Tag Archives: Creature Kitchen

I’m back for one more post about Creature Kitchen (The Rat Zone) because it left such an impression on me. In yesterday’s post, I mentioned how I really appreciate a short, curated experience that has a strong direction/vision. And cute animals. I can’t overstate how adorable these creatures are, and how much I enjoyed feeding them.

The beauty is in the simplicity. There were a few puzzles in the game, yes, but they always had a purpose (usually to give an ingredient and/or recipe). The devs made it really easy to follow along, and there was only one time I had to look somethinig up. I’m still not sure if what happened was a glitch or what the devs intended, but either way, it was no big deal. It would have been a big deal, of course, if it had blocked me from progressing, but it did not.

The music is great and really fits the theme, too. I’ve included another track on the OST below. It’s very atmospheric, and the track I included today is under a minute long. All the tracks are vibrant and evocative; I’m impressed by it as much as I am by most of the other aspects of the game.

I know I’ve said it before, but I love a game that has a vision and carries it out well. I’m much more forgiving of a small indie team that is dedicated to their game than I am to a huge AAA team that, well, it’s not fair to say they’re not dedicated to their game. I would bet they are dedicated as well. It’s just that those games aren’t as interesting to me*. The last AAA game I played was….I can’t even remember what it was. I think it might have been Ghost of Tsushima (Sucker Punch Productions) at the end of 2024. I gave it a 6.5/7, which is at least 2 points less than most people’s rating of it.

I know to keep my mouth shut when people are gushing about something. I may just say it’s not my style or my kind of _______, but i rarely go on at length about it unless asked. One time in the Discord I’m in, people were raving  about Pulp Fiction. I mentioned that I got dumped because of my opinion on it, and I said I’d leave it at that because I did not want to yuck anyone’s yum. One guy said it was one of his favorite movies, but he was curious to know my opinion. So I gave it to him. He said it was fascinating to read, and he thanked me for it.

With GTA VI, I just say it’s diplomatically not my kind of game and leave it at that. I watched Ian play a chunk of the fifth game on stream, and I hated everything about the game–especially Trevor. I don’t like pop culture that does not have a single redeemable character. I didn’t like Fallout 3, either, in a large part for that reason.

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I have been moaning about the glut of mediocre games on Steam in the last–well, several months if not years. Steam Next Fest has become a drag. I’m not saying there aren’t good games in the Steam Next Fest; I am saying that it’s really hard to find that gem. That’s why I depend on groups likke Wholesome Games to give me a heads up on what’s new in cozy gaming. In this case, they had a trailer for a game called Creature Kitchen (The Rat Zone). I have included it down below. I don’t usually go for the crunchy pixel look, but there was something endearing about this one. I don’t know what it is, but I was drawn in.

Then, I found out it was a cooking game, and I was sold. I didn’t even need to know the story or anything else. Me cooking for different animals*? Hell yeah! There was a demo, so of course, I installed it. I didn’t have much of an idea what to expect, so I went in with an open mind. I did love the fact that the game had an eighties feel to it. It’s in first person, but for whatever reason, my nausea remained at a very low level. It’s manageable, and I only had to take a break once.

I can’t overstate how charming the game is. And how it leads you gently from point to point. For the most part, I had no problem figuring out what I was supposed to do. Only once did I get stuck, and it was a glitch in the system. Meaning, it was a fault of the game–not anything I’d done.

By the way, my biggest complaint–and it’s not even that big–is just a bunch of small QOL issues. Such as it doesn’t constantly save, and you can’t auto-save. Which means that you can lose a small bit of gameplay. Like, a minute or so. It’s not great, but I’m also not too pressed about it.

Another small complaint–the frying pan mechanic is really frustrating. You have to cook a piece of food on one side for a few seconds before flipping it to cook the other side. Much like you have to do in real life, yes, but you have to flip it at a certain angle that is counterintuitive to me. And if you don’t do it just right, then it falls out of the pan and into the fire. And you have to cook it again. As someone who has awful dexterity in my fingers, this is agony to me. And it doesn’t add anything to the gameplay experience.

I sympathize with devs who want to include mundane activities, especially in a cozy cooking game, but–by the way. This has been called a creepy-looking cozy cooking simulator. I may be missing something, but it’s not creepy at all. I mean, there’s

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