Away from your static restaurants from the previous two games, CSD!3?! (which I’ve double checked is the correct acronym and I’m not having a seizure) takes you on the road in your very own food truck with two robot sidekicks, and a brand new story-driven campaign to beat. Your robots, named Whisk and Cleaver, will help you serve up hundreds of foods (including old and new recipes), across hundreds of levels, in a campaign that can be played either single player or local co-op with a friend. You ultimate goal, as it has always been throughout this series, is to prove you’re the best chef in the world. There’s also a new game play option called Chill Mode, which pretty much sounds like a less stressful version of the game. It can be toggled on and off at any time, and from what I’ve read of the Cook, Serve, Delicious! series, it’ll be a much appreciated addition for a break from the hectic multitasking.
Back when the game was announced, creator and designer David Galindo explained how this third installment takes the series in a different direction to the games before it. “Whereas the first two games had a structure of opening a restaurant in the morning and closing it at night with two rush hours in-between, CSD 3 takes the game play on the road and instead has players making a specific amount of food for each stop they make, which can range from two to five stops at a time. “This change in game play meant I had to strip out a ton of the core game mechanics- chores, side dishes, and the buzz mechanics from the first two games are gone now. In a lot of ways, it takes the management systems of the very first game of the series, adds the game play mechanics from the second, and adds in an all new story-based campaign and new game play structure.” Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! Hits early access on both Steam and GOG on January 29th at $15, with a full launch planned for PC and consoles around springtime this year.
