Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe

This game is absolutely amazing!

Satisfying gameplay and compelling story

At first glance this game is an odd mix of genres - match 3 cooking with platforming fighting? But it actually works really well.

When I first started out, it was very clear I had no idea what I was doing. I was scrambling for kills and plopping anything in the dish and hoping for the best. But the game forgives you and lets you muddle through your initial matches and get low points while still claiming the victory.

Then as you unlock more cooking tools and manuals, you start to get a clear vision based on the match theme of what you’re going to do. And you really feel like you’re getting better at the game and that’s just so satisfying.

The art is absolutely fantastic as well. The food looks great, the animations of the characters are amazing, and the whole game is just pleasing to look at.

The story as well had a lot of twists and turns, although the ending felt a little rushed. I also saw another review that said the story would have flowed better if chapters 4 and 5 were swapped, and I’d have to agree with that. But it was still an enjoyable story for what it was worth. And there are a number of really endearing characters.

The game took me just over 9 hours, and that was doing the “side quests” in every chapter and talking to everyone in town in between cook-offs. There is still Hard Mode to do and Daily Cookoffs so that will extend playtime a bit for those who are completionists. But if you’re playing just for story it’s around 9 hours.


Anyway the tl;dr is this game is a hidden gem. Absolutely recommend giving it a go even if match 3 isn’t your thing (it isn’t mine).

Very sweet and well written game. Give it a go

not a ton of replayability unless you're going for steam achievements, but i really like it. fun character designs, fun food designs, simple to understand game mechanics,

I originally played this game on Switch when it came out and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. I'm really excited to see Trinket Studios' next game!

this game is actually so fun to play. it mixes fighting, puzzles, and visual novel storytelling in a well-balanced way, and the cooking battles are so addicting (and quite challenging too). i feel like an anime protagonist playing this! my only complaint is that i wish it was longer...oh well time to replay on hard mode :)

my only compalnt is the lack of playable characters but i understand that not possible

I want more !!!

If I had a nickel for each time I rated an anime-style cooking-related video game, I’d have 2 nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. Especially considering they’re both 4/5 games.

On my scale, a 4/5 game is great. It goes beyond simply “good” and elevates the experience with a solid story, a particularly noteworthy process of development, and/or innovations in mechanics which are satisfying to figure out and implement.

Battle Chef Brigade is a beautiful game made with a lot of heart and a lot of soul. Neither weeaboo anime nor Studio Ghibli anime, it manages to be “rennaisance oil painting” anime in the most pretty of ways. Hats off to the animation studio, who was able to make such a thing and animated characters come to life. The characters do pop from the background, and do have a hint of slight difference in art style, but they are wonderfully unique. The soundtrack fits perfectly with the environment and it’s a joy to follow Mina through the very beginning of the story.

The story itself is alright. It’s not quite as good as the story from Dungeon Munchies, the other anime-style cooking-related game, but it is still well done. I found Mina to be a wonderful and compelling protagonist, even if she does have moments where she gives cringe vibes that reminded me of Season 1 Deku in MHA. Thrash is another lovely character, and the friendship Mina, Kirin, and Thrash have reminded me a lot of the friendship that I had with my two best friends in college. All of the characters are colorful, have distinctive personalities, and are a joy.

But for my money the single thing that brings these characters to life is the voice acting. I’m the type of person who will go out of their way to turn off voice acting in most games because I A) read faster than the person talking, and B) usually the voice-acting in these sorts of games is just bad (seriously the voice acting in Dragon Quest 11 made me want to die). But the team for Battle Chef Brigade managed to make something closer to Baldur’s Gate 3, where the characters are most alive not in what they say but how they say it. I found myself letting the dialogue play out in full for most of the game, because it was just so well done. I didn’t realize this until the credits, but most of the characters are voiced by just 2 or 3 people and as someone who has to undergo speech therapy to change their voice, I am always awed by how people manage to capture and convey different personalities like this.

My biggest critique of the story is that Thrash’s chapter felt out of place. I think Chapter 4 should have ended with Mina’s expulsion, we go straight into Thrash’s chapter and his story (which would be a gut punch, it would feel like Mina really is not coming back), and then Chapter 6 can take the later half of Chapter 4 and culminate with the final encounter currently housed in a short and otherwise unnecessary Chapter 6. That way, Mina’s return is unexpected and joyous, the flow of the story is not interrupted, and suspense is still maintained. I think this would have solved the current issue where the story’s conclusion feels rushed.

My other big critique is that the story feels rushed near the end. I expected more than what we got, and it felt like the team either ran out of time, inspiration, or both. There are areas of the map which are showed but we never go to, and there seems like there could have been so much more depth to the central conflict. Things just started to resolve in an arbitrary way, which I was more upset than I otherwise would be because I felt it was unfair to the characters and the world that so much love obviously went into.

Now, let’s talk gameplay. Firstly: why the hell do we not have more Chopped-type games??? Like, that show and the premise of this game makes for an amazing gameplay loop: you are assigned mystery ingredients, you have to go out and collect them, along with all the other ingredients within a set time frame, and you have to cook, present, and plate the dish within a time frame? Thank you for finally making a game like this, and I really do hope we see other studios take this idea and innovate on it. Give me a full-length rogue-lite in the vein of Moonlighter with this idea, PLEASE .

Is the execution of this idea perfect in this game? Ehhh no, far from it. I actually found the gameplay to be the most flawed portion of the game for two reasons: 1) I fucking hate match-type games (although I admit this was a brilliant solution to making a game which would not require crazy mechanics just to appreciate the story); and 2) the actual cooking was way more limited than I was hoping for. I was very disappointed that we were not even allowed/required to plate the dishes. In fact, you can’t even select what dish you make; it is just selected by the specific type of gems you happen to have.

But if you like match-type games, this is actually a really good one (good enough to make me begrudgingly respect it, which is saying a lot). There is a ton of depth, with scaling mechanics and ever more complicated things to take into account. You also have a lot of cookware you have to choose from which can make cooking certain dishes easier (and others impossible; the biggest downfall is that some are way too situational to ever be useful).

The story itself is short, about 13 hours even with lots of listening to dialogue lines. Is it worth the $20 at this point? Ehhh, it’s a much harder sell for me than Dungeon Munchies, which had less polished gameplay but a much more audacious story.

But what makes this game an undisputed, big ass 4/5 is that the game has a fucking multiplayer mode. Oh. My. God. You can randomize the judges and the challenge ingredient and you can play 1 of 3 characters (one of which is multiplayer/end game exclusive). You’re telling me I can challenge my brother, who is an IRL chef, to an anime Chopped episode and win because he doesn’t know how to rotate colors in a 2D space?

This, and the various bonus modes, are what makes the game a definite sell. You could put hours into the multiplayer of this despite the few short comings, and while I have yet to play them, I cannot wait to do so.

Some minor annoyances like constantly showing you the same animation when going from the city to the colosseum, being unable to pick your loadout after seeing the judges (means you have to guess at what would be useful that particular day), the wonky story pacing, and the overall shortness keep it from being a 5/5. But this is a perfect game to play on Deck for the story and on a computer with controllers for splitscreen multiplayer. Definitely recommended.

Delicious, Scrumptious even.

Very cool little gem of a game. The story and art design is engaging for the most part. And the game-play is interesting enough to keep you hooked. It's a lot of fun platforming in the in-game wild to gather ingredients, then return to build your cooking creation. It all comes together for a light hearted experience.

Very much a one of a kind game and well recommended for the price.

I first tried this out on my PC with a mouse and keyboard but quickly switched over to my Steam Deck. Using a controller was a far better experience for me. I played through the story mode (Normal difficulty) in 9 hours.

Battle Chef Brigade is a charmingly animated game with lovely voice acting and fun mechanics that combine fighting games and match-3 puzzles. That doesn't sound very interesting at first glance, but the different characters and challenges kept me entertained throughout, with the storyline driving continued emotional investment into the game.

"Failure" isn't punishing at all, so this game is not frustrating, even for people (like me) who are unfamiliar with fighting game controls. If you lose at a mini-game, you just get to retry right away. Even if you run out of health, you just respawn at the kitchen. The most progress that you'll lose in a single challenge is that your items from that one time venturing out will be right next to where you reached zero health. If you lose a challenge entirely, you can immediately go into a rematch using a different loadout.

While I don't see myself engaging very much with the free play mode (where you can customize which character you play as, level difficulty, and equipment chosen), I appreciate that it allows for further enjoyment of the game's format. That said, I'd love to see an expansion of the game's story to cover NPCs' backstories and playstyles, Victusia's history, and additional unique interactions between flora and fauna across additional biomes. Given that this game came out 8 years ago, that doesn't seem likely, though.

A match 3 game that gets a little more complicated the further in the game you progress.
I was completely surprised by how well the game was voice acted, full marks there.
Easy to pick up and drop when needed.

If you're looking for a longer story mode then this is not really for you, I expected a longer story mode game and was disappointed when it just abruptly ended. I had some fun in the story but it wasn't super enjoyable out of that for me. Buy it on sale if you want.

I got this game to try something I never played before, and this is exactly what I wanted.

I never thought a connect 3 game would be this fun :)

A good enjoyable game.

Very entertaining. Easy controls

This game really surprised me. I didn't think i would enjoy it as much as i did. Everything about it is so charming and fun. The artstyle is very cute, the story isn't anything special but it has it's moments and the characters are all fun and unique that makes it enjoyable and the gameplay which consist of hunting and cooking is actually pretty engaging.

Hunting is pretty straightforward, you kill the monsters and get the resources you need during a match. Once you have the resources you put them in your dish and it becomes a game of match 3. It sounds simple and it really is until you gotta prepare 3 meals with 3 different preferances in about 10 minutes that the chaos begins and the gameplay shines. I played the story in normal and later cook fights became really challenging.

The main story takes about 10-12 hours if you do everything and it doesn't overstay it's welcome and it also have PvP and daily cook offs and challenges if you want more which are all fun additions in my opinion so if you want a relatively short and fun experience this game might scratch that itch.

great short game
i like to give this a play every so often now to clear my mind and lower my stress level
would love to see the cut content some time made into a dlc and breath new life into the game

pretty fun, i got it significantly on sale and it was well worth

theres a main story, local multi player, challenges, daily things with a scoreboard, concept art

the gameplay is split between fighting and cooking, you got a limited time to go collect ingredients and fight with varying skills and button combinations, then with the ingredients you go back to the kitchen and with whatever equipment you have you cook catering to the judges tastes with a bit of a matching puzzle type thing
the different items makes it a lotta fun, i wish there were more playable characters in freeplay stuff and daily cookoffs, at least kirin added, you know?

the last achievement is a chore to get but it wasnt that boring i guess

Very neat puzzle game with some solid music and voice work

#2 game when?!

Wow! I expected so little and it gave me so much more!

Battle your ingredients and tactically make the best meal ever!

I Love it! VERY creative developers, good art, voice overs, and more!

No love interests though, bleah.

very unique, its like a mix of light action gameplay with light puzzle match 3 gameplay

the action part comes into play when you defeat monsters to get ingredients and then you toss them into a pot, complete a match 3 minigame to cook them and then get scored afterwards

what i like is how much they squeeze this concept for what is worth, you got a main campaign, a player vs player mode, a puzzle minigame where you have the ingredients preset and simply must match enough to reach a score, a diner dash style minigame where you have to match a specific pattern in your dish to serve customers, and so on

its a novel concept, well implemented, recommended

I'm really enjoying playing this game; the story and gameplay are great.

It's so peak

Good stuff, fun 2d fighting and puzzle game, enjoyed it a lot. The voice acting is impeccable too, I like Mina voice alot.

Fantastic game. Super unique concept and the team clearly put a lot of effort into every aspect of the game. Would highly recommend.

If you like puzzle games and a little bit of 2d hack and slash this is the game for you. I bought this on sale for a few bucks during a sale and holy crap I was impressed. You take on the role of a young girl out to prove her worth as a chef. You meet other chefs and do an all out battle with them in an anime iron chef style of fight or Food Wars if you know that anime minus the fan service. You do meet some interesting cast members along the way like an orc and a zombie like chef. Speaking of anime why the hell isnt this one yet????

Doesn't require a ton of brainpower or a super powered computer, just a fun little match-3 game when you cook your way through a charming story.

She Battle in my Chef Brigade until my "MINA HAN WINS!"

Didn't know how I was going to feel about the mechanics of the game but found myself drawn in by it's unique gameplay and charming art/story. I just wish there was more to the story as it felt a bit short and the cast of characters are so interesting they could have benefited from utilizing them more.

so fun

felt as addictive as an addictive iphone game without being bad

Its Iron Chef except youve got platform fighting and gem matching games to cook your dishes with! Charming presentation and characters. Juggling fighting the monsters, cooking and serving all the dishes in a timed battle is hectic though and can get super stressful!

load of fun, good pc not needed, just good. simons the goat

Very refreshing take on the cooking genre.
Simple and straightforward game, with an original visual style and a very chill vibe.
Nice and naive story.

I sincerely hope they do a second game.

There's just so much potential here, with a bit of refining what they have right now could be so much more- the game itself is already fun enough.

Fun game to relax to.

Going into this game I wasn't certain I would enjoy it enough to hang on to it. I mean, a match three game? That can't be engaging enough for the lovely art style to win over it, right? I was so wrong. Not only is the art style amazing, the story and characters are fun and loveable, and the gameplay is downright... well, puzzling. It really made me think at times and right when I thought I'd gotten the full hang of it, they would throw new mechanics in, but it never felt like I was floundering, it was great to be forced to think even harder and use what I'd learned on the way. Even though I've finished the main story, I keep coming back to play the daily cook-off, and I might just do another playthrough soon! Cannot recommend this game enough and would love to see more!

I was in a match with 2 judges, and I didn't know that I have to make 2 dishes (I thought that both of them would taste the same dish...)
When I finally realized, I threw the first thing I had into the pot, and served that to the second judge.

I just won a cooking competition by feeding one the judges a raw, frozen turnip. :D
I have not laughed so hard for years.
10/10 game.

The art and the narrative are both good, the battle system is quite dynamic and the cooking puzzles more addictive than I initially imagined. Worth it.

What a fun, wholesome puzzle game. I fell in love with this during my first hour of playing. A must-have for fans of game like Puyo Puyo, Tetris, and the like. The illustrations are vibrant and fun, and the general game play loop is extremely satisfying.

Applause to this gem of a game.

Battle Chef Brigade is scrum-dilly-umptious!
FUN, story rich adventure that blends side-scroller hunting, timed puzzle-solving, and imaginative fantasy cooking! You play as Mina, a chef in the Proving Tournament. The quirky announcer makes every cooking match feel like an anime Iron Chef showdown! Each competition requires a special themed ingredient! Hunt monsters for ingredients (each monster part is tied to gem colors) Boost your dish’s score by upgrading the gems. Monsters infected with poison and cracked fragile gems, adds more difficulty. Spend coin and shop for gear, attacks, or spices, -adjusting your loadout adds strategy. Annnd so much more!! A MUST PLAY for anyone, what a unique culinary adventure! Highly Recommend! Thank you for this game!

TIPS
>The gem-matching puzzles seem simple, but they quickly become tricky—many times, I had to retry 3 or 4 times before winning!
>Play through 6 chapters, June & July in-game, with about 14 cooking challengers, maybe 20+ other puzzles in the Capital

Great game if you like fluid platformer combat and puzzle game mechanics. It's not for everyone, but for those who do like both genres this game SLAPS. It's also got such a comfy story/characters that I just adore.

awesome game for sure

Equal parts Dungeon Meshi and Food Wars, mixed well and slow roasted, with a dash of Iron Chef.

Truly the chessboxing of cooking games. Somehow, the marriage of a combo fighter and a match game puzzler manages to really capture that cooking competition feel of frantically trying to slap together something passably edible with not enough ingredients or time. At least, that's what I imagine it feels like. I've never been on a show like that. This game makes me realize I am not cut out for it.

Super cute game that combines fighting game mechanics with cooking in a neat way. Its a short game but it feels like the perfect length for the plot. I wish there were additional recipes, monsters, food options or dlc in the game but I'd easily give it a 9/10 due to the lack of all that.

Cute game!

This game is greatly underrated, it is a gem in every way, it is short, it's good at what it does, the cast of characters is very diverse in a sense of design and the way they act, no character feels the same even side ones feel different from one another in many ways, some of the battles can be very a big challenge, I've bought this game twice on pc and switch, beaten it on hard mode 3 times as of now and already wanna play it again, I'd love to see another on of these in the future, overall imo, one of the best indie games