KuloNiku: Bowl Up! is a cooking simulation game that mixes the social elements and calendar system of Persona with the daily routine of running a meatball and noodle restaurant. As someone who enjoys cooking games but doesn’t like when they start to feel too repetitive or tedious, I had a good time with KuloNiku: Bowl Up!.
The story is simple and straightforward. The main character is a kid returning to a small town to revive their late grandmother’s meatball and noodle bowl restaurant. The protagonist has no real personality or dialogue, but the game makes up for that with an interesting cast of side characters. You can build social connections with them, which lead to extra rewards. In many ways, the social system and calendar progression feel similar to Persona, and the game clearly leans into that inspiration.
Managing the restaurant is fun and follows a loop where a set number of customers visit each day. They either bring new recipes or give steps for dishes you already know. You prepare these dishes under a time limit, and depending on how well you follow the instructions, the customer will be happy, satisfied, or leave asking for a refund. The game has a lighthearted tone and a very cute art style that fits well. The characters are full of personality, and the main character even has a rival named Stella, who shows up from time to time to challenge you or give you a push forward.
Stella is said to be the top chef in the small town, so she naturally becomes the main target and someone the main character aspires to surpass one day. The game features a leaderboard that you can check at any time, ranking the top chefs in the city. As you progress through the gameplay loop, the main character climbs the ranks by challenging others to public cook-off battles judged by an audience. Winning these battles improves your ranking, slowly pushing you closer to that goal.
The cooking itself is fairly simple, but it can be quite addictive. I often lost track of time, carefully preparing and serving dishes as customers placed their orders. At the same time, I sometimes missed important details that can be easy to overlook, like serving meat and noodles without soup or matching a specific taste, such as sour, salty, or sweet. All of this is handled through a mix of ingredients and spices.
The main character’s restaurant is called Bakuso, and the core loop revolves around running it each day. After work, you can take part in various activities, such as buying ingredients, upgrading tools, creating new recipes, or spending time with other characters. Building relationships with NPCs unlocks new rewards and opportunities. Overall, the loop is quite addictive, and the game maintains a calm and relaxing atmosphere. I never felt stressed or under pressure, and it is quite forgiving. There is even an option to remove the time limit entirely.
Now come the major competitions called the Meatball Brawls. These are the centerpiece of the game’s main story, usually involving judges with specific tastes and demands. Each Meatball Brawl gives the player a limited number of turns to perform actions, satisfy the judge, and keep the crowd engaged. At the end of each brawl, a score is calculated, and the winner receives a reward along with a boost in ranking.
KuloNiku also includes a variety of minigames, but they are fairly standard and quite repetitive, so there is not much to highlight. They do their job and act as small challenges tied to rewards. These minigames appear in cooking, recipe crafting, and Meatball Brawls. Over time, they can start to feel dull, but they mainly serve as checkpoints to move on to the next task.
While the game has fun characters, the story is fairly average and does not stand out. The art style is lovely, and the quirky cast helps keep things engaging, making it easier to stay invested in the character interactions and dialogue. The gameplay is enjoyable overall, aside from the repetitive minigames. It is a game I would recommend to those interested in the cooking and simulation genre, especially with the unique twist it offers.
On a side note, the game runs perfectly on the Steam Deck, but the lack of touchscreen support is disappointing. It also lacks proper controller support, as it relies on a mouse-style interface where the stick controls a cursor. A more user-friendly control option, along with proper touchscreen support on Steam Deck, would have been a better fit.
KuloNiku: Bowl Up! Game Information
- Price: $19.99
- Publisher: Raw Fury
- Developer: Gambir Studio
- Platform: PC (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
