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Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! Preview – The Mad Max of Cooking Games (Early Access Preview)

boba shake cook serve delicious 3
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! Preview – The Mad Max of Cooking Games (Early Access Preview)
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Platforms: Windows PC, Steam

Game Name: Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!

Publisher: Vertigo Gaming, Inc.

Developer: Vertigo Gaming, Inc.

Genre: Simulation

Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! by Vertigo Gaming

Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! is the third entry in a well-established series of fast-paced restaurant simulation games. The series combines careful preparation and a rapid, often frantic, meal creation game where customers rack up quickly and ingredients must be swiftly combined to meet their wants.

Things have obviously escalated since we covered parts 1 and 2.

Were There Food Trucks in Mad Max?

This is all woven into a campaign spread across a future, post-war America. But don’t be fooled by the catastrophic context – this entry into the series is in fact a colorful tour of the world’s palates and culinary culture!

A short but effective tutorial gets things rolling, and it takes very little time to come to grips with the kitchen. My first impression of Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! was that it is boldly presented, both visually and audibly. The food, in particular, is superbly rendered, and this is definitely a game that will make you hungry fast.

Two main kinds of food are called for: one can be prepared in large batches in the background, while others require individual attention. Unlike the first installment that covered mostly fast food fare, now we are on a global scale and the menu is there to match it. You will find all sorts of delectable new cuisine from avocado poutine to boba shakes and everything in between.

This wonderful embellishment of international culinary delights is worth the cost of admission alone, but getting to them all may not be so easy, so read on!

Avocado Poutine - Cook Serve Delicious 3

Preparing dishes is a matter of hitting a series of commands in the desired order; on keyboard and mouse this can be handled using either interface option, with keyboard shortcuts being more efficient (Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! is gamepad-compatible as well, if that is your preference). I found the control system surprisingly easy to get to grips with, despite early concerns.

Mise-en-Place Apocalypse

Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 doesn’t wait long, however, before upping the challenge considerably. Recipes scale in complexity and each customer demands a different variation on each meal.

Moreover, customers are quick to lose patience in standard mode; meals must be prepared at speed, and it’s easy to slip up when moving at this pace.

If a more relaxing game appeals, then a “chilled” version can be played where customers will wait indefinitely for their food.

The game allows for a choice of available recipes before each run, and choosing a manageable set of options is essential. New, more complicated (and profitable), recipes can be purchased for coinage earned during runs.

The food truck from which you operate, too, can be upgraded with unlocked resources, improving various aspects of your operation adding another measure of detail and complexity.

Upgrade tree for Cook Serve Delicious 3

There is also an index of all recipes with some fun flavor text explaining their origins to peruse. All in all, there is plenty to explore between cooking sessions.

Pandemic Presentation and Plating

Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 is, at times, stunning to look at. There are some minor inconsistencies (customers and locations aren’t always quite up to par with the food), but each meal looks delicious enough to make me want to cook it for real.

The music, also, is superb; punchy, lighthearted tunes bounce along in the background of each cooking session, and the whole game manages to conjure a relaxed, upbeat vibe.

Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 is a solid sequel to its predecessors. The game is currently in Early Access, and many features are still incomplete, but even in its current form, there is a lot of fun to be had here.

From the planning stages to cooking up a storm on the road, Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 offers plenty of ways to perfect your culinary arts while admiring the visual splendor of your creations. For a fast-paced but still relaxing experience, Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! is definitely worth putting on the menu.

Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! is available via Steam Early Access, and will will fully release in Q2 2020 on Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

[xrr rating=”4/5″]

Watch the official trailer for Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! below: