Whether it be sweet or savory, seeing images of food can make people hungry. The interaction with food adds an extra level to that hunger when added into games. There are plenty of video games out there that have snacks and meals as a side element to the game, such as stew and bread in Skyrim giving the player a bit of health or a special effect. But some games make desserts and meals an important part of the gameplay.
These can be games where the focus itself is on preparing and cooking recipes, or they can be games where the visuals are all based on ingredients and food. Either way, the look of some tasty games can make any person want to grab something to snack on while gaming.
6 Candy Crush Saga
Candy Crush Saga is free puzzle video game based on the browser game Candy Crush. Players swap board pieces to match three or more candies to remove them and have new candies fill those spots. The goal is to clear the board enough to move on to the next level, but with challenges such as time limits, fixed amounts of moves, or collecting enough specific colors.
Players can get special pieces or chain reactions between candies for things such as matching more than three candies or having one match connect another falling set in the same turn. This game has several episodes for tons of levels and gameplay.
5 Cookie Clicker
Cookie Clicker is an idle indie game with incremental progression and prestige options. Players click on a large cookie image to earn cookies, which are the currency of the game. These can be used to buy upgrades that produce more cookies per click, to purchase buildings that automatically produce cookies, and to make everything more efficient for production.
There are hundreds of achievements to unlock and these can give people options such as different colors of milk. There are even seasonal events that provide special upgrades and cookies. Players have the option of ascending and resetting their game from the beginning in exchange for buffs to all future runs. There is no ending to the game, so trying to prestige and gather achievements is the goal.
4 Pokemon Sword and Shield
PokemonSwordandSheild are RPG games with turn-based combat from the Pokemon franchise. Players control a young trainer who creates a team of Pokemon and fights gym leaders to try to eventually become League Champion. This game introduced mechanics such as dynamaxing, an open-world Wild Area, and cooking curry.
There are 151 unique curry recipes in the Currydex. Cooking curry requires players to pick ingredients, fan the flames, stir the pot, and add their hearts which makes the process immersive. Feeding Pokemon these foods can make them more friendly to you which gives them bugs such as more health before battle or a higher likelihood to resist fainting. In addition to cooking, there are several Pokemon based on foods. Examples of these include Cherubi, Vanillish, Alcremie, Exeggcute, Appletun, and Sinistea.
3 Cooking Simulator
Cooking Simulator is a cooking simulation game where players create dishes in a restaurant kitchen. From ovens and knives to blenders and griddles, chefs have access to tons of realistic cooking equipment. The kitchen comes equipped with over 140 lifelike ingredients to make more than 80 unique recipes. Players have access to anything from vegetables and meat to spices even.
The game has realistic physics to make it immersive, such as potatoes reacting to heat and meat needing to be flipped with precision. There's both a career mode where players can unlock perks and skills and a sandbox mode for cooking without any pressure. If players don't want to make dishes, they can also throw knives like darts and more.
2 Overcooked
Overcooked and its sequel are multiplayer indie time management games for up to four people. Players simulate being chefs and must work as a team to prepare, cook, and serve dishes. They can throw items across the kitchen and collide with one another, so communication is important. Players can create sushi, burgers, cake, soup, and more.
Along with new recipes, the stages in the game vary in both layout and challenges. Some levels have sliding counters or require players to navigate busy roads. Players need to multitask and focus on teamwork if they are to unlock new levels, new characters, and competitive challenge levels.
1 Cooking Mama
Cooking Mama is a video game franchise with many puzzle strategy games in the series. Players simulate being a chef and follow Mama's instructions to perform multiple kitchen tasks to complete meals. Each of these tasks is a mini-game that lasts only a few seconds and represents different meal preparation and cooking. They can include things such as boiling, mixing, and chopping various ingredients as well as plating the meal.
The cooking mini-games range from chopping items with parallel line cuts, following a rhythm when adding ingredients to a pan, or stopping a timer at just the right moment when baking. In the end, players are given a star rating on how pleased Mama is with their dish.