The first game from Studio Daimon – a JRPG called Path of the Midnight Sun – has a great narrative, solid gameplay mechanics, and a pleasing aesthetic. Today, Studio Daimon announced its next title. Food Devils is about the lone human chef remaining in a post-apocalyptic world where food is scarce and survival is a struggle. It combines gameplay elements from SRPGs, roguelikes, and base builders. Food Devils is set to launch in late 2025 for PC (and possibly consoles if a stretch goal is met on Kickstarter, but I’ll get to that later).
Food Devils begins in a world with excessive pollution thanks to humanity. The gods reverse the food chain to punish them, causing modern civilization to collapse. Centuries later, society has regressed to primitive state; cultural advancements like the culinary arts have mostly been lost. Humans live in four biomes, each manifested from a sin of the former civilization. A land of eternal flames, the Ashen Forest, symbolizes deforestation and forest fires. The Fungal Grotto has a toxic, parasitized environment representing industrial discharge and pollution. Reflecting the excesses of capitalism and GMOs, the Candy Cane Canopy is a strange place where monsters are made up of junk food. And the Spectral Shores are a reminder of sea pollution, haunted by eerie chimeras with plastic appendages.
The Food Devils embody human ideals, to the extreme. Each Devil has a flawed nature that brings new opportunities and challenges. They offer dubious contracts to adventurers. Food Devils are terrified that betraying their ideals would leads to their own demise. They are stuck balancing the benefits of cooperation and the changes those require. You’ll develop relationships with them (you can even date them, which has repercussions in the story). The dynamics within your restaurant affect how the Devils interact and evolve.
The base builder aspect of Food Devils involves customizing your restaurant and preparing dishes to attract human adventurers – plus build up those relationships with the Food Devils. Once you’ve attracted adventurers, convince them to sign contracts with the Devils. After choosing a Devil captain, assemble a team of up to four humans and head off for an expedition to one of the biomes.
Related reading: Check out my review for Studio Daimon’s debut game, Path of the Midnight Sun.
This is where strategy RPG and roguelike come into play. The biomes are procedurally generated with tactical combat. Your humans can be equipped with random skillsets before heading out to collect rare ingredients for your restaurant. Better ingredients will attract stronger adventurers and new Food Devils, and that unlocks tools in your arsenal, new quests, plus a lot of customization options.
Despite being a roguelike, the game promises profound narrative depth. What you choose to say, who you choose to support, and what dishes you cook will influence the culture. There are also difficulty options to cater everyone from those wanting a gentle RPG experience (AKA me) and hardcore roguelike enthusiasts.
With the game’s Kickstarter campaign, there are multiple backer levels to choose from as well as several stretch goals. For backer levels, there are the usual options like a digital Standard Edition and Collector’s Edition. There are further levels for closed beta access, becoming a Studio Daimon VIP (get lifetime access to all the developer’s PC games, past and future), (co-)designing aspects of the game, and more.
To me, the stretch goals are the most important part of the crowdfunding campaign because that’s how Food Devils will come to consoles. If a target of €55K is reached, the game will be released for PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox in addition to PC. Further goals include localization; an entrepreneur expansion; and DLC (free for backers) that includes a new Devil, world, and storyline. The largest current stretch goal is €130K, but what comes with it remains a mystery.
Developed and published by Studio Daimon, Food Devils will be released for PC via Steam in late 2025. It will hopefully also launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The game can now be added to your wishlist on Steam and backed on Kickstarter.
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