The Cooking Mama series has been around since 2006, and while it’s been a few years since the most recent entry called Cooking Mama: Cuisine! released, there’s a game coming up that should interest fans of the series. It’s not part of the Cooking Mama line of games itself, but it’s a cooking game that the developer, Gambir Studio, says is directly inspired by Cooking Mama. It’s called KuloNiku: Meatball Cooking, and while it doesn’t have a release date just yet, you’ll be able to play it soon to see how it stacks up to the Cooking Mama games.
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KuloNiku: Meatball Cooking is a cozy management game developed and published by Gambir Studio, an Indonesian indie game team comprised of industry veterans. In this casual title, players run a meatball restaurant where you must create off-beat orders from locals. When it comes to instructions, these aren’t your Mama’s usual cooking tools as you will be preparing customers’ orders by chopping, boiling, frying, skewering, and boiling ingredients to their desired request. With a variety of recipes at your disposal, you are in charge of crafting the orders by adding whatever you see fit for the colorful cast of customers that await.
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In place of the home kitchen, Gambir Studio brings a new experience to the table by moving you into your own restaurant. Through your customers’ orders, depending on whether or not their food is served to their liking, you will receive tips, which can be used to upgrade your restaurant by personalizing it to match your vision. Over time, players can discover new ways to cook, create new dishes, and even make friends (or enemies) with the locals. There is a story in KuloNiku that is based on the growth of the restaurant, which will see some frequent customers become competitors later on. This adds a hint of spice to the mix, which will pack a punch as the game continues.
The Cooking Mama inspiration is worn on its rolled-up sleeves as Gambir Studios took to social media to confirm its prevalence. We’ve seen a lot of companies, especially indie studios, being open about their inspirations from well-known titles, which is a testament to the industry’s impact on the future of gaming. In a similar way as Clair Obsur: Expedition 33 was inspired by the turn-based gameplay style of Final Fantasy, KuloNiku: Meatball Cooking crafts a recipe with the basic ingredients of Cooking Mama there, but adds a whole other layer of flavor.
While it might be nice not to have Mama fuming over your mistakes, the heat is still on in the kitchen as you are running the place by yourself. With a dream and a passion for cooking, it’s your job to make this meatball shop the talk of the town. For those craving a Cooking Mama game that utilizes the cooking-simulation gameplay while adding a blend of Papa’s Pizzeria and Overcooked, then this is the perfect dish for you.
KuloNiku: Meatball Cooking launches on Steam later this year with a playtest coming soon, too. You can wishlist the title here.
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