SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure is a co-op cooking-combat adventure where you embark on an exciting culinary journey, whip up delectable delicacies, and serve your way through a fantastical reimagination of Southeast Asia!

Developed by: kopiforge

Played on: Steam

Length: ~10 hours

A review key was provided by kopiforge.

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There is no environment more chaotic than a kitchen. Cooks shouting orders, stovetops bustling with dishes, and balancing endless lines of impatient customers — all for that coveted three-star score. Singaporean-based indie studio kopiforge pairs the friendship-ending chaos of Overcooked with the diverse cuisine of Southeast Asia, resulting in a delicious serving of fun that’s hard to put down.

Its story follows Som and Gon, two aspiring culinary geniuses who embark on a perilous journey to Khaya Island, where strange monsters and long-forgotten cuisines await. There are 3 unique biomes and 42 levels to explore, plus new Southeast Asian recipes introduced in each level, making this more than just a one-sitting adventure.

Depending on which character you pick, your experience with this game takes a completely different spin. As Som the Cooker, you’re in for a more typical restaurant management sim experience, with most of your time spent prepping ingredients, cooking, and serving customers. But if you pick Gon the Hunter, you’re going to be the brawn of the team, gathering ingredients and battling creatures in a top down beat ’em up.

While both characters are generally interchangeable, especially in the early-game, both Som and Gon have character-specific buffs and weapons that make all the difference in the late-game. Upgrading your weapons and equipping charms becomes a must if you’re aiming for a perfect three-star run, and more hardcore players can even customise character builds based on their playstyle; from abilities that buy you more time with customers, or abilities that increase your attack or cooking speed.

With the right weapons and charms in your loadout, all there’s left is communication with your partner. Any pretense of SEDAP! being a cozy cooking game is immediately shattered the moment the game starts serving you 3-6 recipes at once, each requiring 3-4 different ingredients to complete. Not only that, ingredients can spoil when left alone for too long, which adds even more urgency to this already-hectic game.

Despite everything players have to manage, SEDAP! manages to ride the fine line between fun and overwhelming. There’s a good amount of challenge from start to finish, with enough responsibility and gameplay split between both players. Most players will be able to pass every level with at least one-star, while on the other extreme, more competitive players can aim for the special pink three-star rating for 100% perfect runs.

That being said, there is room for polish. A few upgrades we hope to see in the future includes the ability to freely swap characters in online multiplayer, and clearer instructions for some of the cooking mini games. Most of the minor bugs we encountered during pre-launch have already been fixed by the developers, and we appreciate their speedy response to their players’ comments.

With Southeast Asia rising into prominence on the global stage, it is games like SEDAP! who are leading the charge. It brought us an indescribable joy to see familiar cuisines like teh tarik and rendang appear in-game, but it means even more to see stories that address regionally ubiquitous themes of colonialism and preservation of culture.

It is a heartwarming reminder that our countries are different, but we’re also similar; from the common ingredients we use in our most famous delicacies, to the dishes that are impossible to trace back to its origins, to the darker parts of our shared history. In this impressive debut title, kopiforge has managed to condense what makes our region special, while also presenting a fun and chaotic co-op experience that we’re confident will travel far beyond our shores.

Now, excuse us while we brew more teh tarik.

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Verdict: Yes, Chef!

Singaporean-based indie studio kopiforge pairs the friendship-ending chaos of Overcooked with the diverse cuisine of Southeast Asia, resulting in a delicious serving of fun that’s hard to put down. In this two-player co-op, your gameplay experience ranges from restaurant management sim to action brawler depending on your character of choice, lending to hours of replayability and achievement hunting.

Wishlist SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure on Steam, and top up your Steam Wallet on Codashop to earn bonus rewards.