Now many people may question what the reason is for even having this app on my phone in the first place. This is considering if you asked what my best mobile games were, the likes of PUBG Mobile, Clash of Clans and probably Fortnite would bounce right off my brain.

But with work lately, we have got to admit that we do not get too much free time and a seemingly simpler strategy game might be one to check out for some minutes of your tea or lunch break. This peculiar game was then introduced and was immediately installed on my phone; Cooking Craze.

Just as it sounds, Cooking Craze is a cooking game created by Big Fish, a casual game company based in Seattle, Washington that just like any normal restaurant kitchen demands a lot of speed and of course, incredible multi-tasking skills. I have played for the last week or so and despite getting constantly and hopelessly stuck along the way, I have found myself glued to the screen. But is it really that good?

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Gameplay

In the game, you are a chef moving from one restaurant to another in different cities with the New York commuters being the first you have a task of feeding and impressing them with your service. Each city houses a number of missions in which you are required to prepare dishes as customers start coming in with their orders. So, what gives?

You have a specific duration in which you have to make sure every client is fed and leaves with a full stomach. The time is a restraint alongside the number of customers since you have a set number of customers that you have to serve the food to in that given time.

Quite a mouthful, I know. Starting this game got me questioning my taste in entertainment but by the time I got to the tenth level, I had invested too much time already go back.

So, each restaurant offers different food choices with the examples of New York’s first levels having consumers who prefer doughnuts with a certain topping and the variations enhancing as you move up the ladder. You will then notice that in the same city the food changes to burgers without limited contents and then the task starts getting harder when you have to prepare tons of dishes at the same time.

Now, the other task is to be as swift as possible to avoid a client’s patience from running out because if that happens, they leave and your chances of advancing to the next level grow thin.

This may then eat up your number of spoons and eventually the lives that enable you to get to every mission. Different cities offer their signature meals that you have to cook and believe me, it gets interesting and at a point, things start getting serious.

But you then have the option of upgrading your kitchen utensils with the coins you earn and even buy the spoons with real money. Some of you will probably never spend a dime but the general gameplay is worth a shot.

I, however, hope there was more inclusion in the choices of cities one gets to cook at like African cities with their own delicacies. But all things considered, you get to even prepare some meals you’ve never taken like the Asian and European cuisines.

Graphics and Music

Of course one of the very first impressions you get once you open any game is the graphics and Cooking Craze is one that does not disappoint.

Despite the general gameplay seeming too casual, one thing that may impress you is how colourful the interface is. It is responsive enough with every icon and button being there for a reason and not just for meaningless decoration.

The level of detail in every city’s dashboard is one I did not expect and got me staring at for a while. For a game that was never meant to be serious like say, PUBG, Big Fish knew the dynamics to include and in a way to not mess it up.

More to that, the game offers music and sound effects that you can turn on or off. Having them on wouldn’t hurt though as you get to hear a jovial tone related with the game’s main agenda of being as casual as possible. You even get to hear the meat and sausages sizzle. After all, who hates the sound of food cooking?

Verdict

After all is said and done would we recommend you to play? Yes.

Take your shot and have your multi-tasking skills put to the test. Playing even one level will get you pumped for the day. Perhaps you will even get to sharpen your cooking skills. It could be one that gets me describing it as “more than just a game”. It is available on App Store as well as Google Play Store.