Purveyor of Previews: World End Diner
The world has ended. Everything is gone, except for one little island. On that island, a little robot runs a diner for the animals of the forest. There’s a lot of how’s and why’s about this premise, but as I played, I found myself increasingly uninterested in them. Being a little robot running a diner by myself was a task that filled every moment of the day. The why didn’t really matter, rather my little robot self was here, there was work to do, and that’s all that matters.
World End Diner is an early access management game that feels wholly unique to me. The best way to describe is if Cook Serve Delicious, Harvest Moon, and Diner Dash had a child. I had to balance gathering materials, cooking, filling orders, and maintaining the diner, all within the first three hours. There’s a LOT more in the game, such as farming, crafting, and much much more. However, the progression in the game is a little slow-paced, and I got a deadline! It’s pretty safe to say though, even though the game is in early access, it’s pretty much already a game absolutely packed with content.
The core gameplay loop is really fun and really tight. It’s easy to lose track of time as I get stuck in a loop of “just one more day” that’s familiar to many players of farming games. Each day is only a few minutes long, yet there’s enough going on that it’s kept me engaged. Albeit slow, there’s definite forward momentum. There’s so much to unlock, from items to activities to skills, to recipes, and so much more.
There’s a lot of flexibility in this game too. Even early on, I felt a lot of freedom to build my diner the way I wanted. While I don’t have a clear vision yet, I can just sell cornbread, onion rings, and grape soda for shits and giggles. Breakfast of champions right there.
While the game is a bit of a time investment, I recommend it if this sounds like your cup of tea. It feels good. The only real complaint I have is that the translation is...not good. At all. Luckily the text is still understandable and in truth, not prevalent enough to really be an issue.
Right now the game is $14.99 on Steam, and it gets a recommendation from me.