We got our first look at Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook in last September’s NIS America Showcase featuring games coming west in early 2023. Well, the “early” part of the year has nearly passed, and the games have mostly been released… except Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook. It’s a new take on strategy RPGs, best described as a dungeon-crawling survival adventure. The game will be released later this month, but to whet your appetite there’s a demo available now via PlayStation and Nintendo.
The game begins when a group of adventurers plunge into the depths of an uncharted dungeon. They quickly learn they’ve bit off more than they can chew (get it?) as they become hopelessly lost. They must find whatever food they can while searching for the way out.
Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook combines exploration, tactical combat, and cooking mechanics to create, as the publisher describes, “the perfect dish of dungeon-crawling adventure.” I have a feeling the food/cooking puns will run rampant through the game, though that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Begin by customizing the class, appearance, voice, and pose of each of the party members. Then set off to find food however possible.
What’s a demo without a trailer? Well, I suppose it’s just a demo, but still. There’s a trailer for it anyway!
Food can be obtained in a variety of ways. Explore the map and forage for ingredients/items. Fight monsters and collect their meat, or devour them on the spot for a temporary boost. All this action, however, will burn precious calories. Parties must be in tip-top shape to have any shot at fighting the monsters lurking further within the dungeon. To recover HP and cook meals, set up a campfire. Players can combine Ingredients to create powerful dishes that can replenish calories, buff party members, activate skills, or harm monsters in battle.
Players who start out with the demo can transfer their save data to the full game.
Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, Monster Menu: The Scavenger’s Cookbook will be released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on May 23 in North America and May 26 in Europe.
