The rise of cosy gaming is surely part of a global reaction to… well, the world at large. Not to dwell on anything specific, but there’s a fair bit to be stressed about. Lisa, star of Foxy Dumplings knows all about stress, crumbling under the pressure of working in a commercial kitchen under a hateful head chef. The answer? To grab a rundown truck, and convert it into the kitchen/bedroom/garden of her dreams, before setting out to make food that people will love, all on her own terms. Pretty cosy, right?
Foxy Dumplings, from Soft Crunch Games, is a game about making dumplings. You are, of course, a fox, who ordinarily wouldn’t be allowed in a kitchen, but gets a pass because this is a video game. You’re tasked with learning recipes, preparing meals, cooking food, and tailoring your offering to your customers, making sure to keep them happy with whatever savoury or sweet treats you can create.
There’s a wealth of freedom to how you do that, and Foxy Dumplings will allow you to experiment with ingredients and textures to create the dumplings of your, and your customers’, dreams.
You have to make those dumplings first. Foxy Dumplings central recipe and cookery loop is served up on a bed of minigames, and sprinkled with a touch of rhythm action and QTE, as the wonderfully cute and cuddly visuals roll, chop and fry the fillings you’ll need into a perfect and tasty form.
Each step along the way is rated out of three stars. Complete each section in a timely and on-point fashion, and you’ll have cooked a three-star feast. Mess it all up, and you’ll have a doughy lump, which won’t really make anyone happy. This being a cosy game, it’s all pretty forgiving. My first dish, traditional Polish Perogi dumplings, was somewhat hampered by not having a clue what I was supposed to be doing, but the second time out? Dumpling delight.
There’s a tasty chunkiness to the visuals that really makes each dish preparation feel like an event, and there’s a strong sense of place, both in the cooking minigames and the characterful food truck and cities you visit. Your food truck is entirely customisable, so you can tailor both your own bedroom, and the roof-based garden, into the kind of beautiful space you’d want to live in, assuming your dream is to be a dumpling-making fox. To be honest, what’s not to like?
While we only got to experience the funfair in our hands-on, there’s going to be 12 different cities to visit, each stuffed with customers who have their own dislikes and desires. It’s up to you to bring some food-based joy into their life, and as you do you’ll push the narrative forward, expand your reputation, and unlock new recipes and locales. There’s also the expertly titled Foxtagram, where you can share pictures of your expertly cooked food, and cultivate an online community that’ll be clamouring for your food when you roll into town.
Foxy Dumplings is a lovely, cosy cooking game, that’s all set to bring food-based fun to PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles later this year.
