Pao Pao
- Mona
- Jan 25
- 4 min read
Factors | Rating | Description |
🎮Gameplay | 10 | Smooth cooking chaos meets cozy open-world exploration perfectly. |
📷Graphics | 10 | Adorable art style with polished lighting and animations. |
🎧Narration/Audio | 9.5 | Cute sound design from chopping to lilypad splashes. |
😮Variety | 9.5 | Restaurant sim, fishing, farming, arcade games - tons to do. |
🎰Re-playability | 9 | Collections, easter eggs, and co-op keep you coming back. |
💲Price | TBD | TBD |
Went into this completely blind with my boyfriend and oh my god. We expected another generic cooking game but Pao Pao just...hits different. Controller in hand, cozy vibes on max - this shot straight into my top 3 co-op games and I'm not even exaggerating.
📝Story/Plot without spoilers
🔸 You're an adorable fluffy animal - could be a cat, fox, raccoon, whatever fits your vibe - running a small restaurant in a charming town. The game opens with some backstory before dropping you into a tutorial that teaches you the ropes without being annoying about it. Your goal? Build up your restaurant, serve customers, explore the town, help locals with quests, and basically live your best cozy chef life. It's not heavy on narrative but the world feels alive and the NPCs have personality. The demo doesn't fully flesh out the quest storylines yet, but there's enough here to make you care about this little town and its fuzzy residents.
🎮Gameplay
🔸 Let me tell you - the first 20 minutes had me hooked. Tutorial's quick, controls are intuitive, and you're cooking within minutes. On controller it feels so natural. You dash around, chop ingredients (yes, dash - very Overcooked energy), manage multiple cooking stations, and serve customers before they get impatient.
------🔹 The cooking stations are varied too. You've got grinders, fryers, ovens, mixers, and more. Each recipe needs specific equipment and ingredients, so there's actual strategy in what you choose to sell each day. Before opening, you pick your menu based on what ingredients you have. Run out? Head to the market. But here's the thing - the market restocks weekly, so you can't just buy everything whenever. Makes you plan ahead. There are so many ingredients and opportunities for recipes that keep you hooked and not feel bored with variety.
------🔹 What surprised me is how the game shifts gears. During restaurant hours it's top-down frantic cooking chaos - taking orders, cooking, serving, washing dishes, managing it all with your co-op partner. But then evening hits and suddenly you're in this cozy open-world exploration mode with an angled camera view. You can fish (super relaxing btw), hit up the arcade to earn tickets for outfits, hunt for kites around town, dig with your shovel, visit the supermarket for groceries and furniture, even shoot off fireworks.
------🔹 The progression loop is satisfying. As you play, you unlock a farm where you grow your own ingredients. There's a collection system tracking everything from ingredients to figurines to cats to origami. If you're someone who needs that "I'm achieving something" feeling, it's got you covered.
🔸 Co-op works beautifully for the most part. Communication matters - one person can handle orders while another cooks, or you split stations. The chaos is fun, not frustrating. And when you're exploring town together it's just chill and wholesome.
------🔹Now the bugs. Gotta be honest here. We ran into two issues during our playthrough. First one was rough - we both dashed at the same time and clipped through a chicken fence, got completely stuck. Couldn't move. And since the game only saves when you sleep, we lost that entire day's progress. That hurt. Second bug was visual - traveled to the farm lady while holding kites and the kite strings went absolutely crazy across the screen. Neither were game-breaking long term but that save loss stung. I wish there was a respawn option to get unstuck and spawn back at the restaurant.
📷 Graphics
🔸 This game looks like it came from a big studio. Seriously. The art style is absolutely adorable - colorful, vibrant, with this soft aesthetic that makes everything feel warm and inviting. Character designs are charming, the animal avatars have personality, and the animations are smooth as butter. When you chop veggies there's this satisfying visual feedback that matches the sound design perfectly.
🔸 The lighting is something else. Day-night cycle isn't just a mechanic - it changes the whole atmosphere. Daytime feels bright and energetic, evenings get this cozy warm glow. Even small details like how water looks when you're fishing or how the town lights up at night show how much care went into this. No frame drops, no visual jank. For a demo from a small team, the polish level is kinda insane.
📝Main Pros and Cons
🟩Pros-
Incredibly polished for an indie demo - feels AAA quality
Cooking mechanics are satisfying with that Overcooked DNA
Seamless shift between restaurant management and open-world exploration
Adorable art style with gorgeous lighting and animations
Tons of side activities - fishing, arcade, farming, collecting
Co-op works great and communication feels rewarding
🟥Cons-
Some bugs here and there
🏷️Tips for beginners
🔸 Plan your menu around what ingredients are actually available at the market - don't pick recipes you can't make and always try to pick the ones which have profit. Because remember you are making money here. Use daytime for restaurant and night-time for story missions and restocking. In co-op, split roles - one person on cooking stations, one on customer service and dishes works well. Check the in-game guidance if you're stuck on anything - it's pretty comprehensive.
😇 Verdict
🔸 Pao Pao genuinely surprised me. What looks like another cute cooking game is actually this incredibly polished blend of Overcooked-style chaos and cozy open-world life sim. The restaurant management is tight and satisfying, but it's the variety that sets it apart - fishing, farming, arcade games, town exploration, collections. There's so much packed into this demo.
If you love co-op games, cooking sims, or just want something cozy to play with a friend or partner, this is a must-try.
A couple bugs cost us some progress, which stung, but honestly? We immediately jumped back in because we were having that much fun. For a small indie team, the quality here is remarkable. When the full game drops, I'm buying it day one.
Rating: 9/10
We used to sit on the bench after the restaurant closes and just talk lovingly
