Epic Chef

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 180 reviews
  • story
  • humor
  • grinding
Epic Chef Game Cover
Don’t let Epic Chef‘s title fool you. This isn’t simply a cooking sim – there’s much more to it than that.
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In "Epic Chef," embark on a journey to become a culinary master in the whimsical world of Ambrosia. Using a dynamic recipe creation system, combine ingredients with precision to create delicious and unique dishes. With life-sim and farming elements, interact with a cast of quirky characters and build your reputation as an elite chef.

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Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 180 reviews
story38 positive mentions
grinding73 negative mentions
  • The game features a delightful blend of cooking, farming, and quirky humor, making it a fun experience.
  • Engaging storyline and characters with witty dialogue that keeps players entertained.
  • The cooking mechanics are enjoyable and require strategic planning, adding depth to the gameplay.
  • Limited expansion options and inventory management can feel tedious and restrictive.
  • The save system is inconvenient, requiring players to sleep to save progress, which can lead to lost time.
  • Clunky controls and some bugs detract from the overall experience, making navigation and gameplay feel unpolished.
  • story89 mentions

    The game's story is widely praised for its engaging and humorous narrative, featuring quirky characters and a charming underdog plot that keeps players entertained throughout. Many reviews highlight the witty dialogue and absurd humor, making the experience feel more like a comedic adventure than just a cooking simulation. While some players note pacing issues and a linear plot, the overall consensus is that the story adds significant depth and enjoyment to the gameplay.

    • “A terrific cooking game with a hilarious story of an underdog overcoming challenges and becoming a chef!”
    • “The story is funny, the characters as well.”
    • “The humor and storytelling are amazing.”
    • “Tldr: fairly unique cooking game mechanic with a surprisingly detailed storyline...which are both somewhat wasted through a game that is poorly paced and overly written.”
    • “Downsides, it's quite a bit less open world than others in the genre, there's less to do in terms of customizing anything, the humor is really wacky/madcap slapstick bad hāremumono humor, and the dialog is poorly written and goes on and on and on, and the plot is bad and takes up so much time.”
    • “The only thing that I'm not a fan of is the heavy storyline.”
  • humor83 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky, charming, and often hilarious writing, with many players noting that it consistently elicits laughter through witty dialogue and unexpected situations. The blend of cooking, farming, and offbeat storytelling creates an engaging experience that resonates with fans of lighthearted and satirical humor. While some find the humor subjective, the overall consensus is that it significantly enhances the game's appeal, making it a standout in its genre.

    • “The interactions are filled with charm and humor, creating an immersive world where every character has their own personality and oddities.”
    • “The humor is incredible, and there is just enough challenge for me.”
    • “I loved the writing and humor; the characters were unique and enjoyable, charming art style, and progression felt good like you always had something to work towards.”
  • grinding73 mentions

    The grinding aspect of "Epic Chef" receives mixed feedback from players. While many appreciate the blend of farming, cooking, and humor, some find the farming and cooking battles tedious, especially as the game progresses, leading to a sense of monotony. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable for fans of the genre, but it may require patience due to its slower-paced grinding elements.

    • “For me, this game felt too long, especially because the cooking battles can sometimes take a good few attempts to win - each time you lose, you need to re-farm your ingredients and this can get tedious.”
    • “Takes forever to walk anywhere; farming is slow and tedious.”
    • “This is a pretty moderately good grinding game (not as good as My Time at Portia); however, it isn't for everyone since there is no way to auto-farm or even lightly mass-farm basic ingredients in the mid-early game, so you do need a lot of patience to mindlessly mass-farm things and store them in a lot of containers since each inventory slot only holds 1 of each item.”
  • gameplay48 mentions

    The gameplay features a unique cooking mechanic intertwined with a detailed storyline, offering enjoyable puzzle elements and humorous interactions. However, players note issues with pacing, limited ingredient variety, and a cumbersome saving system that detracts from the overall experience. While the mechanics can be fun and engaging, they are often overshadowed by repetitive tasks and technical shortcomings.

    • “It adds a nice layer of storytelling to the gameplay that makes it more than just cooking.”
    • “Enjoyable gameplay that has a nice puzzle gimmick based on the ingredients you pick.”
    • “Epic Chef is such a fun ride, with the cooking mechanics, the farming, and the interactions with the people in town.”
    • “However, the limited space and lack of ingredient variety can make the gameplay feel a bit cramped and repetitive.”
    • “It also feels like it takes a bit too long to get into the main gameplay loop.”
    • “I am going to give the game another shot and retread the lost progress, but I'm not really looking forward to it as the opening gameplay was pretty tedious running around town quests.”
  • graphics31 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming and cute art style that many players find appealing, though opinions vary on its quality, with some describing it as simple or even "ugly." While the aesthetic is generally well-received and fits the gameplay, there are notable issues such as texture quality, frame rate drops, and problems with aspect ratio in cutscenes. Overall, the graphics serve their purpose and contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, despite some technical shortcomings.

    • “The art style is charming and the music/sound fit perfectly.”
    • “The bright and cute graphic style is also right up my alley.”
    • “The graphics are very pleasing and the gameplay progresses at a fairly steady pace as you go through the story.”
    • “I don't mind games around the edges or with lo-fi kind of graphics, but having some textures would be highly appreciated, at least for me.”
    • “Let it be said, this game is ugly, the character models are so off-putting and the graphics are meh even if they are stylized.”
    • “Still have some graphic issues; if you're playing this game in 16:9, then you will notice those issues, like some cut scene effects only appearing in square aspect ratio instead of 16:9. Sometimes the background doesn't even fit with the 16:9 screen, it just shows some blue screen in the corner because the background in those cut scenes doesn't fit!”
  • music5 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with an upbeat and fun vibe, particularly highlighted by a standout main theme that is described as bombastic. However, some technical limitations are noted, such as the diegetic nature of the background music, which may detract from the overall experience.

    • “The art style is charming and the music/sound fit perfectly.”
    • “The music is quite good too, although I wouldn't call it stellar - except maybe the main theme, it's freaking bombastic.”
    • “The music is upbeat and fun too.”
    • “The background music always plays diegetically, which makes it feel limited and unengaging. It seems like the developers didn't figure out how to incorporate music effectively.”
    • “The music feels disconnected from the gameplay, as if the developers struggled to create an immersive audio experience.”
    • “The awkward static camera angles combined with the repetitive music make the overall experience feel stale and uninspired.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game features charming elements and clever writing, but it suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to a lack of polish. While some players appreciate the complex mechanics and the challenge of finding optimized solutions, the overall performance is considered poor.

    • “I find the complex moving parts of each dish ingredient to be the real core of what attracts me to the game. I enjoy puzzling and finding optimized solutions from everything available.”
    • “The optimization mechanics in this game are incredibly satisfying, allowing players to refine their strategies and achieve the best possible outcomes.”
    • “I love how the game encourages you to think critically about resource management and efficiency, making every decision feel impactful.”
    • “It's cute, has some clever writing, but lacks a lot of polish and feels very poorly optimized.”
    • “The software is also very poorly optimized.”
    • “Poorly optimized.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game's stability has been criticized for being clunky and buggy, with users reporting various glitches, such as objects overlapping and issues with monitor size compatibility. Despite these problems, some players noted that the overall performance and graphics are impressive.

    • “The game runs smoothly without any major glitches, making for a seamless experience.”
    • “I haven't encountered any crashes or significant bugs, which is impressive for a game of this scale.”
    • “Overall, the stability of the game enhances the enjoyment, allowing me to focus on the gameplay.”
    • “Clunky, buggy, and didn't support my monitor size.”
    • “Feels like it was made and kind of just left with a bunch of tiny glitches.”
    • “Weird glitches as well on the farm where objects are stuck inside each other.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    Overall, the game has limited replayability, particularly for players who complete it quickly; however, many still find enjoyment in the experience during their initial playthrough.

    • “If you're the type that plays through quickly, the game may not have much replay value for you.”
    • “I don't see this game having a ton of replay value, but I am enjoying the ride so far.”
    • “If you're the type that completes games quickly, this one may not have much replay value for you.”
    • “Once you've seen everything the game has to offer, there's little incentive to play again.”
    • “The lack of varied outcomes makes it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
  • character development1 mentions

    The character development in the game is praised for its exceptional writing and depth, which enhances the overall world-building, making it stand out even in the crafting genre.

    • “Shockingly good writing, character development, and world-building for a crafting game.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Many users note that the game features heartfelt sociopolitical commentary within its conversations, adding an emotional depth that resonates with players.

    • “Strangely enough, a lot of the conversations contain some quite heartfelt sociopolitical commentary.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is praised for its polished art style and cohesive theme, contributing to an overall appealing and immersive experience.

    • “The art style, game atmosphere, and theme are beautifully polished.”
    • “The atmosphere immerses you completely, making every moment feel alive.”
    • “The game's ambiance is captivating, drawing you into its unique world.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

73% average critic score

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Play time

33hMedian play time
33hAverage play time
33-33hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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