For as long as there have been people, there have been interesting and new ways to eat food. Cooking Simulator has taken that feeling of unlimited possibilities in the culinary arts and let players loose in a kitchen to make recipes or experiment on their own. Furthermore, the game has doubled down on its premise by introducing new opportunities for players to play with their food. In an interview with Game Rant, developer Tomasz Mysko and main designer for the Shelter DLC, Szymon Junde, discussed the upcoming new mode in Cooking Simulator.
Having already released two DLC modes, the developers wanted to introduce something new and exciting. The hope with Shelter is it's so different from the DLC before it that it'll provide more fun for players. Like in all prior DLC, there will be a free play mode, but Big Cheese Studio allowed itself more creativity when developing the world of Shelter. The end goal is planned to be an engaging story in an apocalyptic wasteland, mixing a post-apocalyptic setting and advanced cooking mechanics.
New Ingredients, New Kitchen
In Cooking Simulator: Shelter, the protagonist has journeyed across a vast wasteland after a nuclear apocalypse has rendered much of the area damaged. Due to the radiation from the bombs, many of the flora and fauna have been affected, growing into strange new shapes and colors. When players jump into the game after its introductory cutscene, they can access a hunting range from their shed, and plants are grown in an underground farm. Other products can be delivered by caravan.
"We really wanted to look at the post-apocalyptic setting as a chance to introduce nutritious and tasty-looking food products with interesting shapes, glowing elements, and vibrant colors. As for the recipes, we couldn’t rely too much on the real-world prepper kitchen."
Junde said they wanted the kitchen in the DLC to look less well-prepped and put together compared to its predecessors. The decision to go with an open grill and kebab style was developed based on Turkish cooking. There is still an oven and other traditional cooking methods, but the new grill will work in addition to the stovetop from previous iterations. While the kitchen and ingredients look a little different, the player is sure to be able to pick up the new styles in no time at all.
Building a Family
First revealed in Shelter's teaser, the protagonist of the DLC will be searching the land for their lost family when they stumble on an abandoned shelter with a functioning kitchen. Junde said the player will have to help local survivors by feeding them in order to get access to a radio tower that will allow them to contact their family. By fulfilling orders, the player will hopefully get help from the other survivors to restore the radio tower.
"The radio towers could be used to contact our family, however, we won’t be able to restore them without help from the nearby settlements. We’ll need to gain their trust and gratitude first. That’s where our cooking skills come in."
This is certainly a departure from the past two DLC expansions, and it seems the developers wouldn't have it any other way. While stuck in a real kitchen, bakery, and pizzeria kept them confined in what they could do, Shelter is providing the Cooking Simulator team with a variety of new creative opportunities. With a developer that's alreadt nailing the basics of cooking games, it will be interesting to see what a little freedom of creativity is able to bring to the game.
Cooking Simulator: Shelter is currently in development.