(Image credit: The Rat Zone)
I used to enjoy horror movies and games a lot, but as I get older I find I'm not that interested in being scared out of my wits. I love all the trappings of horror: the tension, the atmosphere, the monsters. But the actual scary stuff? I'd rather pass, honestly.
That's one of many reasons that Creature Kitchen is the perfect game for me to play this Halloween week. It's spooky, it's unsettling, it's occasionally startling, but it's not really scary at all. It's actually downright sweet, the perfect treat for any fellow scaredy cats this Halloween.
In Creature Kitchen you find yourself in the darkened woods late at night, drawn to a small, creaky cabin by a mysterious light. Once there you can begin poking around: opening drawers, peering into the fridge, frowning at locked doors and jumping at the occasional clap of thunder and flash of lightning. In nearly any other game you'd soon be fighting for your life, but here, you've got a different mission: start cooking.
The woods and house are filled with creatures. Some aren't too surprising: a mouse living in the walls, for example. Others fall into the cryptid category and are more alarming, at least at first. Your job is to take an old camera and photograph these entities, which adds an entry into your diary. Once you've taken a picture of a creepy creature, your diary will give you some hints about what it might like to eat.
Then you hunt for recipes and ingredients: some in the weird pantry that seems infinitely deep, some hidden in the drawers and among the knickknacks in the cabin, and some in the yard and shadowy woods beyond the fence. Prepare your ingredients in a frying pan, mixing bowl, or chopping board, then put them in a paper bag and feed them to the correct beastie.
These hungry creatures may look like monsters, but they're just your neighbors, really, and there's no better way to make a new friend than over a tasty meal. Serve these cuddly cryptids the foods they like and they'll give you a key that unlocks something new in your cabin leading to new ingredients, recipes, and secrets.
The cooking system is great, there are some clever puzzles hidden around, and the cryptids, while initially unnerving to be around, eventually feel like your cuddly besties. There's one, I admit, that startled me a bit just about every time I saw it lurching around outside, but then something happened. The times I went out and didn't see it I'd get worried. Is it OK? Is it coming back? Do I actually… miss that giant weirdo?
Creature Kitchen is a real joy. It's spooky yet sweet, with a genuinely unsettling horror atmosphere that somehow fits perfectly with its wholesome message. It's one of my favorite games of the year, and if you really enjoy horror but hate actually being scared, I think you should grab it on Steam and get cooking.
