In Delicious in Dungeon, our adventuring party turns the creatures they slay into surprisingly mouthwatering dishes. It’s a premise for a video game that basically writes itself, combining dungeon crawls with cooking management. So it’s not terribly surprising that one indie studio has decided to create a game that does just that. Hand-drawn fantasy game Chef Knight comes from Clover Bite, the indie publisher behind the hit 2021 RPG, GRIME. And the promising new dungeon crawler and cooking sim hybrid recently set its official release date.
Clover Bite’s new project, Chef Knight, will release on June 1st for PC via Steam. If you’re familiar with the indie incubator’s unforgiving action RPG, GRIME, this new venture has a slightly different vibe. Yes, we’re still slaying monsters, but in a cozy fantasy world with a hand-drawn art style that lulls you into a sense of security. And each creature you kill will be the foundation for a new cooking creation, making this the Delicious in Dungeon-style game I’ve been hoping for.
Clover Bite is an indie publisher with a unique mission to bring student video game projects to life. They aim to “push the boundaries of what independent games can achieve.” And prior games like GRIME have certainly attracted dedicated fanbases for those games. Now, Chef Knight is the latest student-led project from the indie incubator. And we don’t have long to wait to see what the team behind this game has been cooking, as it will launch for PC via Steam on June 1st.
From the looks of it, Chef Knight combines just about everything I personally love in a game. It’s got top-down dungeon crawls with bullet-hell style combat, where you’ll slash your way through enemies to gather ingredients. Then, you take those ingredients back to your own hand-drawn cozy kitchen and turn them into dishes. Each new ingredient you find during your dungeon adventures will help you unlock new recipes to grow your restaurant empire. And the charming hand-drawn art style really adds a layer of coziness to the whole experience, even as those damage counts dance across the screen.
Of course, is any fantasy game really complete without a skill tree? Chef Knight has a massive skill tree full of upgrades to unlock by impressing your customers. The new abilities you acquire will help improve your skills in combat and in the kitchen, giving the game a sense of progression for each run. As you impress your customers and build your restaurant empire, you’ll get more powerful and be able to secure even more ingredients to take your cooking to the next level. Basically, it’s the top-down dungeon-crawling cooking sim of my dreams, and I can’t wait to dive in when it gets its full release.
Chef Knight is available to wishlist on Steam now, ahead of its June 1st release date. Pricing information is not yet available and will likely be revealed closer to launch.
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