Review | Epic Chef - Get It While It's Hot! | Winter Spectacular 2021
Epic Chef is the hilariously chaotic cooking-sim RPG from Developer Infinigon Games and published by Team 17. In it, you get to play as Zest, a character who finds himself in the whacky world of Ambrosia and takes up an abode in a supposedly haunted house. From growing your own ingredients for cheffing to partaking in culinary battles with a Donkey as a judge, there is always something to make you laugh in this game and another surprise is always around the corner.
I guess a metal helmet kinda works as a hairnet…
Much like baking, the story of the game is as plain or as complex as you want it to be. It has been left down to your interpretation. From one point of view, it’s a game about working hard to become a great chef. From another perspective, it could be seen as a cleverly disguised comment on how being the new person in town subjects you to ridicule despite being a good person. I think that’s what appeals to me and why the game is so entertaining. You can pick it up at night after a long day and have a giggle then go to sleep, or you can take your time to absorb its potentially deep themes. Either way, leaving the depth of the story up to interpretation makes the game more enjoyable because you can choose how you want to engage with it.
I should also say, I did not expect the game to be as side-splittingly funny as it is. The comedic timing and sheer amount of random things that happen all add up to one hilarious game. A random enchanted Knight statue landed in my pond at the start and that was just the beginning. One moment that particularly tickled me was the intense build-up of deafening screams that happened in the house each time Zest decided to sleep for the night. I was convinced that there was something darker going on in that house and that I’d uncover a dark secret as the game progressed. There had to be something haunting that house, I was certain. I put Zest to sleep and I prepared myself to do battle against a screeching spirit with nothing but a Spatula. This is why I laughed until I physically couldn’t move when it was revealed what was making the noise. I won’t spoil it for you but it was brilliant, best to experience it for yourself. The unpredictability and build-up of the comedic moments in-game only ever increased the hilarity of the next one. When so many funny games rely on throwaway quips and a cynical attitude it was refreshing to play something that put time and care into set-ups and punchlines. If you want a good giggle that will make you choke on your cup of tea, this is the game.
I… Yeah, no… I have no idea what is going on in this screenshot.
The overall art style of the game is beautiful, greatly helped by the fact it reminded me of playing old Game Boy Advance games. “Another retro throwback” you may say, wondering if that is not a bad thing? Nope! The blocky design feels elegant and sleek but with a huge dollop of old-school nostalgia. I found a certain amount of comfort in playing a game that takes me back to my childhood while mixing in modern gameplay mechanics. Also, the seamless flow of lighting as the world changes from day to night is subtle enough to not distract from the task at hand but obvious enough to be appreciated.
If you have to sum up your signature meal using video game food what would it be? Mine is definitely BoTW’s “Dubious Food”.
Now, let’s talk a bit about the gameplay itself. The freedom to explore Ambrosia as much as you want (depending on how far along you are in the story) made it feel like the game had its own freeplay mode. Granted, you still do need to follow the story to be able to gain access to certain areas but if you want to take on little side-quests from the residents of Ambrosia then you can do that. If you want to wander around catching rats for the cat-person by the fountain as soon as the game lets you loose, then go nuts! Epic Chef isn’t going to stop you. In a world where it’s hard to find an open-world game with a main story quest that doesn’t demand 80hrs of your time, it’s nice to find a game that lets you get the most fun out of small chunks of playtime.
Cooking. Cooking is a huge part of the gameplay. As it should be in a game called Epic Chef. I thought it would be a little bit of a “throw that in, throw that in and ta-da, Spaghetti” but I was pleasantly proved wrong. You start with quite literally nothing. After the Knight crash-lands in your pond, you start to build up your home by planting a few basic crops and learning how to cook. Most importantly, you learn about ingredient synergy (which ingredients complement one another to make amazing dishes). You learn to build a few pieces of machinery that help you to get started. After this, you pick up various tasks and are given a few main story objectives that you can tackle at your leisure. However, many of them will require you to constantly develop, maintain and pick crops at your home. Having many of the tasks link back to your own home in Ambrosia feels like a neat and simple way of tying everything together. One thing I really like is that there are only a few controls that you need to master. The rest of the gameplay revolves around you thinking about the decisions you are going to make and working towards a goal. It meant that I could spend more time learning about cooking and about the world of Ambrosia without getting frustrated with complex controls.
If you are looking for cooked poultry might I recommend punching some of your walls.
The cooking is one of my favourite parts of the game because you really need to think about what you’re doing. It’s not just a case of mashing buttons to get a dish, you really need to focus on it. Some ingredients work better together than others and you need to think about the aroma the food is creating as well. You can burn ingredients compromising their taste if you’re not careful and you have to balance stirring the ingredients together just enough to create maximum flavour. That brings me to my next gameplay point, Chef’s Duels.
Chefs Duels happen a lot throughout Epic Chef and it’s the main way for Zest to learn how to improve his skills. The duels are as random as the rest of the game in terms of how they appear but the basic concept is the same. Watch for the clues before the duel as sometimes you get told how to win, make the best dish and ta da. I appreciate that losing once isn’t the end of the world and you can re-try the duel as long as you have enough ingredients. How I lost my first round when a Donkey was the judge I still don't know…
My only semi-compliant with this game is the saving issue. At first, I had no idea I had to go back to bed to save my game (I probably missed the hint dropped for that). In a game where you can explore Ambrosia as freely as you’d like, it feels a bit restrictive to have to stop where you are and make a potentially long journey home just to save. I’d love a manual save in the pause menu or at least an auto-save feature as I move from area to area so I don’t have to end a day to checkpoint my progress.
“Master Chef, you mind telling me what you are doing in that kitchen?”
”Sir, filleting this fish.”
Aside from the saving issue, I was surprised by Epic Chef. In fact, after putting hours into it I can say for certain it is one of my favourite games of the year. It mixes arguably terrible jokes (I find them hilarious), cleverly chaotic gameplay and a semi-nostalgic art style to create an entertaining and great game.
