Iwájú: Rising Chef Review - Vibrant dishes, dull characters

Before we delve into the review, it's worth letting you know that Iwájú: Rising Chef mobile game is inspired by Disney and Kugali Media's Iwájú animated series which aired on Disney+ in February 2024. 

The mobile game which was also released in the same month, invites players into a colorful culinary world where they get to run their own restaurant by cooking dishes, serving customers and completing challenges.

Prior to release when it was codenamed Project Candyland, the game was expected to be a hit. It had all the right ingredients: a vibrant theme, a talented team of developers at Maliyo Games and the distribution power of Disney, a global entertainment giant. 

Story 

After your culinary talents earned you a stellar reputation, you're invited to showcase your skills by cooking for an Owambe event. In this game, Kole, your childhood best friend from Ajegunle and a character from the Iwájú animated series, encourages you to start your own cooking business. 

To lend a hand, he enlists Tola, another character from the series. Together, they crown you the 'Bukka Boss,' a name that doesn't really fit into the game's narrative and set you on a journey to become the best cook in Lagos. 

Gameplay and Visuals 

Disney sought a local developer to create an Iwájú mobile title, inviting multiple studios to pitch game concepts before tasking the chosen developer with building a prototype. Ultimately, the Marvel parent company was most impressed with Maliyo Games’ concept, and the Lagos-based studio did a brilliant job with the game. 

The game features an extended tutorial phase, which, while thorough, feels overly lengthy. The initial levels are relatively easy, leading to some repetitiveness early on. However, as you progress to more challenging stages, accumulate coins, and unlock various upgrades, the gameplay becomes increasingly engaging.  

Iwájú: Rising Chef boasts vibrant visuals, appealing even to players unfamiliar with simulation titles. The game’s character designs also hold up with a mix of several customers that troop into your restaurant to grab a bite. 

Themes and Perspective

While Iwájú Rising Chef may have appealed to audiences familiar with the Disney animated series. Despite being developed by an African studio in Nigeria, the game’s focus on Tola and Kole might not have resonated well with most players. 

While these characters are key to the series’ overall plot, they lack the in-depth backstories needed to foster any real sense of connection or familiarity with players. Many Nigerians would likely prefer playing a game featuring well-known, familiar faces rather than relatively unknown characters. 

Iwájú: Rising Chef also takes a lot of inspiration from Tilting Point’s SpongeBob: Krusty Cool Off mobile game, and whatever flaws that game had, one of the things the developers did right was that it offered that feeling of playing the game with beloved characters that are well known. Rising Chef doesn't really have that because the characters all seem like strangers to most players and they can't relate to them.

Overall, Iwájú: Rising Chef is a fun cooking game that players familiar with Nigerian dishes will enjoy. The game's variety of dishes and beautiful in-game locations makes up for its dull and often uninteresting character interactions.