It’s a very busy month for Mama, then. When not in the garden, tempting youthful minigame fans of a green-fingered persuasion,she is back in the kitchen for a game that revisits the series’ culinary roots. Fortunately, we are here to help with the workload.
The gameplay focuses predominantly on 60 recipes that demand tapping, stroking, tilting and blowing the 3DS to prepare meals. The stylus is reimagined as a gastronomic Swiss army knife, and is used to chop, knead, grate and much else besides. There’s also a bounty of cooking and presentation to undertake, in an experience that harks back to Nintendo’s DS and Wii-era casual gaming revolution.
Beyond the core recipe book there is also a time-attack mode, a local multiplayer setting for those with an additional 3DS, and a host of peripheral mini games that cover food service and study, and even muscle in on Gardening Mama’s theme.
There’s a little humour, too, and ample character presented via winsome visuals, making for a decent enough game for younger children. However, a lack of depth and challenge means Mama’s latest will do little for adults. As in the garden, so in the kitchen.
