Battle Chef Brigade asks players to cook monsters and fight kitchens. That premise sounds strange on paper, and it mostly delivers on the promise. The game, released in 2017 for Linux, Android, PC and iOS, mixes cooking simulation with tactical combat, and the result is a game that feels more original than it has any right to be.
Trailer, via Adult Swim.
The Cooking System
Players gather ingredients, prepare meals, and serve dishes to win battles. The system is simple to explain but demanding to master. Timing matters. Ingredient quality matters. And the kitchen itself becomes a battlefield, with each station holding a different advantage.
Monster Hunts
Before cooking begins, players hunt monsters outside the kitchen. These hunts are short, tense fights that reward quick thinking over brute force. The game explains the rules clearly early on, and once players get the hang of it, the game moves quickly.
Tactical Combat
The fighting itself borrows from tactics games, with players moving units across a grid and choosing actions each turn. It is slow compared to the cooking sections, but it gives the strategy a weight that cooking alone could not provide.
Progression
Experience points unlock new recipes and better equipment over time. This keeps the loop fresh even after dozens of hours. Players are constantly chasing the next upgrade, and the sense of progress stays strong throughout.
Multiplayer
Battle Chef Brigade also lets two players face off against each other online. This mode adds a social layer that solo play lacks, though it can feel rough when players are still learning the systems.
Presentation
The art direction leans heavily on fantasy themes, with monsters that look like creatures straight out of a children’s book. The music matches the tone, staying light even during tense moments.
Where It Falls Short
The difficulty curve can be steep for newcomers, and some players may find the early hours frustrating before the systems click. The game also leans on repetition to teach its systems, which means the middle stretch can feel like grinding rather than growth.
The Verdict
Battle Chef Brigade is a bold experiment that mostly pays off. Its cooking and hunting loops are distinct enough to justify the game’s existence, and the tactical combat gives it a depth that pure cooking games rarely achieve.
“It is a game about cooking, but it is also a game about war.”
That line sums up the tension at the center of Battle Chef Brigade. The game asks players to think about food as a weapon, and that idea carries through every dish served and every monster hunted.
Final Score
Battle Chef Brigade earns its place among the more inventive games of its year. It does not reinvent the wheel, but it puts a fresh spin on familiar ideas.
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