Conceptually, this multi-step process is a reasonably sound way to have players ‘cook’ all sorts of dishes while still making the whole process engaging. For example, you may have to crack eggs for a step, and the challenge is to get the required number of eggs cracked in the somewhat tight time limit without splattering them on your face. Each step in a dish is treated as its own timed mini-challenge, and you’re given a rating out of three stars based on the quality of your performance for that particular task.

The gameplay of Cooking Mama: Cookstar is essentially the same as its always been with this series, wherein you have the eponymous Mama guiding you through the many steps involved in making dozens of dishes ranging from ice cream rolls to chili con carne. Cooking Mama: Cookstar is not a good game, and it’s clear why some of the developers wanted more time to polish it up further. Unfortunately, the reality is far less rosy. In an ideal world, this could make Cooking Mama: Cookstar the definitive ‘hidden gem’ release on the Switch an enjoyable party game that only a few will ever get to experience for themselves. The bottom line is that this is a game which, weirdly enough, might never see a full release beyond the odd physical copies that have already made it out into the wild. Conspiracy theories around copyright infringement and – of all things – a cryptocurrency-mining scheme were tossed around, but the reality seems to be that certain individuals involved in development pushed the release into production far ahead of schedule. What began as an innocuous and unassuming new release in a beloved series has quickly grabbed headlines after its mysterious and sudden disappearance from storefronts. It’s been rather fascinating to follow the slowly unfolding trainwreck of Cooking Mama: Cookstar over the past week or so.

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Free games cooking mama 3