Video Game Review: Lemon Cake

Developer: Cozy Bee Games

Publisher: Cozy Bee Games

Reviewed For: Nintendo Switch

Also Available On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Lemon Cake is a comforting time-management simulation game with a focus on running a bakery café. It is similar to Diner Dash in which the player rushes around, serving as many customers as possible, yet there are many differences that make Lemon Cake an outstanding game on its own.

From the beginning, the player can be customized without needing to specify a gender which makes the game accessible to a diverse community. There is also the option to wear aprons and hats which is available later in the game as more content is unlocked. The cat and bunny ears are especially cute wearables. Miss Bon Bon, a charming ghost who was the former owner of the bakery, guides the player throughout the game and teaches them how to bake and serve customers.

Another ghost who appears in your bakery from time to time is Inspector Mustache. He makes sure the bakery is clean and bug-free. Whenever he appears, a mini-game is prompted where you have to catch as many bugs as possible. This breaks up the routine a little and while I enjoyed making more profit from catching the bugs, it can be somewhat annoying if you’re looking to speed through the day.

The day progresses very quickly in the game, so you need to figure out how to maximize your time, all while trying to do a dozen things at once. As the game progresses, more things are unlocked. The more profit you earn, the more you can unlock. Four areas can be expanded upon in the game: the store, kitchen, greenhouse, and your bedroom. Some of the things that are unlocked include: raising chickens and cows to produce eggs and milk, cultivating fruit and vegetable trees and plants, harvesting honey from bees, repairing additional ovens, inviting cats into the bakery café for adoption, increasing the number of window displays, and adding decorations to your bedroom.

Unlocking more things also means more work for you to do! Between serving customers and baking pastries, you also need to brush the animals, water the plants and trees, monitor the baking time so pastries will not get burned, and clean up spills around the kitchen. If you don’t serve the customer in time, they leave hungry and you lose money. It is always satisfying to see a high profit at the end of the workday. Buying new things doesn’t come cheap – it can be pretty expensive to unlock new items, so the gameplay involves some grinding as I usually make around $50-$70 per day and the items cost around $200 to upgrade. It can take some time to get the things you want, but it’s definitely worth the grind once you see how much one item can affect the gameplay. For instance, I finally unlocked the sprinkler which automatically waters your plants/trees and it is such a huge time saver!

Lemon Cake may not be super relaxing, but it allows your mind to focus on doing simple tasks so it can work as a welcome distraction from everyday life. It is a cozy, yet chaotic game. The music fits the theme perfectly, and the graphics are cute and appealing. It is worth checking out if you enjoy time-management sims or like cozy games.