The "restaurant" mini game is pretty well known at this point. It has been turned into full games with series like Diner Dash, it ruled the early 2000s with dozens of flash based games, and it has been featured as mini games in games like Tales of Vesperia. The rules of the game are pretty simple, listen to a customer's orders, go prepare the correct food, and bring it to them before they get angry and leave. It is simple, yet chaotic, gameplay, and can become very addicting very fast. However, the formula rarely changes from game to game, with only a handful out there putting enough spin on it to make the game worth playing.
Thankfully, Monster Meals is one of those games.
I'll admit I never heard of this game, nor did I realize it was releasing so soon! But when the developer of Monster Meals, and founder of Giant Warrior Studio, sent me an early review copy of the game I was intrigued. Here was a new title within the restaurant genre, that not only featured fun looking monster designs, but it was also a game that incorporated the idea of "being" a monster into the core gameplay. It was something... Unique! So I gracelessly accepted the game, and got to work. And what did I find? An addicting single player and co-op experience that I had a lot of fun with!
The Story:
Although Monster Meals does feature a "story" of sorts, it really isn't much more than a young monster realizing that he could cook animals to make their food taste even better. After coming to this realization, he and his friends build a food truck, and set out on the open road to share their new idea with the world! Along the way they slowly build up their business, and become the top cooks of the monster world! (Or, at least I'd like to think they became the best...)
Overall the story is what you make it out to be, as you and your real life friends step into the shoes of these little monsters. There are dozens of levels to tackle, and each one brings you a step closer to building the ultimate restaurant.
The Gameplay:
While many restaurant simulators tend to focus on memorization, Monster Meals instead relies on resource management, planning, and Muscle Memory.
When you first start a stage, a monster will sit down and tell you what he wants. It could be something as simple as a sliced up lizard on a plate, or he could want it cooked. So, as the chef, you must first let your little creatures out of their box, bash the one you need over the head, and then take it inside the food truck. From here you can walk it over to the chopping block and cut it up, and then place it on a plate to bring to the monster who requested it. It starts simple, and only takes a little bit of time to do, but these early steps become the fundamentals of something much more complex.
After the first stages, more and more mechanics are added on top. Instead of simply chopping something up, different ways of cooking and preparing the creatures come into play. A frying pan gets added early on, and even an oven option opens up before you leave the first set of stages. With these two new additions, not only do you need to go out and catch your food, but you need to have it cooking for an extended period of time, while also taking care of other matters.
One monster might want a baked bird, which you'll need to catch by throwing your weapon into the sky to hit one flying overhead, while another might want the fried scorpion, and the third just wants a chopped lizard. This means you need to find the time to catch that bird, throw it in the oven, go grab a scorpion to chop up and throw into the frying pan, and then chop up a lizard before the monster gets mad. The others take time to cook, so the sooner you get them in, the better! However, it also goes by a monster turn order, where ones who get their first might want their food sooner, or they might be more understanding and actually be more patient. This means you need to plan your meals out to be as fast and effective as possible, so you don't get a monster their food too late. Maybe that chopped lizard is faster and needs to be taken care of first? That's up to you!
As you progress through the game, additional cooking options and counter space begins to open up. You can store multiple "ingredients" on these counters for quick access, but dead creatures will also remain on the ground for a period of time. There is also a cool down from the time you release creatures, until you can do so again, so it is best to make use of what you have while you have it. If you open the box and release multiple lizards, but you then only use one of them, you are going to have to wait awhile before you can get more. If a monster asks for fried lizard? You're out of luck, and will be hurting for time.
Eventually the same creatures you harvest for food will attack the customers, and unhappy customers will destroy property and come after you as well. This not only takes money away from you for repairs, but slows you down and wastes what little time you have. It gets even more complicated when monsters start requesting sandwiches, and condiments be placed on their food; which is created by putting creatures into the condiment dispenser! You do not have the time to throw away, and failing to complete an order will be doing just that.
Thankfully all of these mechanics are introduced on a stage by stage basis, and that gives you time to get used to the craziness. Eventually your food truck expands in size, with more options, and eventually leads to a full sized restaurant. By this point however, the gameplay loop is second nature, and not as overwhelming as it might seem. Although, that's not to say the game doesn't get crazy hard.
Like many other games of this style, Monster Meals runs on a ranking system of there stars. Each "section" of the game has multiple levels under it, and you will earn a ranking based on how well you do. Ideally you want to hit the three star ranking on each, but that becomes more and more challenging as the game goes on. Stages themselves have a time limit so it isn't a simple matter of just failing the stage, but also completing it fast and effectively. Simply surviving the food rush doesn't ensure a three start rating, but earlier on the game is much more forgiving.
Although the game can be completely finished playing single player, the option of playing co-op makes things a little easier. With two players, both can work together to divide and conquer. While one player is dealing with cooking, the other could be taking orders, gathering resources, taking the food to the customers. On the other hand, the craziness of the game could also mean players constantly switching roles as they run back and forth taking care of whatever it is that needs done. Thankfully there is a "dash" button to make you move faster, but sometimes even that might not feel like it is enough!
In the end, the hectic gameplay can be a blast to play both solo and with friends, and you can even customize your monster's look, color, hat, and "weapon" to give them your own unique flair.
Should you play it?
Monster Meals surprised me, and hooked me with its unique twist on the whole restaurant simulation genre. Some of this was familiar to me, but actually going out to hunt food while managing the kitchen was a completely new concept to me! At first it was a bit overwhelming, as I've usually failed at memorizing in these types of games, but the game slowly eased me in and gave me the tools I needed to actually succeed.
I really enjoyed the management aspect, with less memorizing, and the charming style of the monsters made it visually appealing as well. Instead of being stressed from being overwhelmed with orders, I instead laughed at the craziness and kept trying my best! When I threw my fork at a bird and missed, I didn't give up but instead ran over to pick it up and tried again. Did my customers get angry at me being slow? Sure! Did I care? Nope.
Ultimately I feel like Monster Meals is a great, yet simple, "just for fun" and "party game" to return to from time to time. This isn't something you will spend hundreds of hours playing, unless you are a perfectionist, but even then it is a perfect game to play in short bursts. Similar to addicting flash games of the late 90s and early 2000s, or the mobile games of today, it is one that challenges you to shoot for the high score, while also encouraging you to try again. It isn't a game to get upset over; that's for the monsters you failed to feed.
So yes. I'd for sure recommend Monster Meals to anyone who enjoys this type of game. It doesn't fully reinvent the wheel, but it does enough to stay fresh. It is packed full of content, and the addition of a co-op mode is a really nice touch. It is simply a fun game, and that's all it really needed to be!
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