While Cook, Serve, Delicious! was already one of my favourite games, small things about it left me wanting more. The food options were very limited, there was little variation between days, and progression boiled down to how many days you completed rather than your skill. Despite that, CSD! is so unique that it's hard to find other games like it.

I was incredibly hyped for Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! prior to release, but was put off by the changes to the formula. Recipes couldn't be carried out rapid-fire if you remembered the keys, you had to press a key to go to the next page of steps. The menus and level select were obtuse to the point where I had to click blindly to navigate. The preset menus of the restaurants were brilliant as scripted level sequences, but made it difficult to justify working in my own restaurant when that contract work felt like the 'real game'. Unlocking new foods felt incredibly slow. Serving more customers faster than ever was problematised by the need to still hit specific keys to start and serve orders, and that speed made slip ups way more common. The continuation of chores didn't mesh with the new rapidity. Customising the restaurant was cool but I was also inundated with cosmetic unlocks I didn't feel like using because, again, I didn't feel compelled to work in my own restaurant. I return to CSD frequently, but CSD2 felt like experiencing Icarus flying too close to the sun.

When I saw Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! was in Early Access I was delighted but hesitant to give it a shot having been disappointed before, but it has already surpassed both CSD2 and CSD in terms of quality - Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! has become my favourite game. The story is not on the same level as the likes of LISA or Disco Elysium, though it is serviceable and interesting (I definitely did some Wiki deepdiving to find out about The Blue War and what happened to Japan). The voice acting isn't going to win an award at the TGAs but it's cute and I still love the hums the customers make. I was surprised to find that the soundtrack was composed by the same artist as the previous games since the step up in production and general quality is incredible. CSD and CSD2 had good soundtracks to be sure, but CSD3 has bops that are stuck in my head and occupy my Spotify playlists.

The design of CSD3's gameplay is virtually without flaw, retaining the best aspects of the previous installments with its own important and unique additions.

Chores are completely gone (unless you count clearing your service stations due to rot or the level ending - gotta hear that satisfying ka-chunk) meaning my cooking rhythm isn't interrupted by mashing the arrow keys while patience rapidly ticks down.

The new Auto Serve key allows the breakneck speed of CSD2 without the heartbreak of accidentally pushing the key for something you just started cooking. You're saved from the potential hearing damage that everything going off at once would cause since it quickly 'scrolls' through the available dishes for an intensely satisfying series of chimes. And it doesn't save you from having to complete a dish, it simply helps push out things that would normally require a simple key press. It's small in theory but it goes a long way towards maintaining the 'flow' of CSD. Making some of the more complicated dishes was hard enough without having to hunt down dishes ready to go.

One still has to navigate through pages of ingredients as in CSD2, but the removal of side dish juggling and addition of Auto Serve makes this is less stressful. You can also change the colors of the page indicators!

Delicious ratings are less of a hassle to collect as they simply replace your Great ratings once you hit a certain combo of perfect dishes - no more worrying about having side dishes prepped in your incredibly important Holding Stations.

Chill mode still makes you feel incredible for doing well and serves as a good set of low-shame training wheels while you learn the game or try out new recipes. For the first few regions of the game I stayed on Chill and didn't feel like I was 'wussing out' of the 'real' experience at all. Not getting Gold Medals (you're locked to Silver if you play on Chill) does mean some levels can't be accessed without playing on Standard at least a bit, but the plethora of levels means you can still progress through the story and the vast majority of the levels. Those tied behind Gold Medals are usually some of the hardest challenges in the game. The 'choose your own difficulty' manner of the CSD series' menu configurations means you could probably replicate similar circumstances on another level if you really wanted - I can't speak for how missing out on this small subset of content in an official capacity might feel for those unable to access it.

Unlike CSD and CSD2, it's not difficult to earn the game's currency, which means it's easy to unlock the foods you want, and it gets easier as you rack up more difficult and expensive foods. Decorations now serve as a sink for any remaining currency, though power players like myself barely have a dent put in our virtual wallets.

It's nice not having foods 'taken away' from you once you reach a certain point like in CSD, your access to food will remain. While each level presents certain menu categories, I assure you you'll be able to make Brownies again, whereas in CSD you will eventually make your last Corn Dog long before the game ends.

Upgrading your truck makes the game more manageable but also allows more difficult situations to be created through additional Holding/Prep Stations. For example, the upgrade which refreshes Holding Station freshness and gives you back some servings for finishing a stop lets you focus more on special orders but also incentivises more 'aggressive' play.

The food truck is absolutely genius when it comes to game pacing. In CSD you had slow periods, quite frankly, all the time, even with 100% buzz. The food truck contrastingly has you constantly cooking. Special Orders come in a constant, steady stream between stops, and your Holding Stations always feel like they could be better optimised if you do have a gap between Special Orders. The routes (but not the days for the route) always have the same number of customers across all their days, and they share the number of stops and the distance. If you obsess over replaying the levels like I do, you'll start to remember how things will be spaced out so you can plan better.

The food truck attacks start as minor inconveniences but by mid-to-late game they provide exhilarating challenges. Losing a holding station or two is one thing, losing all the contents of them is another. Not seeing upcoming Holding Station orders isn't the end of the world, not seeing what any of your orders are ensures you have a good grasp of your menu. The endgame attack which removes your upgrades is brutal but incredibly fun..

There are so many other little things that have me in love with CSD3. The food (carried over in part from CSD2) looks incredibly appetising yet still stylised. The accessibility options alleviate the concerns I had about the food truck moving causing motion sickness - you can have things be perfectly still. The sounds that accompany food prep are like little rushes of dopamine. While the writing is mostly farcical fiction, I've still learned so much about food I didn't even know existed. Adding on the little modifiers and challenges as well as mixing up the menu options really makes every level feel fresh. It's also possible to mute the police sirens and gunfire now, a minor but important option given the zeitgeist of mid-2020.

David Galindo hopefully hasn't peaked with this entry, but if he has it's a magnificent apex.

It's not "fun" in the traditional sense, especially considering I spend 11 hours a day cooking in a professional kitchen. Yes, I do want to die - but it makes sense CSD3 is kind of like the-best-of-times-and-the-worst-of-times, the pain-and-pleasure combined, just like working in the actual culinary industry. IDK, there's a lot of effort that was put into this beast. The food items all look rad, and there's a really surprisingly huge amount of lore around this world's food history. It can be a little overwhelming at times, especially if you get a bit too ambitious with your menu items. Getting crushed during service feels bad IRL and digitally, I think the game might trigger some PTSD in me. Sometimes I start playing then immediately quit after screwing up. I've made almost no progress even though I've owned it for a while, but I feel like this game and I are in for the long haul, and I will be back to take nibbles and bites until, someday, I chew and swallow the whole campaign. Also, never work in the culinary industry, unless you like being poor and consistently surrounded by mentally unstable and unhappy people. Or do, I don't really care... yes I do, just kidding, chase your happiness and light - peace and love to all. <3

CSD2 is really good, but it doesn't hold a candle to this game. It is so, so much fun.

If you like the gameplay of CSD2, you should get this game.
If you want the menu choices of CSD1 without the complexity of boosters and detractors, get this game.
If you got burnt out by CSD2 because it doesn't introduce any new mechanics, you should get this game.
If you like games that force you to focus, get this game.
If the phrase 'post-apocalyptic cooking simulator' is boring to you, then there's something wrong with you. Also you should still get this game.

　Additional information:


🍔　Pad works fine but KB+M is a lot more fun imho.

🍟　Highly addictive (→ "just one more round"-effect)　


🍒　I highly recommend to play CSD & CSD 2 first!



　Information for CSD veterans:


🍜　Features all CSD & CSD 2 recipes.

🥧　80 new entries in the food catalogue.


🍋　Gameplay innovations and changes:

　 •　changing shift lengths and schedules
　 •　no more cleaning chores or robberies
　 •　useful helper robots for easier serving
　 •　holding stations contain entire orders
　 •　enemies can disable holding stations
　 •　zen mode is now featured as difficulty



Tested with:

2.560 x 1.440 @ 60 FPS
Low, Medium, High, Ultra

Windows 10 Professsional 64-bit
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (12 x 3.80 GHz)
Asus RX 5700 XT (8 GB GDDR6, PCIe 4.0)
32 GB DDR4-3200 RAM; NVMe M.2 SSD
Xbox 360, Xbox One & PS4 controller(s)


If you found this review helpful, feel free to check out my...

⭐ Curator page | 👪 Steam group | 👾 Discord[discord.gg]

Easily the best Cook, Serve, Delicious game yet. The developers have outdone themselves this time.

Full video review: https://youtu.be/E4N4Lxz_mQA

+ Gives you lots of control over your own difficulty level while also pushing you to try new things
+ Fast-paced gameplay with the same challenge that CSD games are famous for, but with a new flow
+ The whole process is streamlined - no more chores, and a "serve all" button which is already my new favorite thing
+ The visuals and writing are spectacular, and the music is astoundingly good
+ The setting and story, only hinted at in CSD2, are now front and center, both funny and thought-provoking
+ Upgrades are back, which also adjust the difficulty level in different ways, but now they can be toggled on and off (even the extra prep stations), giving you more control than ever

I have yet to find anything I dislike about CSD3, which is truly amazing, because I've tried.

To old fans: if like me you were disappointed by the second game then don't worry, this third instalment brings back the sense of gradual progress from CSD 1 (upgrades that make your life easier, food categorised by kind and difficulty) while keeping the improvements from CSD 2 (holding stations, mouthwatering food illustrations).

And on top of that, CSD 3 furter improves by having a really banging soundtrack, cute voiceovers that fit the equally cute new storyline, and a frankly staggering amount of content! There are 300+ stages, some of which have their own rules and some of which have the whole menu available, and of course the Iron Chef tournament. As of this writing I've been playing for 17 hours and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface, so you're definitely going to get your money's worth.

To newcomers: this cooking game may look deceptively casual (after all all you need to do is just press the right keys) but don't be fooled, this game is challenging. It's going to test your reflexes, your focus, your speed and hand-eye coordination... it's going to stress you, put you under surprisingly potent pressure... frankly I can't even explain why it's so fun, but it really is, and the accomplishment you feel after doing perfect runs is supremely satisfying. If you like it when videogames push you to your limits then this is the game for you, unlikely as it looks.

Of course if you want a more calm approach you can play on Chill Mode, where customers have infinite patience and you can take your time cooking perfect, pretty meals. If you're new to the series this mode is especially helpful while you learn the ropes and gain your bearings... BUT I really do recommend playing on Standard Mode eventually, cause personally I feel that's the most fun (well, "fun" in a vaguely masochistic way I suppose) to play. Look, it's just not a Cook Serve Delicious game unless your fingers are flying all over your keyboard and you're sweating bullets while trying to do a million things at once!!

Bottom line is, this is a quality game that was obviously made with a lot of love and care, and whether you're a old fan or new it's going to be worth your time and money.

If you liked CSD 1 but didn't like 2 then 3 is the game you want.

PROS:
-You control the difficulty
-Fun panick gameplay or chill fam...
-Robot Waifu helpers
-Progression with upgrades n stuff
-Great story to look forward to in a few decades!
-THE MUSIC IS GODLIKE OH MY GAWD I NEED BETTER HEADPHONES TO HEAR IT BETTER
-Food art is tasty
-Tacos n Pizza, and like over other 200 foods lol wth

CONS:
-Avocado on poutine

I absolutely adored Cook, Serve, Delicious 1, way more than I thought I would, putting hours into it and refining my speed and precision to get to a 5 star restaurant and ace the Iron Chef tournament.

I instantly picked up the second game when it came out, which made lots of nice changes with a lot more detail, tons and tons of content, and more importantly more food, but I felt it stepped back a little having almost lost the idea of managing my own restaurant entirely, having the option to, but it mostly being pretty pointless, the main content being earning medals working at other restaurants you have no control over, I still hugely enjoyed it and would still recommend it, going super cheep very often, but I felt it lost that more personal touch...

CSD 3 on the other hand perfects this, and ironically was the one I was most concerned over having a totally different structure being on the road and even having to deal with rival restaurants shooting at you, but it in fact turned out to be everything I wanted and the perfect evolution to the series, having a genuinely good story and having tons of fun with the sillyness of the plot, but giving me control over my own, evolving, on the go restaurant, while still pushing me to constantly try new dishes in each district and tackle tough challenges that I can make even harder for more rewards.

The quality of life improvements such as upgrades you can toggle and having an option to quick serve makes this incredibly more fun and relieves an unnecessary element of stress the others had, accidentally serving in the heat of the moment and ruining a whole day (though there are still some foods you must time carefully!).
The music is also awesome and genuinely great on its own merits, and the food looks the best its ever been, as well as a clear, fashionable hud and animations.

This is a fantastic step in the right direction and if you are a fan of the others, I cannot recommend this enough!

In case you're not familiar with this lovely series, you may want to read through my reviews of the first and the second one before you continue reading.

At the start of Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! our chef loses his world class restaurant (again!) but instead of rebuilding (again!!) this time he fires up a food truck and go across war torn futuristic USA to attend an Iron Cook Foodtruck Championship. He is not alone in this endeavour, help robots Cleaver and Whisk are here to accompany our hero along the way, both awesomely voice acted.

Since we are not in a restaurant anymore, that means a slightly different approach to gameplay this time, but fear not, this is a CSD game all the way, maybe even the best one yet! You travel from state to state, choosing which way to take through each area and its sub-areas (or you just play every single one like I do). Every road taken is a single level where you have a number of stops to make and serve a good number of local populace at each one. Between the stops you'll be preparing food for holding stations and fulfilling special orders which in first part of the game appear only in between stops. Once you're past all the stops the day is done and you get a gold (perfect), silver (up to 8 mistakes total) or bronze (up to 15 BIG mistakes) medal.

The progress is done via YUM levels. After each day you earn money depending on how many foods you have served, multiplied by food complexity and the biggest combo of perfectly done orders in a row. When you accumulate enough money you get a DING and receive a single upgrade point each level. You spend money on acquiring new foods and upgrade points on improving various areas of your truck.

All foods from CSD1&2 are here and there are bunch of new ones as well. Learning and mastering them all is a great fun by itself and I URGE YOU to read the description of each food origin, these are the funniest moments in the game, written in astonishingly hilarious way. As for the food truck upgrades, they are done in a "research tree" manner and some upgrades can be turned on or off as you see fit. You'll definitely need them as the game progresses and levels become harder when modifiers like impatient customers, attacks from other food trucks, VIP orders etc. kick in.

Speaking of difficulty, CSD3 may be the easiest one in the series. Don't get me wrong, even though you still have to be super quick, precise and concentrated all the time if you want gold medals, getting silver medals is not that hard and I was mostly getting them on my first try. This is for the most part because of the addition of SERVE ALL button, which is of great help and practically eliminates those mistakes when you hit the wrong order key. Also, most importantly there are no more chores, hell yeah, hated those so much in the previous game(s)!

Visually the game is close to CSD2 and could be labeled as its slight upgrade. Soundtrack is definitely the best in the series with the main theme song being incredibly catchy. You'll probably be singing it in the shower, unconsciously or on purpose...that's your choice. xD

After more than 40h spent in game, I'm about 60% done and loving it every kilometer of the rubble-covered way. So far, I have only one teeny-tiny problem with the game. The orders can be somewhat hard to recognize when they have impatient/angry customer graphical effect on them. Can cause a tactical decision problem sometimes, that's all.

This is supposed to be the final installment of an awesome series, and if that's true the end is indeed one huge cake with a ton of cherries on top and we'll be eating it for a long time with absolute joy. :)