New roguelike takes the Hades formula and adds cat girls, a cute cooking sim, and some truly delicious-looking food

Cuisineer is the new hack ‘n’ slashing roguelike that’s bubbling up on Steam, and it’s not hard to see why. The game takes Hades’ winning formula and then injects things everyone can love: cat girls, cozy restaurant management, and food that’ll probably make you hungry.

Cuisineer is the debut game from studio BattleBrew Productions and it was released earlier this month on November 9. Cast as the super-cute Pom, you return home to inherit your parents’ old restaurant, only to find it in disrepair and deeply in debt. In times of financial crisis such as this, Pom does the only sensible thing there is: picks up a sword and delves into dungeons. 

The game then fluctuates from bashing baddies in Hades-style procgen levels, to cooking dishes and serving customers inside. A better comparison might even be the roguelike-shopkeeping hybrid Moonlighter. Essentially, you’ll fight monsters and use their leftovers for cooking. And then you’ll buy better gear to battle even tougher monsters, which you can turn into even tastier dishes. Which you can sell for a higher price. Which- you get the gist. 

The top-down combat is also kitchen-themed since you can fight with swordfishes, spatulas, and tenderisers. Plus, elemental effects are themed after flavors like Sweet, Salty, Umami, Bitter, etc. 

Mixing Hades, food, and cats was always going to draw in a crowd, but it seems that crowd was more than satisfied with the end dish. Cusineer currently sits at a “Mostly Positive” rating on Steam based on over 550 user reviews. Most name the gorgeous art and cutesy vibes as highlights. Though some others are also having issues with balancing and lacking quality-of-life features. You can decide for yourself on Steam where Cuisineer is available to buy for £20/$25. 

Allergic to cats? Think food in general is just meh? Check out the other best roguelikes to play right now.