Steam's Best Cooking Games: Simulating Masterchef Dreams

There are a variety of cooking games available on Steam, ranging from realistic restaurant management simulators to bizarre anime RPG puzzlers. These games offer a range of experiences, from relaxing and meditative gameplay to chaotic and challenging culinary quests. One popular example is Overcooked, a couch co-op game where players must work together to prepare, cook, and serve orders before impatient customers storm out. Another option is Cooking Simulator, which provides a first-person cooking experience with realistic physics and a wide range of ingredients and recipes to experiment with. The Cooking Game is another title that teaches players how to cook a variety of dishes from different cuisines and manage different restaurant styles. Cook, Serve, Delicious! is also mentioned as a cooking game series available on Steam, with the ability to change the difficulty level to make the game more relaxing. Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game is a management-focused game with a customizable chef and style options for your eatery, offering a range of recipes and the ability to curate your own menu.

Cooking games with actual cooking

There are several cooking games available on Steam, including Cooking Simulator, Cook, Serve, Delicious!, Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game, Overcooked 2, Espresso Tycoon, and Battle Chef Brigade.

If you're specifically looking for cooking games with actual cooking, rather than a focus on management, there are a few options that might be worth considering. Here are some recommendations:

Cooking Simulator

Cooking Simulator is a first-person cooking game that takes place in a top-of-the-line kitchen equipped with various utensils and stands. The game features a Career mode, where you can grow your reputation and culinary skills, unlocking new ingredients and recipes as you progress. There's also a Sandbox mode, where you can access all recipes and ingredients without any pressure. The game includes over 140 lifelike ingredients, from meat and fish to fruits, veggies, and dairy products, as well as a variety of spices and herbs. The cooking experience is designed to be lifelike, with ingredients responding to your actions by changing temperature, appearance, and taste.

Cook, Serve, Delicious!

This game series is mentioned multiple times as a popular cooking game. While it does involve some management elements, it seems to have a significant focus on cooking as well. The game is available on mobile and Steam, and players seem to enjoy the ability to adjust the difficulty level to make the game more relaxing.

Chef Life

Chef Life is mentioned as having "really satisfying" cooking mechanics, although it also includes restaurant management elements.

Moonglow Bay

Moonglow Bay is primarily a fishing game with a story, but it's also praised for its relaxing cooking mini-game.

Venba

Venba is an indie game about an immigrant Indian mother and her family. While the focus is on the story of the family immigrating to Canada in the '80s, it also involves learning about South Indian cuisine and preparing dishes like Biriyanis, Idlis, and Dosas. The game is described as short and sweet, taking under two hours to complete.

Battle Chef Brigade

This anime cooking game involves hunting and catching ingredients, then taking them back to the kitchen to prepare dishes. It combines 2D brawler combat and a match 3-inspired cooking puzzler. It includes a single-player campaign and local multiplayer, with various challenges and modes to keep the game fresh.

Double Cheeseburger, Medium Fries

This is a free short game where you play as a bunny girl fry cook who's been short-staffed. The preparation of food involves a Wario-ware-style mechanic.

While these games do involve actual cooking, it's important to note that many cooking games tend to blend cooking and management elements to varying degrees. You may find that adjusting the difficulty settings in some games can shift the focus more towards cooking, as is the case with Cook, Serve, Delicious!

Cooking games with management elements

There are several cooking games on Steam with management elements. Here are some examples:

Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game

This game focuses on management and allows you to create your own chef and design your eatery. You can unlock skills and develop your menu as you progress. It is challenging, but the results are worth it.

Cooking Dash

A time and restaurant management game with a fun story campaign delivered as comic strips. Cooking Dash has an old-school animation style and satisfying level design. The game gets more challenging as you progress but remains relaxing.

Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!

The third instalment in the popular cooking game series sees you travelling in a food truck to participate in the National Foodtruck Championships. The game features a chill mode, which removes any time limits and lets you cook at your own pace.

Espresso Tycoon

This coffee shop simulator is one of the more popular cooking titles on Steam. It combines management with the creation of colourful and delicious concoctions. Espresso Tycoon has received rave reviews since its release in 2023 and has a free Steam demo.

Cooking Simulator

This first-person cooking game lets you prep, slice, and dice in a top-of-the-range kitchen. The career mode enables you to grow your reputation and unlock new ingredients and recipes. The sandbox mode gives you access to all recipes and ingredients without any pressure. The game is physics-based, adding tension to even basic tasks.

Relaxing cooking games

There are a variety of cooking games available on Steam that can offer a relaxing experience for players. One such game is "Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3!?", which is the third instalment of a popular cooking game series. In this game, you travel in your food truck to participate in the National Foodtruck Championships, focusing on street foods like ramen, Cuban sandwiches, and poutine. The game features a "chill mode" that removes any time limits, allowing you to cook at your own pace, making it a relaxing experience.

Another option is "Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly", a game about owning a coffee shop in an alternate reality populated by mythical beings. In this game, you listen to your patrons' conversations and lend them an ear as you craft the ultimate beverage based on their drink preferences and personalities. It's described as "cute" and "low-effort", making it a relaxing choice.

"Cooking Dash" is also worth considering if you're looking for a relaxing cooking game. It's a time and restaurant management game with a lighthearted story campaign delivered through comic strips. While it does increase in difficulty as you progress, it's designed to be a game you can "switch off to" and relax.

Lastly, "Cooking Simulator" might be a good choice if you're looking for a blend of relaxation and realism. This first-person cooking game lets you prep, slice, and dice in a top-of-the-line kitchen. While it has a career mode that challenges you to grow your reputation and unlock new ingredients, it also offers a sandbox mode where you can access all recipes and ingredients without any pressure. The game features realistic physics, allowing you to experiment with various cooking techniques and equipment.

Stressful cooking games

Steam offers a variety of cooking games, some of which can be quite stressful. Here are some examples:

Overcooked! Series

The Overcooked! games are local/couch co-op cooking games with cute graphics that may seem deceptively easy. However, they can be extremely stressful due to the constant time pressure, overflow of orders, and inconveniently positioned prepping, cooking, and dishwashing stations. The moving kitchen counters can also throw off your strategy, making it a true test of your wits and teamwork abilities. If you're looking for a challenging and fast-paced cooking game, Overcooked! will certainly keep you on your toes.

Cooking Simulator

Cooking Simulator is a first-person cooking game that aims to provide an authentic kitchen experience. It can be frustrating due to its precision controls, which can make even simple tasks like dumping sliced potatoes into a fryer incredibly challenging. The game also features a wide range of appliances and utensils that can break at any moment, adding to the stress and chaos. If you want a game that mimics the real-life frustrations of cooking, Cooking Simulator will deliver.

Cook, Serve, Delicious! Series

The Cook, Serve, Delicious! games are fast-paced and can be stressful due to their time-based gameplay. However, the third installment of the series, "Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!", introduces a chill mode that removes time limits, allowing players to cook at their own pace. This option makes the game more relaxing while still offering the challenging gameplay that the series is known for.

PlateUp!

PlateUp! is a restaurant game that tasks players with balancing serving, cooking, and cleaning to maintain perfect performance. It can be stressful as mistakes can lead to your establishment getting shut down. However, PlateUp! offers the freedom to rearrange and upgrade equipment, encouraging players to optimize their kitchen layout for more efficient gameplay.

Bakery Simulator

Bakery Simulator is a semi-realistic game that puts you in the role of a baker. While it may seem relaxing at first, the game can become stressful due to its challenging mini-games and the need to constantly upgrade your equipment to keep up with customer demands. If you're looking for a game that combines cozy baking with a touch of pressure, Bakery Simulator might be the right blend.

These games offer a mix of cooking and management mechanics, providing a challenging and engaging experience for players who enjoy the thrill of a busy kitchen. While they may induce some stress, they also offer a sense of accomplishment when you master their mechanics and achieve success in the virtual culinary world.

Free cooking games

There are several free cooking games available on Steam. One-Armed Cook is a hilarious low-poly co-op game that challenges you to run a restaurant with just one arm. It's colourful, chaotic, and cursed, but it's also a brilliant game to play alone or with friends. You can also purchase reasonably priced DLCs to run a bar or make food in space.

Another free cooking game is Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story. In this game, you help a Yordle restore their portal power by throwing parties, cooking and selling food, and crafting items for island inhabitants. You build a set of farms, harvest the crops, and use them to create dishes for your guests to enjoy.

Cooking Simulator is another free-to-play game on Steam. In this game, you take control of a highly polished, realistic kitchen equipped with various utensils and stands. You can unlock and master over 80 recipes or use dozens of lifelike ingredients to cook whatever you like. The game features two modes: Career and Sandbox. In Career mode, you play a culinary journey, starting from the basics and gradually unlocking new, more complex dishes as your fame and experience grow. In Sandbox mode, you have access to all the recipes and ingredients without any pressure to cook.

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