Cooking Mama: Cuisine is a serene little cooking experience.
Cooking Mama: Cuisine is a Cooking Mama game, so if you enjoy these games, you will no doubt enjoy this one too. It is the next in the long line of Cooking Mama games made by Office Create Corp., and so expect the usual levels of polish you’d find in the previous games, so long as you ignore that whole Cooking Mama: Cookstar fiasco from 2020. It has the gameplay you’ve come to expect but, of course, on the phone, so you can keep it in your pocket without needing to lug around an additional mobile device. So, those familiar with the franchise expect more of the same.
But for those unfamiliar with the franchise, Cooking Mama: Cuisine is a cooking simulation game. At the beginning of every level, if they can even be called that, you are presented with various foodstuffs, ingredients, appliances, and utensils that you then choose between to be a part of your upcoming recipe. You then follow the prompts as directed and make some pretty-looking food.
This could also, theoretically, teach you a few recipes of your own to try out at home in real life. It’s a colorful, interactive cookbook with the eponymous Cooking Mama character continually telling you what a good job you’ve done. And she often tells you that you’ve done a good job, so if you want some positive affirmation in life, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Cooking Mama: Cuisine is a simple game. Do not expect to be challenged by what you’re required to do. You always follow whatever instructions it throws on screen and follow those instructions as if they were quick time events. So, the game is all quick-time events and no other gameplay. Aside from the fact that you can unlock a few things, we’ll get to that, but Cooking Mama: Cuisine is aesthetically customizable if not in any other way.
It would be easiest to explain the gameplay by simply giving an example. You will start a “level” and select a few things like flour, eggs, and bread. You will then be expected to tap the touchscreen in a specific direction repeatedly until you have sieved enough of the flour, but if you go too hard, then you could spill some, and you don’t want to spill because you’re a good Cooking Mama! You then have to crack the eggs and stir them, and as you’re stirring them, you have to move your finger in a spiral pattern at the right speed not to make a mess.
You’ll then slice the bread. You simply trace your finger downwards until you’ve sliced off enough pieces. You then combine and cook them, paying attention to the timer so that you don’t burn anything, and then voila! Cooking Mama: Cuisine presents you, at the end of every cooking session, with your tasty, completed meal. You’ll then get a ranking out of three that contributes to unlocking more aesthetic items, like new kitchen styles, new clothes for the Cooking Mama herself, and other minor, aesthetic changes.
Cooking Mama: Cuisine is not for those who want a lot of variety in their games. You will be doing the same actions repeatedly with no real difficulty. You are not expected to rush through anything; instead, you’re expected to go through it nice and calm. Unlock new ingredients and new recipes, and use an increasing array of cooking appliances and utensils to make a large variety of foods. You may even learn something from the whole experience!
Cooking Mama: Cuisine is methodical. It’s the perfect game to put on in the background. It requires very little brain power, so it’s great for turning off or keeping your hands occupied while watching something else. This is the best thing to play right before bed to get through a few recipes, chill out a little, and then get into bed. Cooking Mama: Cuisine will not try and rush you or push you. It will be its serene little self throughout the whole experience.
On the technical side of things, Cooking Mama: Cuisine runs smoothly. It loads up quickly, it never gives any hassles with regards to touch input, which can often be an issue with some mobile games, and it has an easy-to-navigate menu that can get you straight into the “action” as soon as you boot it up for the first time. It also appears to draw comparatively little battery compared to some of the other games you may find on Apple Arcade. So, it’s great for being out on the road somewhere while you wait for things. Although maybe not while driving. It’s a chilled-out game, but it will distract you from driving! So, don’t play while driving!
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