If you like FNAF UCN then you will love this game

I went into this game expecting something like another short indie horror game, and ended up that has its personality bursting at the seams even with familiar "horror cooking" gameplay and some familiar faces. It's obvious this game had a ton of love and thought poured into it that punches above its price tag. The game distinguishes itself as a unique and very fun game that's capable of holding attention for a long while.

There are scares and there is tension caused by some creatures, but I would not call this a horror game per se. This is a STRESS simulator, but in a genuinely fun way. The game wisely does not rely on its horror elements as its main appeal, as repetition and horror generally do not mix well. Even if the fright turns into annoyance, that plays into the stress simulation part of the game and it feels natural, not something to actually complain about. There was a monster that I started off being very amused by, only to be screaming and cursing at as I frantically tried to fill orders while it continued its hijinks.

Apart from the stress, the game is incredibly charming and very funny. The newspapers are hilarious and there is a clear self-awareness by the developer of the absurdity of it all. The way the game doesn't take itself too seriously adds a lot. The core gameplay loop is very satisfying and I enjoyed taking and serving the orders every day. Nothing is scripted to happen such as monster attacks and specific orders, which helps when a day needs to be replayed.

Even though a standard playthrough may take ~5-7 hours, the game has a veritable truckload of variety in upgrades, environments, and enemies that try to make your life as a food truck cook a living Hell. I was very surprised that each main environment actually had a special zone that was distinct from the rest of the environment and offered its own experience.

(Spoiler for a fun joke/some tension about halfway through the game) Although it is a time management game, there is no timer to complete a campaign. There is a series of newspapers that certainly lead to to think as much, but it's a joke (and boy did that get me good). I think may games suffer by trying to rush the player through it in order to add tension, but that often results in players being forced to skip content without even realizing it. Fortunately, this game does not rush the player through the campaign, but giving the illusion that it does on the first playthrough is a very clever way to do it. Being able to freeplay after winning is very nice, too.

The latest addition of custom nights is very welcome. It's great to see fun additions like that still being made. Big props to the developer.

- The game's biggest weakness is a lack of clarity: The tutorial does not cover everything. Where do expenses come from? What do upgrades do, exactly? What exactly is the bar for the letter grades, and can my performance be broken down better? Some upgrades feel practically useless, occasionally a hindrance, and all this became extremely frustrating.
- The second biggest comes from irritations with clicking, such as clicks not appearing like they registered and/or missing your target without realizing. I'd recommend expanding some of the click radiuses for some objects to make it more reliable since it's the main thing a player will be doing in the game.
- Tied for second is the feeling of unfairness that can sometimes pop up. This is somewhat inherent to the type of game, and I think it is minimized, but there are times where the luck of the draw can really hurt you. Remember how Five Nights At Freddy's has the custom night, and to win 20/20/20/20 mode you had to be good AND lucky? Similar mechanics here (not as hard as 20/20/20/20, of course), as it appears that monsters have "weights" to how much they appear, and some of these monsters all but stop you from being able to access parts of your truck that you need. Not to mention that you can get flat out unlucky with things happening to you simultaneously. All this said, I think the developer did the best they could to minimize the impact of this since there is no way to stop it without making everything scripted which would kill the game's ability to be replayed on a per-night and new game basis.
- The upgrade tree has some room for improvement. It needs to be rebalanced in a few ways: Some upgrades should have their places swapped, some have their prices changed, and perhaps the tree itself could expanded a little, even if that means splitting existing upgrades into two smaller parts.
- Finally, there needs to be a colorblind mode, because it is almost impossible for me to identify feral customers by their red eyes.

Got hooked on the demo. Im usually one to wait for a sale, but $10 is worth it.
Ultimate parent simulator. Having to multitask multiple things why trying to prevent one of the monsters from killing you. Also plays very smoothly on the Deck, even though cleaning the grill can be a little difficult.