The game is good, but I have some thoughts about it...

[violaceus]

The game has a lot of potential! After being hooked on Stardew Valley for so long, I naturally started looking for similar games, and Chef RPG definitely brings a little slice of that magic. Since it’s still a recent release, a huge round of applause to the developers and the entire team—this game is truly sensational!

That said, I feel like something is missing. In terms of the premise, I sometimes feel a bit lost. Am I supposed to be a chef or a business owner? Honestly, I feel more like the latter. I can open my restaurant whenever I want—or even never—and that doesn’t seem to have a major impact on the game. I can earn income through other means, though with varying difficulty, but I don’t feel like I truly depend on the restaurant. In fact, I can ignore it entirely and only open it when absolutely necessary.

For a game centered around being a "Chef," I feel like the restaurant should be the heart of the experience—the main source of income, almost an obligation. If I don’t open it, my popularity should drop, my reputation should take a hit, and competitors should gain more visibility—something along those lines, like a Michelin star system. When I first heard about the game, I imagined it would focus on the restaurant as the central element.

Maybe it would be interesting if I could leave my restaurant in the hands of my team while I focus on missions and helping rebuild the city. Expanding to open more restaurants or food establishments could add depth. Training my staff to become more skilled, creating a menu that either harmonizes well or backfires and affects my restaurant’s performance—things like that could make the experience more immersive.

The fact that I can open and close the restaurant whenever I want, yet I can’t leave once it’s open, feels a bit limiting. In the end, I feel more like a business owner than a chef, yet I’m still forced into playing the role of a chef. The minigames are fun, but whether I engage with them or not doesn’t seem to matter much. I can open the restaurant and just watch, help out occasionally, or do nothing at all. A couple of customers might complain, but in the end, their response is mostly just “okay.”

Maybe I’m overly focused on the chef aspect, but it feels like the restaurant is just a starting point rather than the main focus of the game.

On another note, gathering and hunting in the city provide so many resources that I rarely feel the need to buy ingredients from vendors. I can make a decent income just by selling what I collect. But then again, that’s not really supposed to be the core of the game—the whole idea is about being a chef. And yet, here we are again: the restaurant feels secondary.

If the game intends to let me take a more business-oriented approach, then I’d love for that to be made clearer. That path could actually be more engaging than playing as a chef who barely interacts with the kitchen. There are a lot of fantastic ideas here, but they sometimes feel lost in the bigger picture.

And getting those power cells? Easily the toughest challenge so far!

The game is gorgeous, well-crafted, and has so much potential, but these details keep me from fully loving it and make it hard to stay engaged as much as I’d like.

Also, more language options besides English would be a great addition!

[Nick Dipples]

I agree the restaurant should be open almost every day. Maybe you still have to pay salaries even if you're not open? Would incentivise you to make money every day. Just hoping for more restaurant customization, depth of food and dishes, specials, seasonals, etc.

[samdvds]

I agree with some of these sentiments, though having watched a ton of cooking shows/ documentaries on well known chefs, the "Head Chef" title is functionally more of a business owner than a line cook. They deal more with hiring/ training staff and setting menu/ ordering stock etc. The difference is if a business owner just wants to throw money at owning a restaurant, and hires the Head Chef to be lead in the kitchen. If the Head Chef owns the restaurant themselves, then they become more wrapped up in the business end and less cooking.