Battle Chef Brigade

Battle Chef Brigade mixes action combat, cooking, and puzzle gameplay into something surprisingly cohesive. It’s basically Iron Chef turned into a fantasy RPG, where you hunt monsters for ingredients and then cook them under time pressure using a match-3 system. It’s a fun and creative concept that works well thanks to its charm, pacing, and personality.
Gameplay
Each “battle” starts with you heading out to hunt for ingredients. You fight monsters in short action-platforming segments, collect their drops, and rush back to cook. The combat is simple but snappy, relying more on timing and movement than depth. Once you’re in the kitchen, the game shifts into a match-3 puzzle where you combine ingredients to raise your dish’s elemental flavor profile to impress the judges. It’s straightforward but satisfying, especially when you start chaining combos or using special cookware to manipulate flavors efficiently. Despite being simple on paper, the cooking really shines when you’re juggling multiple dishes at once, it gets hectic in a fun way, forcing you to think and act quickly while keeping the kitchen under control.
Progression & Replayability
The progression happens as you move through the story and get new gear, cooking tools, and ingredients that change how you play a little. It’s not a very deep system, but it works well for the game. The main story is pretty short, but it keeps things interesting from beginning to end. After finishing it, there are optional things like daily challenges and post-game modes to keep playing a bit longer, though it doesn’t go on forever.
Presentation
This is probably the game’s biggest selling point. The hand-drawn art is gorgeous, the soundtrack matches the game’s tone perfectly, keeping things upbeat and energetic during each competition, and the cutscene animations are fantastic. The characters are memorable, and the overall tone stays light and playful throughout. It doesn’t need huge scale or complexity to leave an impression, it’s simply a charming, confident little game that executes its concept well.
TL;DR: Battle Chef Brigade is a stylish, well-polished hidden gem that blends combat and cooking better than it has any right to. It’s simple, fun, and full of charm, not deep, but definitely worth playing.

8/10 - Highly recommend!
Was inspired to play this after watching the Delicious In Dungeon anime, as it's similar concept - kill monsters and use them as ingredients for cooking!
Great gameplay loop of cooking battles - go kill monsters to gather ingredients - then mix them and move them in a puzzle to level them up for higher scores to beat the opponents - while ensuring you meet the correct element a judge desires!
Along with a decent story overall with good pacing, supported by a balanced cast of characters.
Very enjoyable game, especially on the Steam Deck - Played around 10+ hours but not registered from offline mode.

Finally got around to completing this game, and it was okay. I found the earlier parts more exciting and enjoyable. The story felt like it didn't really go anywhere and then ended abruptly.
I think the game could have benefited from more RPG elements, such as stats or the ability to specialize in specific dishes for some creativity. Yes, you can purchase items that increase battle stat bonuses and carrying capacity, but they didn't feel like they made much difference. Adapting to different challenges with cookware made things a bit more interesting.
I'd say it's definitely more of a puzzle game with some action elements, and the action parts (slaying monsters and picking up ingredients) aren't very memorable. Perhaps playing on a harder difficulty improves the experience, but I don't think I'll be getting around to that.
I really loved the art style!
🌟🌟🌟 3/5

very underrated game imo, it might not be everyone's cup of tea because of the cooking part. But i loved the game mechanics, art and puzzles. The story is a 10 too

A rare mashup of complex match-3 and combat, all under time pressure. It certainly won't be for everyone as puzzles and time pressure don't usually go together well.
The story is enjoyable and the game introduces new cooking mechanics at good pace to keep the game moving.
I'm not sure when this turned up in my steam backlog, but I'm glad I took the time to check it out.

Battle Chef Brigade delivers a fresh and inventive gameplay experience by blending side-scrolling combat with match-3 puzzle cooking.
Prime Cuts:
✅ Beautiful art style.
Visually, the game is stunning, with hand-drawn, anime-inspired graphics that are vibrant and reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's enchanting art style. Each character, monster, dish, and background is meticulously designed, adding to the game's charm and making for a whimsical and alive fantasy world.
✅ Unique cooking and combat system
The main gameplay loop successfully blends two very different gaming genres, requiring you to hunt monsters for ingredients and then prepare culinary creations. I found gameplay to be fast-paced but engaging as you have to balance combat with cooking and making sure that you time it all well (particularly in matches where you need to serve 3 judges).
✅ Lovely soundtrack along with fully-voiced dialogue.
The voice acting was excellent and brought the different characters to life with distinct and memorable performances. The music soundtrack also complements the gameplay well, being more dynamic during combat and then more lighthearted during cooking or story scenes.
✅ Many extra modes beyond the main story.
Beyond the main campaign, there are also extra modes that add more replayability to the game, including daily cook-offs, free-play mode, and other mini-games from the main campaign.
Flops:
⛔ Combat needs to be a bit more refined.
My biggest gripe is with the combat which I feel wasn't executed well. The controls are quite clunky on keyboard and I would often press the wrong keys and do the wrong action or drop ingredients which was frustrating to get used to. The player's movement is also floaty and lacks weight when attacking monsters, which makes combat feel less intense.
⛔ Shallow main story.
The main story started off well but became a bit shallow and underdeveloped by the end, with less tension and a lot of resolutions made off-screen after the final chapter. One chapter near the end was also a bit random where you play as a different character and it felt quite out of place with the main story and plot line.
⛔ Most of the unique characters are underdeveloped.
Many NPCs like Leonid were only used as cooking battle opponents or judges and I feel like there could've been side-stories or B plots to flesh out these characters (besides the one chapter where you play as another character).
Verdict: 7/10
Altogether, Battle Chef Brigade is a unique game that blends side-scrolling hack-and-slash with match-3 puzzles. The art, voice acting, and innovative concept are the highlights in my opinion, but I think there's a lot to be desired in terms of fleshing out and refining the combat. This game was a Humble Choice offer for me so I'd recommend giving it a shot if it's on sale.

If you're looking for something that stands out from other games, and you can spend a handful of hours playing, this is your game. I bought it on a whim thinking I'd play a little here and there, and I wound up playing it daily for a while. The fun thing is even when you beat the game, there is a daily battle to do, and I absolutely love games that do that, keep it unique.
My only downside with this game is some of the puzzles you do towards endgame to advance the story are TOO hard. This may just be me being a vanilla gamer but I do a lot of puzzle type games that are challenging and some of them in this game properly stumped me to the point of halting me from advancing the story. Yes there are tutorials on video sites to help but I don't like having to default to that after spending so long being horribly frustrated at a silly puzzle. I may finish it someday, but for now I'll enjoy doing the daily and keep my interest there.
Regardless, highly recommend the game, very fun!