Cook, Serve, Forever – Is it delicious?

Cook, Serve, Forever has plenty of steaks, but few stakes.

At one point I’d have considered myself a connoisseur of the Cook, Serve, Delicious games, having played the first two to death and putting a modest amount of time into the third. The combination of menu selection and business management with insanely fast-paced quick time events cookery was engaging and intense in equal measure. So as soon as I heard we’d be getting Cook, Serve, Forever served up on a plate, I was more than a little interested. Whilst there’s some fun gameplay to be found here, there’s little connective tissue between previous games in the series and this new spin-off.

The first thing that struck me about Cook, Serve, Forever was that there was a plot, complete with visual novel style cutscenes. You play as Nori, a girl living in a down-on-its-luck town in the near future. Having been taught how to cook by her now late mother, she makes a living by concocting delicious street food for people in the community. Nori dreams of becoming a legendary cook like her idol Chef Rhubarb, and when she finds herself evicted, she and her partner Brie decide to move into the city of Helianthus to try to hit the big time. 

This shift in approach is quite jarring, but the plot is pleasant enough, albeit a little cliché. There’s little in the way of peril and everything feels very safe. That isn’t a bad thing as such, as a cosy game is lovely to have from time to time. You’ll meet an array of characters as Nori moves through the culinary world, all of whom are, similarly, lovely. A special mention must be made to the hilariously named private detective Keith Lorraine which had me laugh out loud when he introduced himself.

As you work through the game, you’ll need to serve food to delivery robots in a number of different locations. The actual locations mean very little and simply act as set dressing or allow for themed plot moments. In reality, you’ll be engaging in those same quick time event cooking games you’ll be used to if you’ve played any previous entry in the series. These are fun enough, and control really well. I normally prefer a keyboard for this sort of thing, but the left hand/right hand approach to cooking meant using an Xbox controller made things much more enjoyable.

For each recipe, you’ll have two sets of instructions on screen at once, one for your left and and one for your right. This means that if you have high levels of focus and dexterity, you can complete recipes twice as fast as you actively multitask your way through cooking. This felt quite satisfying to do, and once you’re in a rhythm you can bash out a recipe super quickly. What’s smart is that each recipe has similar cooking elements, meaning you won’t really be caught off guard when completing a certain recipe. Putting the lid on a sandwich is always the same, as is putting something in the oven. Because you are somewhat graded based on how quickly you finish each meal, this certainly helps you do things quicker.

The issue is the lack of actual stakes though. Sure, you’re graded on how quickly you complete a recipe, but if you do badly it doesn’t really have any consequence. You’ll finish stages with little difficulty, with only the chance to earn a sticker or holographic sticker for a level by fulfilling specific criteria such as few mistakes or lots of perfect meals. Even then I’m pretty sure I completed both objectives on every level I played on the first attempt. It’s very tame compared to the games that have come before. I recognise that this is a spin off and perhaps shouldn’t be judged on previous games in the series, but, equally, if you wear the name of a franchise, you’re going to be compared to it.

You don’t get to choose your recipes, earn money, or set up your restaurant, which removes any real sense of agency from Cook, Serve, Forever. You just do each recipe as it comes up and try to listen to the ancillary conversation between characters whilst you do so. At least there are Blitz stages and Cooking School that provide a challenge to complete recipes quickly and accurately to receive a medal or grade respectively. There isn’t really a purpose to these bits, but they are nice to have.

Nice is pretty much the best way to sum up Cook, Serve, Forever. There’s a nice, tame story, a nice, tame cooking themed set of quick time events, and a nice art style to enjoy. Maximum credit to the art style, as it really does look great. The colours really pop and some of the backgrounds are impressive to look at. Every character is fully voice acted to a high standard too, which is worth credit. If you want a nice, tame cooking game with quick time events, then this is pretty much your best option. If you’re a Cook, Serve, Delicious aficionado who wants more of the same, you may leave a little disappointed.

Cook, Serve, Forever is available now on PC.