What happens when you take competitive multiplayer mechanics and drop them in the middle of a high-stress kitchen? That’s the setup behind Cooking Battles, a real-time action game that feels like Overcooked slammed into a MOBA and then got ported to mobile. It’s chaotic, colorful, and now entering a closed beta phase on Android and iOS.
The game doesn’t just lean into its food theme for aesthetics. Every match puts players behind the counter with a knife, a pan, and a team, racing to whip up dishes while sabotaging opponents. It’s not about following recipes. It’s about outplaying, outcooking, and outlasting.
Competitive Kitchen Combat
Cooking Battles runs on 3v3 multiplayer matches that last just a few minutes, keeping gameplay snappy and accessible. Players work together to cook meals from raw ingredients while defending their station from rival chefs trying to ruin their prep. Matches balance speed with interference — you’re multitasking between plating dishes and throwing down with the opposing team.
It’s less about culinary skill and more about real-time decision-making. The design encourages frequent clashes between teams, with mechanics that push players to be aggressive and strategic at the same time.
Mobile-First With Familiar Influences
The game is built for mobile, both in pace and control scheme. Everything from UI layout to round length is designed for short sessions on the go. While the visual style leans heavily on cartoony, exaggerated characters, it’s polished enough to stand out from the flood of hyper-casual mobile titles.
If the concept sounds familiar, that’s because it shares some DNA with titles like Overcooked, Brawl Stars, and even Teamfight Tactics in how it mixes genres. But here, it’s boiled down for a mobile audience that’s more interested in moment-to-moment action than long strategic setups.
Closed Beta Focuses on Feedback
Right now, the closed beta is targeting Android and iOS players in select regions. This phase is more than a soft launch — it’s designed to test how the real-time PvP holds up under pressure, how well the game scales across devices, and whether its gameplay loop keeps players coming back.
As with most betas, expect features to shift. Characters, balance, and progression systems are all likely to change before full release. The current beta build gives a solid preview of the core gameplay, but the developers are treating it as a live test bed, not a final demo.
Where It Fits in the Genre Landscape
Mobile multiplayer games are increasingly trying to carve out niches that go beyond shooters and auto-battlers. Cooking Battles is part of a wave of action-focused titles that take familiar real-world themes — like cooking — and wrap them in tight, competitive mechanics.
That said, this isn’t a new formula. The challenge will be in how well it supports a player base over time. Depth, updates, and balance are going to matter more than just novelty. If Cooking Battles can avoid becoming another one-note gimmick game, it may find footing in a genre that rewards strong core loops and consistent post-launch support.
Mobile Game Addict & Casual Gaming Critic
She’s played more mobile games than most people have downloaded. TAPTAPTAP is fast, fierce, and funny — reviewing the latest hypercasual hits, idle clickers, and gacha grinds with real talk and zero fluff.
