KuloNiku: Bowl Up!

At over 12 hours, it stretches its core gameplay far beyond what it can comfortably support.

It has a lot of heart in the CHARACTERS and STORY, another highlight.

This is a fairly standard cooking sim with a charming art style and a cast of lovable, if somewhat cliché, characters.

the progression is well-balanced, you feel like the game is still gradually increasing in difficulty throughout the game without overwhelming you, instead of turning into a cakewalk halfway through. i still feel challenged and i'm almost to the end at this point. the free cat delivery update is also very cute and adds even more challenge to the late-game!

The audio design complements this nicely, with upbeat music and crisp sound effects that reinforce each cooking action.

The Character Design and their little habits are so top tier, examples I like are simple but really sweet for customers: Runa always asking how you feel before ordering, Alma being sick 24/7 being reflected in the dialogues, Dan acting like he's a super spy or something totally odd of him.