Cooking simulations run the gamut of intensity, but if Diner Dash is on the sweaty end of the spectrum, Galaxy Burgers is at the other end. Developed by Galactic Workshop, this space-themed burger flipping game is bursting with weirdness – astronaut cats, delivery bots, aliens and elf-men are your customers on the various planets of our galaxy, rendered in 16-bit graphics.
With every burger joint you open, you'll meet new customers decorated in different art styles – on Venus you'll meet lots of chibi-robo-kitties, while the Earthlings, who live on both Earth and the Moon, there are Rick and Morty-like. Some customers are shy, but more importantly, all customers are relaxed and relatively easy to please. These burger joints are like a college town pizzeria run by slow but ultimately effective stoners. There's no rush, so as a player you can really pay attention to perfectly matching the burger with the bun or nailing your ketchup artwork.
Galaxy Burgers By default, a mode is activated in which you earn wages and tips for correctly placing orders for one day at a time. You know from the start of the round how many customers you will see that day and can take as long as you want to complete it in real time. In short, it's the satisfaction of a Diner Dash or Cooking Mama game, without the stress. However, the money acts as a motivating reward – you can use it to unlock new planets (I've unlocked up to Earth so far) and to buy vouchers for more tips and faster cooking times, as well as other buffs, each of which lasts for a day.
Online Co-op, Endless Mode and Time Sensitive Mode – where customers judge you based on order accuracy And Speed – do Galaxy Burgers Despite the simple premise, it feels like a fully-fledged game. I'm looking forward to the possibility of updates that could add more variety to dialogue with customers, or a challenge mode to play in between the relaxing standard mode rounds. But as it stands now, it has a loose grip on my attention and I like that it's designed to respect my time. It has become a regular part of my games that I play while simultaneously watching an episode on TV that I have already seen and having a conversation with my husband. Oh, is it just me? OK…
