Cooking Mama: Cookstar

Cooking Mama: Cookstar is a cookery simulation-styled minigame compilation video game, and the sixth main installment in the Cooking Mama series of video games. The game was briefly released before its official release date on the Nintendo Switch eShop on March 26, 2020,[4] but was taken down just a few hours later due to legal issues between the publisher, Planet Entertainment, and the owner of the Cooking Mama intellectual property (IP), Office Create. The fact that the game released without a public announcement or press statement and was taken down so quickly has led to much speculation about the game's development and if the game will be properly released.[5] The game was then officially released on March 31 in the United States despite legal concerns, but the European and Australian releases were delayed to April 28.[2] Office Create publicly issued a statement condemning the breach of contract on April 15, 2020. However, the European and Australian releases were not impacted and released as normal.

Cooking Mama: Cookstar
Cover art
Developer(s)1st Playable Productions
Publisher(s)Planet Entertainment
SeriesCooking Mama
EngineUnity
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
Release
Genre(s)Simulation, minigame

The game is the first main entry in the Cooking Mama series since 2014's Cooking Mama 5: Bon Appétit!, and the first Cooking Mama game on console since 2008’s Cooking Mama: World Kitchen. A PlayStation 4 version was also announced with the game's initial announcement in August 2019 with a planned April 28, 2020 release, but has not released or been advertised by Planet Entertainment since.

Gameplay

Cooking Mama: Cookstar plays similarly to previous entries in the series. New in Cookstar is the introduction of a vegetarian mode, as well as the ability to share photos of completed recipes on social media. The former was praised by PETA, which had criticized previous Cooking Mama games for having few vegan recipes.[6]

Development

Cookstar was initially revealed as Cooking Mama: Coming Home to Mama in August 2019, with an estimated release date for Q3 of that year. Its publisher claimed that it was the first implementation of blockchain technology on a major video game console, using the technology to implement a form of digital rights management.[7] The game was developed by American[8] studio 1st Playable Productions, but the company later removed all mentions of the game from its website.[9]

Release

Cookstar ostensibly released on March 31, 2020. The game was briefly made available on the Nintendo Switch eShop, but pulled shortly after its release.[10] Additionally, the PlayStation 4 version was never released despite being listed on several storefronts. Unconfirmed rumors that the game acted as a cryptocurrency miner emerged shortly after its release.[11] 1st Playable responded that the implementation of blockchain technology was only "hypothetical" and explained that the game's removal from Nintendo eShop was due to an ongoing legal dispute between the publisher Planet Entertainment and IP rights holder Office Create.[12] Office Create stated it has started taking legal action against Planet as they had terminated their license to use Cooking Mama on March 30, 2020, after which Planet had started selling the game.[13]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic46/100[14]
Review scores
PublicationScore
IGN3/10[15]
Nintendo Life[16]
Nintendo World Report4.5/10[17]

Cooking Mama: Cookstar received "generally unfavorable" reviews according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[14]

Travis Northup of IGN gave the game 3 out of 10, praising the detailed recipes featured in the game, but criticizing the monotonous gameplay, poor motion controls, "nightmarish" voice acting, and lack of meaningful progression. He also noted that the game does not offer anything new compared to past entries, which combined with the flaws, make Cookstar a "tedious game that does almost nothing well."[15]

Conversely, TheGamer's Bella Blondeau gave Cookstar a 4 out of 5. She praised the game's variety and amount of content, as well as the "nuance" to mastering the mechanics. In addition, she praised the game's photo mode and Yoko Nishino's "charming" performance as Mama, stating that the character felt "like a tangible, adorable dork of a mother."[18]

gollark: "1 + 1 is 2"
gollark: ++search oops
gollark: ++seach are you sure?
gollark: ++search no it won't
gollark: I actually just bodged it into kind of working by limiting results to 5.

References
  1. Smith, Alex (April 13, 2020). "Where to buy the elusive new Cooking Mama: Cookstar game for Nintendo Switch". Android Central. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  2. NinFan (February 24, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar could have been delayed until April". iGamesNewsl. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  3. "Cooking Mama: Cookstar – Release Details". GameFAQs. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  4. rawmeatcowboy (March 26, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar was available to download for a short time today, but has since mysteriously vanished". GoNintendo. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  5. Blondeau, Bella (April 4, 2020). "For Some Reason, The New Cooking Mama Is 2020's Biggest Gaming Mystery". TheGamer. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  6. Doolan, Liam (August 23, 2019). "Random: Cooking Mama: Cookstar Receives Award From PETA For Including Vegetarian Mode". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  7. O'Connor, James (August 11, 2019). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar Brings Both Vegetarian Meals And Blockchain Technology To Nintendo Switch". GameSpot. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  8. "Contact Us". 1st Playable. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  9. Skrebels, Joe (April 3, 2020). "The Cooking Mama Game for Switch That Came Out, and Then Disappeared". IGN. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  10. Doolan, Liam (April 4, 2020). "Cooking Mama's New Game Has Been Pulled From The Switch eShop And Nobody Knows Why". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  11. Teuton, Christopher (April 5, 2020). "Cooking Mama Cookstar Rumored To Mine Cryptocurrency, Pulled From eShop". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  12. Doolan, Liam (April 4, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar Cryptocurrency Saga Takes Yet Another Turn As Publisher Blames Coronavirus". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  13. O'Conner, James (April 14, 2020). "Cooking Mama Owners Is Pursuing Legal Action Against Cookstar Developer". GameSpot. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  14. "Cooking Mama: Cookstar". Metacritic. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  15. Northup, Travis (April 15, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review". IGN. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  16. Vogel, Mitch (April 9, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  17. Green, Steven (April 13, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  18. Blondeau, Bella (April 15, 2020). "Cooking Mama: Cookstar Review: Millennial Mama". TheGamer. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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