Epic Chef

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 183 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.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 183 reviews
story38 positive mentions
grinding73 negative mentions
  • The game features clever writing and humor, making it an entertaining experience.
  • The cooking mechanics are unique and engaging, providing a fun challenge during chef battles.
  • The art style is charming, and the game offers a variety of activities, including farming and crafting.
  • The save system is inconvenient, requiring players to sleep to save progress, which can lead to lost time.
  • The game suffers from pacing issues, with some players finding it slow and tedious, especially during resource gathering.
  • There are bugs and clunky controls that detract from the overall experience, making navigation and inventory management frustrating.
  • story90 mentions

    The game's story is widely praised for its cleverness, humor, and engaging characters, making it a standout feature that enhances the overall gameplay experience. Players appreciate the mix of quirky dialogue, a fun underdog narrative, and a blend of cooking, farming, and magical elements, although some note that the pacing can feel slow and the plot somewhat linear. Overall, the story is described as entertaining and filled with comedic moments, appealing to those who enjoy a narrative-driven gaming experience.

    • “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 absurd scenarios creates an engaging experience that stands out in the genre, appealing to those who appreciate offbeat and satirical humor. While some find the humor subjective, the overall consensus is that it significantly enhances the game's charm and enjoyment.

    • “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 some appreciate the blend of farming, cooking, and humor, many find the farming and cooking mechanics tedious, especially as the game progresses, leading to a sense of monotony. Overall, the game is enjoyable for fans of the genre, but the grinding can detract from the experience, particularly during cooking battles and ingredient gathering.

    • “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.”
  • gameplay50 mentions

    The gameplay is characterized by its unique cooking mechanics and engaging storytelling, though it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of ingredient variety that can lead to repetitive experiences. While the mechanics are generally well-designed and enjoyable, some players find the initial gameplay loop tedious and the saving system cumbersome. Overall, the game offers a fun blend of cooking, farming, and puzzle elements, enhanced by humor and character interactions, making it appealing to fans of similar genres.

    • “The gameplay is unique and very well balanced.”
    • “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’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 complements 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 within the game's context, but improvements are desired by some players.

    • “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, described as upbeat and fun, with a standout main theme that is particularly impressive. However, some users noted technical limitations, such as the diegetic nature of the background music, which detracts 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.”
    • “Tech limits are everywhere; background music always played diegetically, probably didn't figure out how to play music.”
    • “The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
    • “The sound design is underwhelming, with music that fails to enhance the overall atmosphere of the game.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game is noted for its charm and clever writing, but it suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to a lack of polish. While some players appreciate the challenge of finding optimized solutions within the gameplay, the overall performance is considered poorly executed.

    • “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 experiment and refine their strategies for the best 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 getting stuck together 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 really enhances my enjoyment.”
    • “Overall, the stability of the game is impressive, allowing me to focus on gameplay without interruptions.”
    • “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; while some enjoy the experience, it may not offer enough incentive for multiple playthroughs.

    • “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 experienced the story, there's little incentive to go back and 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 experience, particularly in the context of a crafting game.

    • “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 a layer of 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

Buy Epic Chef

Play time

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

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