Recipe for Disaster

Recipe for Disaster is a restaurant management simulator. It was developed by Dapper Penguin Studios (creators of Rise of Industry) and published by Kasedo Games. Unlike in games such as Overcooked 2 or PlateUp!, here planning, management and prediction are more important than reflexes and agility. They allow the player to handle themselves in the chaos running a restaurant entails and bring it to splendor.

Plot

Recipe for Disaster offers no proper story. Both available game modes - sandbox and pre-made scenarios, during which we must save poorly performing restaurants from bankruptcy - the player is tasked with developing and improving a restaurant, bringing in loads of clients and food critics. In the first mode, you decide upon your own goal, while in the second you must meet pre-set objectives.

Mechanics

There are many factors deciding on our restaurant's success or failure: we can design, furnish and decorate its interior, adjust the menu, create recipes in a dedicated editor, take care of supplying or hire and manage staff. Sometimes we'll need to counteract critical situations created by especially upset customers.

As we progress through the game, we draw the attention of new customers, critics and health inspectors. The higher the interest in our restaurant, the more work we need to put into other aspects of running it. Some people dining may have specific dietary requirements, be allergic to certain ingredients or have unusual food preferences. Not meeting their requirements negatively affects our popularity.

We also need to select appropriate staff. Our procedurally generated employees each have strengths and weaknesses, requests and requirements, as well as different skills. Sometimes an exceptionally talented worker might just not fit in with the rest of the staff. Other employees might annoy customers or refuse to perform their assigned tasks, as they'd rather be doing something else. The player's job is to skillfully manage the staff's mood to increase their producitivity and prevent them from going on a strike.

Technical aspects

The visuals of Recipe for Disaster are simple, three-dimensional, colorful and easily readable, especially with its top-down view. The game only supports singleplayer.