Cooking games always have a soft spot in my heart, but Manitas Kitchen is far more than just your average cooking game! You play as a Tyrannosaurus who has had a dream of making pizzas! However, you are a bit shy and can get easily overwhelmed. You now have a pizza shop that you’ve opened with your brother — but there is more to this story than it seems.
Your brother is actually kind of rude and bossy, but he does mean well… I think. In Manitas Kitchen you do spend the majority of your day making pizzas, because that’s your job. As you are a dinosaur, you are able to bash pizza dough with your head, putting down the right ingredients (and nothing more) and ensuring your food does not get burnt. It’s a simple game, with a bunch of mini-games to get you creating. Button mashing, hitting ingredients at the right time, and rushing about is all apart of the game.
As you are a bit overwhelmed from time to time, you will start to see your vision getting more tunneled as you overwork yourself. Regular breaks and sitting down will help you from burning out, but at the same time, this could put you behind and make customers a little upset. This balance is one you need to ensure you are keeping in mind. You do have some dinosaur co-workers that can take on various tasks for you, helping to lighten the load, but you need to unlock them first!
As I have previously mentioned, Manitas Kitchen is more than what it seems. Your brother has some secrets and his own goals in mind, which you aren’t aware of. This bit of story is dripped through your long hours working and making customers happy, adding a unique and captivating element to the game.
I got the chance to play a bit of Manitas Kitchen at WASD this year, and really enjoyed how unique this cooking game felt. Currently, you can play a free demo and wishlist the game on Steam, ahead of it’s release later this year.
