Cooking Stars – Review

Save for the thriving Gamehouse Original Stories collection, the majority of Time Management games in 2020 are builders or resource-management games. Cooking games, particularly on desktop, are few and far between. Cooking stars, a brand-new Time Management game from Aliasworlds harkens back to the glory days of the sub-genre and should come as a delight to long-time Time Management fans.

Cooking Stars does not go much beyond the traditional scope. In fact, in many ways, the game very closely resembles the original Cooking Dash. This should come as a no surprise since Aliasworls co-developed many classic Time Management hits such as Cooking Dash, My Farm Life, and Ranch Rush. The game mechanics in Cooking Stars are smooth, easy-to-learn, and entertaining. You prepare various recipes using a plethora of kitchen tools and ingredients and serve the dishes to impatient customers.

While there are tons of recipes in Cooking Stars and the game itself also spans across four themed restaurants focusing on different cuisines, the game does get repetitive quite quickly. This might be because there are 45 levels per restaurant, which can also be replayed to earn more stars, and the lack of other types of gameplay or a hefty storyline to shake things up once in a while.

That being said, Cooking Stars is an extremely well-made Time Management game, and its mechanics definitely translate well into the free-to-play format on mobile. For a veteran Time Management player like me, Cooking Stars is not overly challenging. Most levels can be completed with ease, given that the appropriate upgrades are purchased. Still, the addicting, fast-paced quality of the game is undeniable. Coupled that with sharp graphics, upbeat music, and swift animations – Cooking Stars is also quite a stunner.

Cooking Stars is offered as a Collector’s Edition, which comes with a few goodies. There is a whole new restaurant with 45 more levels and plenty of new dishes, some additional achievements, and a very helpful strategy guide and FAQ section that provides all the tips to help you bat the game!

Cooking Stars is a delightful retro-style Time Management game, even if it might not be wholly original.

Love cooking games? Check out our list of the best cooking games for desktop and mobile!