Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator Review Summary

While it offers great co-op and a wide variety of dishes as the best cooking simulator, persistent bugs and unplayable multiplayer make it not worth the price.

Great co-op and multiplayer: The game is praised for its cooperative and multiplayer modes, with many noting it is more fun with friends or family. It works well in both single and multiplayer settings.

Best cooking simulator: The game is considered one of the best cooking simulators, satisfying fans of the genre and offering more than just cooking.

Game has great potential: Many players see great potential in the game concept but feel it is held back by issues. They believe it could become a great game.

Wide variety of dishes: The game offers a wide variety of dishes, recipes, and food types, which is appreciated by players.

Good value for money: Players find the game offers good value for its price, even without a sale. It is considered fairly priced.

Multiplayer is unplayable: Multiplayer is severely broken with bugs, desync, and crashes, making it unplayable for many players. Issues include connection problems, desynchronization, and inconsistent cooking results.

Bugs persist after updates: Bugs have persisted for years and worsen with each update, with no fixes in sight. Players report that the game has become more buggy over time, and updates have not addressed long-standing issues.

Ingredients disappear or missing: Ingredients disappear or are missing from recipes, causing frustration. Players cannot get required ingredients due to bugs, and recipes do not list all needed items.

Recipes are inaccurate: Recipes are inaccurate with incorrect ingredient counts, missing steps, or wrong instructions. This makes following recipes impossible and ruins the cooking experience.

Not worth the price: The game is not worth its price due to bugs and poor state, even on sale. Players feel it is overpriced until fixed.

Cooking simulation core mechanics: The game is primarily a cooking simulation with first-person perspective, various cuisines, and detailed steps like using appliances, following recipes, and dishwashing. It supports both single and multiplayer modes.

Restaurant management features: Players manage a restaurant with tasks like restocking, cleaning, hiring NPCs, upgrading equipment, and customizing the eatery. Different cuisine types (BBQ, bakery) are available.

Cooperative multiplayer enjoyment: Multiplayer co-op for up to 4 players is highly praised for its enjoyable and playful teamwork, involving communication and coordination. Solo play is more challenging.

Solo play difficulty: Playing alone is challenging due to multitasking demands, and can become boring without team interaction. The game is clearly designed for co-op.

Kebab shop simulation: Specific gameplay includes running a kebab shop, cooking and serving customers, decorating the eatery, and unique elements like beer drinking and boss fights.

Widespread performance lag: Players experience lag, FPS drops, and stuttering in many scenarios, such as with many customers or guests, when stacking objects, carrying boxes, or after buying a second restaurant. The game feels unoptimized.

Frequent crashes and freezes: Players report constant crashing, freezing, and instability across various situations, including during gameplay, multiplayer sessions, and specific actions like opening a restaurant or entering the world. The issue is widespread and significantly impacts playability.

General poor optimization: Many reviews describe the game as unoptimized, with low frame rates even on strong hardware like an RTX 3060. Issues persist despite low system requirements, and optimization has not improved for multiple players.

Multiplayer connectivity issues: Multiplayer modes suffer from desynchronization, disconnections, and crashes, particularly in co-op and after extended play sessions. Server problems and lobby connection failures are also cited.

Bugs affecting playability: Players encounter bugs that render the game unplayable or cause significant frustration, such as infinite black screens, save file corruption, audio glitches forcing restarts, and object loading problems.

Buggy and unplayable: Many players report the game is unplayable due to frequent bugs and broken mechanics, leading to negative recommendations until fixes are applied.

Best with friends: The game is strongly recommended for co-op or multiplayer play, especially with friends, while solo play is often not recommended.

Not worth current price: Players advise waiting for a sale or full release, citing the game is overpriced in its current state or not worth the money.

Great for cooking fans: Fans of cooking simulators and co-op cooking games find the game highly recommended for its chaotic and fun culinary challenges.

Free DLC adds value: The inclusion of free DLC is noted as a positive factor that justifies recommendation despite other issues.

Community fair range: $7.99 - $12.99.

Game completion: 40.0h.

Story completion: 20.0h.

Session length: 2.0h.

The game offers enjoyable chaotic co-op cooking that clicks after a few hours, but becomes repetitive and boring after about 10 hours, with early friction from bugs and a weak tutorial.

Friction: incomprehensive tutorial that overwhelms new players; multiplayer desync and game-breaking bugs (e.g., items not syncing, disconnections); casino mechanic that can lead to bankruptcy and frustration; repetitive gameplay after extended sessions (around 10 hours).

Unlock drivers: playing with friends in co-op mode; progression through unlocking new recipes and upgrading the restaurant; overcoming the initial learning curve and tolerating bugs.

Solo Chill Cook: Methodical, prep-focused, plays at own pace in single player, enjoys routine and freedom to manage the restaurant without pressure. Motivation: Relaxation and mastery of cooking routines. Stance: buy.

Co-op Chaos Enthusiast: Hectic coordination, role-switching, enjoys the unpredictability and chaos of multiplayer, often finds humor in bugs and desync. Motivation: Social fun and chaotic co-op gameplay. Stance: buy.

Bug-Weary Skeptic: Tried multiplayer but gave up due to persistent bugs; may have also played solo but found issues; expects a polished experience. Motivation: Desire for a functional game; disappointment with current state. Stance: no buy.

Steam Deck: The game is playable on Steam Deck but requires manual control tweaks and tolerates intermittent bugs. No evidence of external launcher issues or Proton toggling. The overall experience falls into the 'tinkering required' category, with a score of 45.

Monetization: Analyzed 5 reviews. No evidence of microtransactions, pay-to-win, loot boxes, or real-money gambling. Frustration focuses on paid DLC priority, but traditional DLC and free updates are not flagged as predatory. The overall sentiment supports a fair, one-time purchase model.

Add bar and bartender: Players are requesting a new feature that adds a bar and bartender to the game. This was mentioned in a single piece of feedback, indicating a niche but specific desire.