I don’t know about you, but back in the days when the Nintendo DS was the latest and greatest handheld console, I poured hours into Cooking Mama. There was something so soothing about it, from the mechanics to the aesthetic, and I’ve been looking for a cooking game that captures that feeling ever since. In KuloNiku: Bowl Up!, I think I’ve found it. 

KuloNiku is a cooking game that’s generally centered around the inheritance of a formerly city-renowned meatball restaurant and doing what it takes to restore it to its former glory. Throw in some fascinating characters with whom you can build friendships, and some Cooking Mama-esque mechanics? It’s a winning recipe. 

Mmm… Meatballs

The two main aspects of KuloNiku combine in fine form: Restaurant management and cooking mini-games. While the cooking mini-games deserve their own dedicated section here (and that will come), let’s discuss the restaurant management side in a little more detail before we get to that point. 

We all know how management sims work by this point: You sell to make a profit, invest that profit in new equipment or upgrades, and then you sell more based on those purchases. That’s precisely how KuloNiku works as well, with a handful of customers visiting each day and ordering specific dishes depending on which equipment you currently have at your disposal. 

Some of the customers, especially initially, have straightforward orders that are directly out of your handy-dandy recipe book. Following instructions is easy, so you add the necessary ingredients and voila, you’ve got a happy customer. However, as you progress, those customers begin to get more picky, making vague requests for something “slightly spicy” that you’ll need to figure out. 

Once you’ve got your money, you can customize the restaurant itself. Pick the tables, wallpaper, flooring, and generally make the place your own. 

The reigning Meatball Brawl champion

For as long as I’ve been gaming, Cooking Mama has held the top spot when it came to mostly calming but at times stressful cooking games. There’s something about the act of chopping against a clock, or stirring just the right number of times before something burns, that feels soothing despite the anxiety of potentially getting it wrong and ruining the dish. 

KuloNiku could be the game I’ve been waiting for to steal the crown. 

The normal in-restaurant cooking is pretty straightforward. You add the ingredients, let them cook, and then you serve them. It’s vaguely Cooking Mama-esque, but the true likeness doesn’t become clear until you enter your first Meatball Brawl. 

Meatball Brawls are competitions against other characters who want you to prove that you’ve got what it takes to make a killer bowl of meatballs. They are filmed in front of a live studio audience, and you’re vying for the favor of a single mustachioed judge. Unlike in the restaurant, you don’t have only your purchased items or ingredients. Everything that you could possibly dream of is available to use. 

In the Meatball Brawls, you chop against a time limit, you stir and push items down under the liquid to make sure that it doesn’t get too dry, and you get creative to make everything as good as it can possibly be and appeal to the audience for extra points. Sadly, there’s no “blowing into the mic to cool down the flames”, but you can’t have everything. 

Colorful cast of characters

You’re not alone in running your inherited meatball restaurant. You’re doing this alongside a friend from college (Cassie) who shares your dream, with you in the kitchen and her manning the front of house. She is endlessly supportive and adorable to boot, so it’s difficult not to get attached to her. 

There are also other characters that you meet along the way, with some going on to be more important than others. There are the customers who visit and become regulars, the girl from the store next door where you buy all of your new ingredients and equipment (and bowls… It’s always a good idea to buy more bowls). 

Within the demo, the one major character you meet is your would-be rival, Stella. She’s a rockstar both on stage and in the kitchen, and while Grandma’s meatball restaurant has been waiting for you to take the reins, she has risen to glory within the city of KuloNiku. She has far too much confidence in herself and needs to be taken down a peg or two, but she’s also lovable, if you can get past her abrasive first impression. 

KuloNiku: Bowl Up! is set to release during the Fall of 2025 and is in development by Gambir Studio, but if you’re desperate for a taste of that meatball goodness, there’s a demo available to download and play right now.

And if, like me, you now have a ridiculously huge craving for meatballs, may I suggest IKEA’s Swedish meatballs? Just saying.