{"id":111330,"date":"2020-04-09T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/cooking_mama_cookstar"},"modified":"2020-04-09T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T14:30:00","slug":"review-cooking-mama-cookstar-definitely-needed-more-time-in-the-oven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/04\/09\/review-cooking-mama-cookstar-definitely-needed-more-time-in-the-oven\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Cooking Mama: Cookstar &#8211; Definitely Needed More Time In The Oven"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/cooking_mama_cookstar\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/cooking_mama_cookstar\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\" readability=\"2\"><a title=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104337\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104337\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 1 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"generator nintendo-switch-docked\">Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>It\u2019s been rather fascinating to follow the slowly unfolding trainwreck of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/cooking_mama_cookstar\"><strong>Cooking Mama: Cookstar<\/strong><\/a> over the past week or so. What began as an innocuous and unassuming new release in a beloved series has quickly grabbed headlines after its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2020\/04\/cooking_mama_cookstar_cryptocurrency_saga_takes_yet_another_turn_as_publisher_blames_coronavirus\">mysterious and sudden disappearance from storefronts<\/a>. Conspiracy theories around copyright infringement and \u2013 of all things \u2013 a cryptocurrency-mining scheme were tossed around, but the reality seems to be that certain individuals involved in development pushed the release into production <em>far<\/em> ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n<p>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. In an ideal world, this could make Cooking Mama: Cookstar the definitive \u2018hidden gem\u2019 release on the Switch; an enjoyable party game that only a few will ever get to experience for themselves. Unfortunately, the reality is far less rosy. Cooking Mama: Cookstar is <em>not<\/em> a good game, and it\u2019s clear why some of the developers wanted more time to polish it up further.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\" readability=\"2\"><a title=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104336\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104336\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 2 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"generator nintendo-switch-handheld\">Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>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. Each step in a dish is treated as its own timed mini-challenge, and you\u2019re given a rating out of three stars based on the quality of your performance for that particular task. 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. Conceptually, this multi-step process is a reasonably sound way to have players \u2018cook\u2019 all sorts of dishes while still making the whole process engaging.<\/p>\n<p>The implementation of these challenges, however, proves to be less than satisfying. Each challenge only takes a few seconds to accomplish and the \u2018gameplay\u2019 boils down to either executing an easy quick time event or doing a repetitive motion with the sticks or motion controls. That\u2019s it; there\u2019s literally nothing else to see here. To say that Cooking Mama: Cookstar is an \u2018easy\u2019 game is overstating it; this gameplay is so stripped back and simplistic that it\u2019s <em>mindless<\/em>. Worse yet, it only takes about ten minutes before you\u2019ve seen all the possible tasks you\u2019ll be asked to perform \u2013 from that point on, you\u2019ll just be doing the same things over again ad nauseum on different recipes. Sure, there\u2019s something mildly interesting in seeing the new kinds of dishes come together, but it\u2019s hardly worth the vapid journey to get there.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\" readability=\"2\"><a title=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104348\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104348\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 3 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"generator nintendo-switch-handheld\">Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Playing Cooking Mama: Cookstar in handheld mode just sees you using the sticks to handle most of the motions, but if you\u2019re playing in docked mode, you\u2019ll be using motion controls instead via a single Joy-Con. This is where even more problems are introduced, because the motion controls are frankly <em>terrible<\/em> and call to mind the cavalcade of low-effort third party games from the Wii that tacked on motion controls as a &#8216;feature&#8217;. It\u2019s a total crapshoot whether your motion will actually register properly onscreen, leading to a frustrating experience where your performance on a dish often takes a hit because the game didn\u2019t pick up all your inputs. Part of this is due to a clearly-designed focus on hitting a certain rhythm with each action, which is perfectly fine, but it just isn\u2019t fun to play Cooking Mama: Cookstar when it\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess whether even your on-rhythm movements will make a difference. It makes the game feel less about player skill and timing and more about random chance deciding whether you\u2019ll get three stars or not.<\/p>\n<p>Those of you who happen to have a friend on hand who\u2019s up for playing can opt to play in either co-op or competitive challenges in a separate mode made just for multiplayer, but again, there\u2019s not much to see here. Only a handful of challenges are on offer for either co-op or competitive play, and there isn\u2019t any depth or meaningful incentive to play these more than once. Seeing who can spin their Joy-Con faster, for example, is just sort of a zero-sum game that runs out of gas quick, the kind of thing that you do when you\u2019ve <em>truly<\/em> exhausted all other options for entertainment. And the issues with motion control are still just as prevalent with two players, removing any possible semblance of competition or comradery from the experience.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\" readability=\"2\"><a title=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104343\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104343\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 4 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"generator nintendo-switch-docked\">Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>To Cooking Mama: Cookstar\u2019s credit, there is a reasonable <em>amount<\/em> of content on offer. If you can somehow look past the technical problems and lackluster gameplay, there are dozens of dishes to explore. Successfully getting at least a two star ranking on a dish will lead to you unlocking the \u201cCookstar\u201d version of that dish, in which you can do it again without on-screen prompts telling you what to do. And completing each dish will unlock a new cosmetic change for Mama\u2019s clothes or the tools you use to cook, offering a little bit of visual variety to proceedings. Cooking Mama: Cookstar still isn\u2019t a very replayable title in the end, but at least for a few hours there\u2019s a steady stream of newly unlocked dishes and cosmetics to enjoy.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s just about the only positive thing to say here, as on the presentation side of things, Cooking Mama: Cookstar manages to further disappoint. Though there are some interesting physics effects with things like chopped onions sliding off a board and into a bowl, the 3D models for the food and tools look like they were pulled straight out of a game from the sixth generation of consoles. Bland textures and blocky models are the norm here, and considering the already lightweight nature of Cooking Mama: Cookstar, it\u2019s quite disappointing that not even the food looks all that good. Then, of course, there\u2019s the voice acting. Mama regularly encourages and coaches you through each dish, but her voice sounds like a Japanese woman with a loose grasp of English reading lines off a script in a disinterested tone. It\u2019s unintentionally humorous how awful this voice acting is, making it entertaining for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\" readability=\"2\"><a title=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104332\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/104332\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review - Screenshot 5 of 5\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"generator nintendo-switch-handheld\">Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that there were early reports that the game was pulled because it caused Switch consoles to overheat and crash, but we didn&#8217;t notice any problems of this kind during our review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The odds are quite good that you will never get the chance to play Cooking Mama: Cookstar, and that\u2019s probably for the best. Beyond its status as a curiosity item in the wake of the mess surrounding its release, there is absolutely nothing about Cooking Mama: Cookstar that justifies the price of admission. Extremely shallow gameplay, terrible motion controls, and some of the worst voice acting we\u2019ve heard in a modern video game make for an experience that\u2019s woefully average at best and outright unenjoyable at the worst. If you happen to be fortunate enough to come across a copy, you could always pick it up purely for its resale value and as a conversation piece, but do yourself a favour and don\u2019t waste your time actually <em>playing<\/em> it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked) It\u2019s been rather fascinating to follow the slowly unfolding trainwreck of Cooking Mama: Cookstar over the past week or so. 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. Conspiracy theories around copyright infringement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111330\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}