Cooking with friends is something great. But cooking the friends themselves can also be nice. Hmm, delicious meat!
You know me a little by now. If a visual novel or a game smiles at me on Steam that has the tags “Cute” and “Psychological Horror”, then I pay attention. So it was only a matter of time before I had to check out “Cooking Companions”.
The start of the story is easily explained. Our protagonist, whom we embody, is together with 4 friends in a cabin in the woods:
- The red-haired, somewhat hot-headed Karin, who hides her sensitive nature.
- The young Mariah with a big heart for animals.
- The know-it-all and fearful Anatoly with lots of allergies.
- The somewhat simple but strong Gregor, who wants to protect the group.
While the others spend their leisure time in nature searching for berries or mushrooms, I have to stay back in the cabin and prepare dinner.
You’ll be supported by 5 cute foods with faces, who are far too cheerful. These “Chompettes” present me with great vegan dishes and simultaneously remind me that I must not process them into food. The bread keeps making silly puns, while the onion tells me various wisdoms about different vegetables.
In addition, we can investigate a room every day. It’s worth searching objects multiple times. For example, if you search the “dusty oven” several times, you will find small clues or the cute drawing of a child.
But as often happens, not everything goes according to plan. It starts to rain fairly soon. Unfortunately, it’s not just a little shower; it turns into a continuous rain, which floods the region. In other words: My four friends and I are stuck in the cabin. The food is running low. Soon, only one moldy slice of bread remains, which we have to share among five of us.
Slowly but surely, the initially cute facade starts to crumble.
The hunger grows larger, but the torrential storm persists. Someone has to seek help or food. In the end, the choice falls on Mariah.
But the conversations are strange. Although we are actually only talking about Mariah going outside to look for food, the farewells seem so final. Everyone is on the verge of tears, and when Mariah goes outside, I already sense that she will not come back. This is also “hinted at” quite easily by the game, which tells me in thick caps lock letters: “MARIAH HAS LEFT THE CABIN.”
When hunger has grown even larger the next day, I decide to take a piece of meat from my secret reserve, so that everyone at least has something in their stomachs.
The dialogues remain strange. When Karin confronts me, saying that I must “explain to her where the food comes from,” I do explain it to her. Just like that. Because the game simply says, “You explain it,” and leaves me uncertain about what is meant.
Alright, let’s be honest. Anyone who has consumed a little horror in the last 20 years knows exactly what has happened here: Mariah was killed, and her flesh was processed by the protagonist into a meal. It’s obvious by now, and yet it’s only the beginning of this journey.
Cooking Companions is cute. And really creepy. Just like this song:
For as increasingly drastic decisions are made and good friends are chopped up and cooked, your character experiences ever worse nightmares that slowly mix with reality. There are voices that can be faintly heard all over the cabin. Small movements in the distance of the forest.
And then there are of course the Chompettes, the talking, happy foods that move through the mouse holes in the walls of the house and apparently have their own plans – and in the end may not be such a cute element as one originally thought.
The “beautiful” thing about Cooking Companions is that after the roughly 90 minutes of the first playthrough, you are not really done. Although the game claims that you can now start a “New Game+” – it is so much more. The story continues from different perspectives, in different times, and with significantly more horror. By the end, nothing is left of the cuteness.
Disturbing images, cruel backstories, and the odd well-placed jump scare make the game a great experience, which you should definitely experience at night in a dark room.
If you liked “Doki Doki Literature Club”, you will find a similar (slightly perverted) joy in “Cooking Companions”.
Whether you consider the price of almost €13 reasonable, everyone must decide for themselves. It was definitely worth it for me – others might be waiting for the next Steam sale to get the game at a discounted price.
A final tip: Never tab out of the game for too long – because the noises you hear after a while will drive you almost insane.
