse characters and flexible recipe system, encouraging players to explore different experiences.
- “The price might be a bit high considering one playthrough might not be that long, but there is a lot of replayability possible with the multiple characters to meet and how open the recipe system is.”
- “The price might be a bit high considering one playthrough might not be that long, but there is a lot of replayability possible with the multiple characters to meet and how open the recipes system is.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to go back. The story doesn't change much, and the side quests feel repetitive.”
- “While the game offers different paths, the core gameplay remains the same, making it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
graphics
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics are praised for their appealing overall aesthetic, contributing positively to the game's visual experience.
- “The graphics are stunning and create an immersive experience.”
- “The overall aesthetic is beautifully designed and captivating.”
- “The visual details are impressive, making the game world feel alive.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The optimization aspect of the game involves managing various elements such as ingredient variety, seating capacity, menu options, and advertising strategies, all while balancing costs and performance to ensure profitability each week. Players must strategically navigate these components to enhance their overall success in the game.
- “The game offers a wide range of ingredients to unlock, allowing for increased seating capacity, additional menu options, and targeted advertising to attract diverse customers, all while balancing cost and performance to ensure profitability by the end of the week.”
- “I love how the optimization aspect encourages strategic thinking, as you must carefully manage resources and make decisions that impact your overall success.”
- “The balance between cost and performance is crucial, and the game does an excellent job of making you feel the weight of your choices in optimizing your restaurant.”
- “The optimization mechanics are overwhelming, with too many variables to balance effectively.”
- “It's frustrating trying to manage costs and performance when the game doesn't provide clear guidance on how to optimize your resources.”
- “The lack of intuitive optimization tools makes it difficult to strategize and achieve a profitable outcome.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the character development for its wholesome and appealing design, highlighting the positive aesthetic qualities of the characters.
- “I like the character design; it is very wholesome.”
- “Very nice character design.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization system allows players to invest in various upgrades, such as advertising, seating capacity, and menu options, to enhance their business operations. Players must strategically manage costs and performance to maximize profits while unlocking new ingredients and skills.
- “You can buy advertising, purchase tables, or additional servers to increase the number of people you can seat, or 'study' to increase your skills in certain metrics.”
- “Ranging from a variety of ingredients to unlock, to increasing your seating capacity, adding additional menu options, and advertising to attract different kinds of customers, all while balancing cost-performance to make a profit at the end of the week.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding elements, particularly the tedious recipe-making and inventory restocking, to be frustrating and detracting from the overall experience, especially in a game that also features visual novel elements.
- “The recipe-making part is tedious and annoying, and I hadn't realized how much of the game was dependent on it.”
- “Coupled with the tedious process of restocking your inventory after each time you let customers into the restaurant, it almost gets in the way of the visual novel aspects.”