Mary le Chef: Cooking Passion – Review

If you have been following our reviews, then you would know how much we love Delicious spin-offs. In this latest spin-off, Mary takes the center stage as she beings her journey toward her dream of being a masterchef. Can you help Mary balance her passion for cooking and her career in law?

Unlike most of the Delicious spin-offs that tackle different themes, Mary le Chef sticks with what Emily knows best, cooking. In a way, Mary le Chef involves more actual cooking than the Delicious series is. The game has you selecting and combining different ingredients to form a menu, instead of straight-up serving food items to customers. Still, Mary le Chef feels far too similar to Delicious, to the point that the developer can simply switch out Mary for Emily and we would mistake it for a new Delicious sequel.

Being similar to Delicious makes Mary le Chef unoriginal, but that doesn’t mean that the game is not entertaining. Mary le Chef is driven by a fast-paced, eventful storyline that engages its players from start to finish. Each level is accompanied by a story-related, side task that works to keep the gameplay fresh and interesting. As for the challenge level, Mary le Chef is neither impossibly difficult nor overly easy – we usually had no trouble achieving the Three Star status, but a few levels were more complex than others.

Mary le Chef: Cooking Passion adopts Gamehouse’s signature bright and bold visuals. The characters move energetically and the visual effects are minimal, but effective. The audio package of Mary le Chef consists of a well-composed title tune, addicting background music, and charming sound effects. Although there is a lack in voice-overs, we do not think that they are necessary anyway.

It is unclear what the benefits of the Collector’s Edition are, but as of now – Mary le Chef comes with 60 levels spread across six varied restaurants, a ton of challenge levels, hidden mouse, collectibles, and trophies.

Mary le Chef: Cooking Passion borrows too much from its sister series, otherwise it would been a flawless Time Management title.