Lately, I've been stewing over the best cooking games. Why? The likes of Legend of Zelda; Tears of the Kingdom and Red Dead Redemption 2 are partly to blame. I currently have both games on my plate, with most of my free time split between exploring the Old West as Arthur Morgan or Hyrule as Link. Both have earned a place among the best open world games around right now, and while they're distinctly different from each other, they do have one thing in common: cooking.
From frying up meat at a campfire to chucking ingredients into a pot and seeing what happens, I enjoy the act of it in both RPGs. So it got me thinking about my all-time favorite games for cooking. Whether it be experiences solely focused on the culinary arts, to side-quests in sprawling adventures with minigames that let you combine ingredients to rustle up tasty meals, I've always had the appetite for cooking in games.
So, if you're keen to become a virtual chef, or you just love to make food in games, here are the best cooking games I'd give my own equivalent of a Michelin star to.
The best cooking games to play today
7. Red Dead Redemption 2
Developer: Rockstar Games
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4
The cooking in Red Dead Redemption 2 is fairly simplistic, but there's a quiet charm to the act of it. In the vast open-world, I love nothing more than to take things at my own pace and mosey down paths unknown on the back of my horse. Then, when the sun sets, I like to set up camp in the wilderness and simply be.
Taking in the views of the night sky, I'll then take the opportunity to cook any meat I've gathered over the fire, or brew up some coffee to restore my health, dead eye, and stamina cores. It's a feature with a very practical purpose – which is true of many of the best RPGs that have a cooking mini-game – but there's just something so tranquil about food preparation in Rockstar's Wild West adventure.
6. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom / Breath of the Wild
Developer: Nintendo
Platform(s): Switch, Switch 2
Link's foray into cooking began in Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, with Tears of Kingdom following along to add more recipes to the mix. How you actually rustle up dishes is satisfyingly simple. With ingredients bunched in your arms, you simply throw them in a pot over a fire and hope for the best. A few musical seconds later, you'll find out what you've concocted. If you picked the right combination, you can find yourself discovering a delightful sweet treat or savory meal.
Food plays an important role in Nintendo's RPG, from cuisine that gives you an extra helping of stamina or health to snacks that will help you stave off the heat and cold. But the acting of cooking also encourages experimentation and foraging in the vast setting of Hyrule. I loved experimenting to try and discover Breath of the Wild's best cooking recipes, and that continued on into Tears of the Kingdom.
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Developer: Nintendo
Platform(s): Switch
I can't remember the last time I was as excited by an update as I was when cooking came to Animal Crossing New Horizons. Giving our kitchen furniture a practical purpose, the delightful island getaway is home to a wealth of DIY recipes that will let you make so many different dishes.
From assembling a sandwich, to cooking up a curry, and baking a cake, the food items can then be placed as utterly adorable decorations. Plus, as someone who built my own little '50s diner on Iced Tea island, being able to place down burgers and fries really brought it all together.
4. Overcooked 2
Developer: Ghost Town Games / Team 17
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Switch
As one of the best co-op games, Overcooked 2 serves up a delectable helping of multiplayer cooking goodness that captures the chaos of a busy kitchen. With levels that get increasingly challenging, you prepare different styles of cuisine in a variety of settings, and it really is all about team work as you work together to chop, fry, and assemble the perfect plates with pals.
From making sushi to piling up burgers, and spinning up pizza slices, the stakes are higher in the sequel, since you're trying to fight back against the hunger of the Unbread. It really is rewarding to conquer the culinary arts together, and there's nothing more satisfying than falling into a flow and operating like clockwork together to secure a high score for your efforts in the kitchen.
3. Moonglow Bay
Developer: Bunnyhug
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch
Bunnyhug's fishing RPG, Moonglow, has one of the more memorable cooking mini-games in its voxel art-shaped world. With various dishes to rustle up in your cute little kitchen at home, you can set about catching the right ingredients and also unlock more recipes by completing tasks or purchasing them at the local market.
How you actually cook is more involved than most, which is what makes it so memorable, since you have to go to each area in your kitchen and hit the right inputs at a certain time. The more precise you are, the better your dish will be.
2. Venba
Developer: Visai Games
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Switch
There are certain flavors and dishes that can reawaken a memory, bring us back to a particular place, and the act of cooking can bring us together. In certain respects, that's exactly what narrative cooking game Venba explores. Taking on the role of a South Indian immigrant who's the title character, you set out to piece together lost recipes through a series of culinary puzzles.
Culture and family is at the heart of the experience, as you follow Venba and her husband and son as they grow together over the years and connect through the dishes they share and create together. Learning the recipes through the cooking puzzles makes you feel actively connected to Venba, and it really is a wonderfully short and sweet experience.
1. The Sims 4
Developer: Maxis
Platform(s): PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4
I love improving my Sim's culinary skills in The Sims 4, from cooking to gourmet. Plus, for as long as I can remember, I've always enjoyed pursuing a career as a chef throughout the series. It's a joy to watch a Sim go from cutting their fingers trying to make a simple plate of salad, to slickly whisking up a frenzy to serving up a perfect baked Alaska.
Even when my Sim isn't involved in the culinary world, I almost always put time into the cooking skill just so I can have access to all manner of tasty dishes to put together in my household. Cooking has always been a mainstay feature of the classic life sim, and it's one I never tire of.
Honorable mention
Final Fantasy 15
Developer: Square Enix
Platform(s): PC, Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5
I've always been a big fan of Final Fantasy 15. It really succeeds at feeling like a big, sprawling roadtrip, with a cast of loveable main characters. Naturally as you venture throughout the open-world, you can make pitstops whenever you wish and settle down at camping spots for a breather.
Each time you do, you can have party member Ignis whip up a delightful dish that can give you some hearty bonuses. And okay, maybe you don't actually get to do the cooking yourself, but you do put in the work to gather the right ingredients and acquire new recipes. Plus, eating the food around the fire always feels like an opportunity for the group to bond over their meals.
Looking for more recommendations? Check out our pick of the best sim games or best delivery games.
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