Cooking simulations vary in intensity, but if Diner Dash is on the sweaty end of the spectrum, Galaxy Burger is on the other side. Developed by Galactic Workshop, this space-themed hamburger flipping game is dripping with strangeness: astronaut cats, delivery bots, aliens and elf people are your customers on the various planets in our galaxy, depicted in 16-bit art.
With each burger joint you open, you’ll encounter new customers who are in different art styles – you’ll meet many chibi Robo-Kitties on Venus, while the Earthlings who reside on both Earth and the Moon Rick and Morty-ish. Some customers are shy, but more importantly, all customers are relaxed and relatively easy to please. These burger joints resemble a pizzeria in a college town run by slow, but ultimately effective stoners. There’s no rush, so as a player you can really get to work on lining up that burger perfectly with the bun, or creating your ketchup art.
Galaxy Burger defaults to a mode where you earn pay and tips for correctly placing orders one day at a time. You know from the start of the round how many customers you will see that day, and you can take as long as you want in real time. Basically, it’s the satisfaction of a Diner Dash or Cooking Mama game, without the stress. The money does function as a motivating reward, though: you can use it to unlock new planets (I’ve unlocked Earth so far) and buy coupons for more tips and faster cooking times, among other improvements that last one day each.
Online co-op, endless mode and time-sensitive mode – where customers rate you on order accuracy And speed – make Galaxy Burger feels like a complete game despite the simple premise. I’m looking forward to the possibility of updates that could bring more variety to customer dialogue, or a challenge mode to play in between the relaxing standard mode rounds. But as it stands, it has a loose grip on my attention, and I like that it was designed with respect for my time. It’s become a mainstay in my rotation of games that I play while also half-watching a television episode I’ve already seen and having a conversation with my husband. Oh, is that just me? OKAY…