Publication date April 20, 2022

If you are a fan of cooking games, this is a MUST-READ for you!

Everyone must eat in order to survive, and eating is a source of genuine enjoyment for the majority of people. Cooking has always been a popular theme in popular culture, and there are a plethora of food-related television shows that draw large audiences. At its peak, Hell's Kitchen had a regular audience of approximately 12 million viewers.

Food and cooking themes have, unsurprisingly, been popular in video games. The games come in all forms and sizes, belonging to various genres, and cater to a wide range of gamers. Over the years, certain cooking-themed games have been huge successes. But, are they still as popular as they once were?

Over the years, there have been a number of hugely popular and lucrative cooking and food-themed games, with some of them making their creators extremely wealthy. Candy Crush from King is at the top of the list when it comes to turning a food concept into a profitable puzzle game. Despite the fact that the game isn't really about cooking, it does feature culinary themes like sweets, ice cream, and soda. The addictive smartphone game was introduced in 2012 and has been downloaded over 2.7 billion times since then. Many additional games that use a similar gameplay idea with an almost endless number of levels have been influenced by it.

Fruit Ninja is a popular smartphone game that has a vast player base. Halfbrick's game was one of the first-ever addicting games in the smartphone era, with three million downloads within five months after its introduction in 2010. Fruit Ninja encourages players to slash at various fruits as they appear on the screen in order to prevent them from falling. Though not strictly speaking a culinary game, this one may be classified as food preparation if you enjoy slicing your fruits and vegetables with a samurai sword.

Source: Wallpaper Cave

What are the Most Popular Genres?

Cooking themes may be seen in games of all genres, and they've been used to entice players in a variety of ways. Cooking simulation is one of the most popular genres, with roughly thirty titles available for various platforms.

The Nintendo Wii included a few cookery games that provided players with hours of entertainment. Cooking Mama is one of the most well-known franchises, with a number of successful games for Nintendo consoles and handhelds. Cooking Mama: Cook Off, released in 2007, was the Wii's first game. It was a sequel to the Nintendo DS game Cooking Mama, released in 2006. That year, the first release won IGN's "Best of E3" award, and the Wii games were also well-received. Players had to finish a series of mini-games in order to prepare dishes on the console version. Players might use the Wii controller to mimic real-life cooking methods such as cutting and stirring. In 2008, its sequel, Cooking Mama: World Kitchen was published, emphasizing the games' popularity.

Source: PlayStation Store

Cooking themes have also been popular in the online casino industry as well, particularly in slots. Fruit symbols appeared on the reels in Charles August Fey's first slot game, and subsequent versions have taken this concept a step further. Pizza sauce, pepperoni, anchovies, and other common pizza toppings are used as symbols on the reels in Wink Bingo's Pizza Palooza. Perhaps it's because food is so appealing that it's become a popular theme for games that aren't strictly about cooking. Another genre that uses food symbols but does not imitate the cooking process is mobile puzzle games. Candy Crush and Jelly Splash are two games that fall under this category.

Some mobile games put the user in charge of running their own restaurant, and they are classified as business simulation games. Restaurant Empire, developed by Enlight Software and released in 2003 for Microsoft Windows, was one of the most popular franchises in this genre. In 2009, Restaurant Empire II was released. Both games allowed players to design their own restaurants and restaurant chains, allowing them to choose what cuisine to sell and how they wanted their establishments to look.

How are newcomer games faring?

Cooking and food-themed games have a long and illustrious history, and they're still thriving today, with new releases garnering large crowds. In August of this year, Overcooked 2 was published for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, and it garnered positive critical acclaim akin to its massively popular predecessor. It has a Metacritic score of 83 out of 100, suggesting that it is a good successor. It adds new interactive stages, restaurant themes, chef costumes, and recipes to the original game.

Virtual reality could also enable players who enjoy culinary simulators to have a better time. There is currently an Oculus Rift game called The Cooking Game that allows users to create and cook a variety of dishes while also completing various objectives. This might be a terrific method for aspiring cooks to practice their talents in a safe environment as graphics and technology improve.

Cooking-themed games are expected to continue to draw large crowds, and they are unquestionably as popular as they always were. VR will play a significant role in advancing them, and people will soon be able to build the most complicated virtual cuisine possible.

Star Chef and Star Chef 2 from 99 Games are two popular cooking simulation games that allow users to explore multiple cuisines and level up with each round. It is immersive and responsive and gives users a real-time peek into the world of restaurants and professional cooking. To know more about it, please get in touch with us now.

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