Monster Cuisine is set to release sometime in 2027, and Team Machavelli was nice enough to let me in on a current playtest. Please realize that everything I am about to say and describe is subject to change and is far from being finished. With that being said, the playtest does leave me with a lot to be excited about.
The game starts with you dropping a ton of money (apparently) to buy a franchise so you can sell monsters as food, or so you thought. Turns out it is just regular food named after monsters. Beef sold as minitour legs, if you will. This does not sit well with our hero, though he hilariously plays it off as if he were joking.
The game manages to take itself both seriously and not seriously at the same time in this regard. You will quickly find yourself going out on hunting trips, and this is where I found the game was at its best. The combat is fluid and feels pretty nice. I never felt like I was fighting against the mouse or keyboard, and this is big for me because I prefer a controller.
The next stage is cooking up the critters you kill. This is done in stages, and it is pretty in-depth. It isn’t as simple as tossing a goblin on the grill and feeding people. You will be following a recipe book, cutting and crushing things, etc. This isn’t hard, but I do think it needs a little work to be more intuitive at times. If there is a weak link in the gameplay, this is it. However, if this is the weak link, we are still getting a damn good game.
Finally, your next step is to open your tavern. This may actually be my favorite part because you get to actually run the tavern. You will be pouring drinks and making food to fulfil orders, for example, and the controls to do so work well and aren’t needlessly complicated. It is also a nice touch being able to watch your sprite just slide stuff down the bar like he is in a movie or something.
Obviously, I won’t be giving Monster Cuisine a score since this was only a play test. This one still has plenty of time to cook with a 2027 release date on the horizon, but an action RPG that lets you hunt monsters to craft new weapons and armor, create food, and run a business that functions this well in playtest is worth waiting for. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
- Monster Cuisine Steam Play Test Thoughts
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