20 Games Where Cooking Is A Core Mechanic

As a huge gaming fan, I’ve noticed cooking is everywhere these days! It’s not just about making a tasty dish anymore; it’s a core part of so many games – boosting your strength in a fight, keeping your energy up, managing your resources, or even just helping you level up. I’ve put together a list of twenty games where cooking is really important – not just a quick side thing you do. I’ll tell you how each game uses cooking, whether it’s a full kitchen, a simple campfire, or something else, and who made the game so you know what you’re getting into!

‘Overcooked’ (2016)

Overcooked 2 is a chaotic cooking game for up to four players where you work together to prepare and serve dishes against the clock. You’ll need to chop ingredients, cook food, and plate orders, but things get tricky with constantly changing kitchens and the risk of burning food or running out of time. Levels feature moving obstacles like trucks and conveyor belts, forcing players to carefully plan how they move and pass ingredients. The game is developed by Ghost Town Games and published by Team17, and it offers both local and online cooperative play depending on your gaming platform.

‘Overcooked! 2’ (2018)

The latest installment in the series introduces new features like throwing ingredients, moving obstacles in the kitchen, and online cooperative play, making it easier to work together. Players can now create a wider variety of dishes – including sushi, pasta, and dumplings – each with multiple preparation steps using different kitchen tools. Earning stars (from one to three) unlocks new levels, rewarding players for efficient teamwork and building long chains of successful actions. The game was created by Ghost Town Games and published by Team17.

‘Cooking Mama’ (2006)

The game features quick, simple cooking challenges where players perform actions like stirring, kneading, and chopping using motion or touch. Each recipe is split into small, timed steps, and how accurately you complete them impacts the final dish. As you get better, you unlock new tools and serving dishes. It was originally developed by Office Create (now Cooking Mama Limited) and published in different regions by Taito and Majesco Entertainment.

‘Stardew Valley’ (2016)

Once you upgrade your farmhouse, you’ll be able to cook! Cooking lets you make food that restores your health and energy, or even gives you temporary boosts to things like mining and speed. You can learn new recipes by watching the TV show ‘The Queen of Sauce,’ becoming friends with villagers, and winning rewards at festivals. To cook, you’ll need ingredients you get from farming, gathering, fishing, and your animals – so what you produce on your farm directly impacts what you can cook. The game was created by ConcernedApe.

‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ (2017)

In the game, Link can combine up to five ingredients in a cooking pot to make food and potions. These creations restore health, increase stamina, and provide boosts to things like defense and resistance. The effects of ingredients combine, so using several spicy items, for example, will extend how long Link is resistant to the cold. Cooking a dish perfectly can even grant extra hearts! Food doesn’t expire naturally; it only spoils due to environmental hazards like being frozen, making inventory management easier. Nintendo EPD developed the game, and Nintendo published it.

‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ (2023)

The latest update to the game makes cooking even easier! Recipe cards now automatically fill in the ingredients you need, and you can take portable cooking devices with you for preparing meals anywhere. New ingredients, including creatures from the sky and depths, add more variety to the buffs you can get from food. Once you’ve discovered a recipe, it will always turn out the same, and you can quickly duplicate meals you already know through the recipe log, which is perfect for stocking up before long adventures. The game was created by Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo.

‘Final Fantasy XV’ (2016)

Camping in the game lets you cook meals with Ignis, which give your whole team benefits like stronger attacks, better critical hit chances, and faster experience points. You learn new recipes by trying food at restaurants, finding ingredients while exploring, or getting inspiration from the world around you. Getting those ingredients requires you to hunt, fish, and gather, so doing those side activities directly rewards you with better food. Square Enix created and released the game.

‘Don’t Starve’ (2013)

Crock pots let you combine up to four ingredients, categorized as meat, vegetables, or sweeteners, to create enhanced dishes like Meatballs or Pierogi that provide better nutrition and fullness. Cooking in a crock pot also boosts the benefits of raw ingredients and reduces any negative mental effects from eating questionable foods. When ingredients are out of season, players need to actively gather, hunt, and preserve them using tools like ice boxes and drying racks. Klei Entertainment created and released this game.

‘Minecraft’ (2011)

You can cook raw food into more satisfying meals using furnaces and smokers, and bake treats like cakes and pumpkin pies at crafting tables. To get ingredients, you can farm crops like wheat, potatoes, and beetroot, go fishing, or raise animals. Enchantments and trading with villagers can also help you automate food production and get what you need. Mojang Studios created and released this game.

‘Spiritfarer’ (2020)

Cooking in this game lets you combine ingredients to create meals that impact your crew’s moods and help the story unfold. Each character has unique food preferences – favorites, things they like, and things they dislike – which unlock new story moments and keep them happy. You’ll gather ingredients by harvesting, fishing, and crafting, making cooking a key part of taking care of your crew. Thunder Lotus Games created and published the game.

‘Cook, Serve, Delicious!’ (2013)

In this game, you run a restaurant, creating menus, getting ingredients ready, and quickly fulfilling customer orders. Your menu choices impact your restaurant’s popularity, health inspections, and the daily challenges you face, so it’s important to change things up to keep the game interesting and manageable. You can also upgrade your kitchen with new appliances and recipes, which adds to the fast-paced action during busy times. The game was created and published by Vertigo Gaming.

‘Battle Chef Brigade’ (2017)

This game blends action-packed, side-scrolling monster hunts for ingredients with a unique cooking system. You solve puzzles by matching flavored gems to improve your dishes. Judges are looking for specific flavors, so you’ll need to choose ingredients and cooking combinations that meet their requirements. Each round requires you to balance hunting, preparing food, and plating it quickly and effectively. It was created by Trinket Studios and published by Adult Swim Games.

‘Valheim’ (2021)

Players can cook raw ingredients like game, fish, and crops into meals and drinks that fully restore health and stamina. The game features different meal slots to encourage trying a variety of foods, allowing players to customize their stats for things like exploring or fighting bosses. As you progress and gather resources like barley, flax, and honey, you’ll unlock new recipes. The game was created by Iron Gate Studio and published by Coffee Stain Publishing.

‘Monster Hunter: World’ (2018)

As a hunter, I’ve learned that eating at the canteen is huge. It gives you temporary boosts to your health, stamina, attack, and defense, but it depends on what ingredients the chef uses and how fresh they are. You can get more ingredients by gathering, fishing, and taking on optional bounties, which lets you customize your meals even more. And those vouchers? They help you activate those powerful meal skills! Seriously, the food can be tailored to help you resist certain elements or give you useful skills for really tough monsters. Oh, and Capcom made and released the whole game – they did a fantastic job!

‘PlateUp!’ (2022)

This game combines the fast-paced action of roguelites with the challenge of running a restaurant. You design your kitchen layout and connect appliances to create efficient cooking processes. You can unlock improvements like special counters that combine ingredients and portion food automatically. Between each day of service, you’ll buy cards to customize your menus, influence customer preferences, and upgrade your equipment, helping you build a long-term strategy. It was created by It’s Happening and published by Yogscast Games.

‘Disney Dreamlight Valley’ (2022)

This game features a five-star recipe system where cooking meals helps you complete quests, build friendships, restore energy, and earn money. You’ll gather ingredients by gardening, searching the environment, fishing, and shopping in different areas. Spending time with characters can also improve how much you harvest. The game keeps track of all the recipes you’ve learned, making it easy to cook your favorites again and again. It was created and published by Gameloft.

‘Venba’ (2023)

This game lets players learn to cook South Indian food by following easy, step-by-step instructions – like blending batter, steaming idlis, and expertly tempering spices. Players use family recipes and helpful hints to solve mini-puzzles centered around getting the flavors just right and cooking everything in the correct order. Each chapter introduces new recipes, techniques, and ingredients, and meals are key to moving the story forward. The game was created and published by Visai Games.

‘Rune Factory 4’ (2012)

Improve your kitchen and unlock new recipes for everything from desserts to main courses and drinks! You’ll learn to cook increasingly complex dishes as your skill grows. To create these meals, you’ll need to gather ingredients – grow them on your farm, find them in the wild, or even collect them from monsters! Cooking isn’t just about food, though – becoming a better chef lowers the resource costs for crafting and exploring the world. The game was created by Neverland and published by Marvelous (and Xseed Games in North America).

‘Cooking Simulator’ (2019)

This cooking game lets you experience a realistic kitchen, complete with accurate temperatures, physics, and timing for a wide variety of recipes. You’ll get to chop, season, fry, bake, and plate dishes, all while managing orders and trying to impress picky food critics. In career mode, you can unlock new ingredients, tools, and recipes as you build your reputation and keep your kitchen in top shape. The game was created by Big Cheese Studio and published by PlayWay.

‘The Long Dark’ (2017)

You can cook hunted animals and fish over campfires or stoves using pots. This also lets you boil water to make it safe to drink, and brew teas for warmth or to help you stay awake. Your cooking skill lowers the chance of burning food and affects how many calories you get from it. The time of day and weather also impact how safely you can prepare food. Be careful – cooking can attract dangerous animals, so think about where and when you cook while planning your travels. Hinterland Studio created and released this game.

Share your favorite cooking-centric games—and the dishes you swear by—in the comments!

2025-11-13 09:17