Creature Kitchen Review

Since my wife and I look for upcoming games every week, it has become progressively easier to come across all sorts of cool titles that would've otherwise gone under our radar! A perfect example of this is Creature Kitchen — a new game that mixes cosy with an eerie environment.

Developed and published by The Rat Zone, Creature Kitchen is a creepy but cosy cooking simulator where players will spend their time exploring a small cabin and a bit of the woods around it. In these spooky areas, they will find various recipes hidden and many puzzles to get even more.

There is so much I loved about Creature Kitchen that it's tough to know what to gush about first, as The Rat Zone created a special experience by nailing a unique sweet spot between anxiety-inducing and relaxing. But I digress!

Creature Kitchen drops the player straight into business with a short manual that explains how to use the appliances. In total, there are four, three of which offer no-pressure cooking mini-games and a magical oven that creates all sorts of meals by just adding ingredients. The ingredients can be found by foraging in the nearby forest area, and they're added to the pantry for ease of access once found (though I still went out to "canonically" find fresh mushrooms).

With every new recipe found, players can create new dishes. These will be packed up as a lunch and can be yeeted at the numerous creatures found on the property! Once they get fed with food they like three times, they'll drop a key to unlock a new part of the house.

This is where the puzzle element comes in, and The Rat Zone allows players to get clues guilt-free by snapping a picture of the creatures to unlock information about what they want. I decided to try my hand at figuring it out on my own and snapping the picture once I was done as a trophy, but I did have to rely on the hints towards the end.

The game isn't long, taking but a handful of hours to complete. I loved it so much that I extended it to nearly 10 by getting all the achievements, which was fun to do. There's a variety of silly ones that encourage exploration, and none of them feel grindy or annoying.

Creature Kitchen does have a story, but it went over my head despite trying to understand it. It's not very prevalent, and it spans throughout various notes that can be found (as well as some interesting, and sometimes downright creepy, easter eggs). This doesn't hinder the experience at all because the main focus is on the gameplay and puzzles.

Although the playable area isn’t too large the places have a nice variety to them, especially the rooms inside the house! As the creatures get fed and more opens up, additional recipes and ingredients are found, but — more excitingly — we also get access to more things to feed.

I am elated to have found the developer and the game because I had such a wonderful experience, whether I was laughing when I would get jumpscared out of my own anxiety (and stupidity) or racking my brain trying to figure out what each of my prospective customers wanted for dinner.

If my gushing of the game hasn't sold you on it yet, then I at least recommend you try out the free demo on Steam— it does a fantastic job at showcasing what makes it so special.

Creature Kitchen is out now on Steam!