Authenticity is often found in the small strokes, rather than the big picture. Lots of games can have Gothic-style visuals, for example- but it isn’t until you’re fighting a skeleton pope carried by a procession of arms that you realize, oh, Blasphemous is capital c Catholic.
Having tried out the demo for Sedap! A Culinary Adventure, that same love for authenticity drenches the game. Set in the cursed and totally fictional Khaya Island, you’re playing as two brothers in debt and thinking they can escape it through a lucrative F&B venture. Who hasn’t tried that?
At its core Sedap! is a twist on the Overcooked formula- every recipe is a chore that must be completed, only you’ve now also got the tedious step of actually sourcing your ingredients, which may involve dodging floor markers from a Pineapple Tortoise or being ganked by a pair of roosters. Its a game about being stressed and managing a mountain of tasks with the threat of failure looming above you- typical SEA fair.
Sedap! Is Lovingly In Touch With Its Roots
But what fascinated me more is the lens through which Kopiforge presents its game. From the character design to the menu to even the music, Sedap! is in love with its setting. Its Nusantara appeal is less focused on accuracy and more on appeal- I love hearing the traditional instruments go off in the background as I roll around in shame that I’m not entirely sure what they’re called- a forced reckoning with my own cultural blindspots.
That being said, arguably my favorite part of Sedap! are the flavor text on the recipes themselves. Rather than go into too much detail about the cooking process, they’re written in a very personal description- the author reminiscing about their own past with these menu items. This is what I mean by it’s the small strokes- rather than trying to sell Sedap!’s menu as some new and radical thing, it instead feels like Kopiforge themselves are sharing their experiences.
Still, when it comes down to brass tacks, the Sedap! demo knows when it’s time to get for real with its gameplay. Small mistakes like getting downed by a pair of cocks trying to keep you away from your mangoes can be costly, and you will soon realize that there is no downtime in the world of F&B- any time you’re not doing something is time best spent prepping the next thing to be done.
Why, Boba
You learn this best in the final level of the demo- a challenge level about running a Bubble Tea stall. Look, I’m not much of a Boba drinker. But the fact that I have to entertain every permutation of order from just boba to boba + mango to boba + pineapple + chili is a travesty, and even if Kopiforge didn’t mean it to be this way I have realized that maybe overcustomization of menu items was, in fact, a mistake and is modern F&B’s Original Sin. I can only hope that the launch version doesn’t somehow include Ice and sugar levels, too.
Still, if you enjoy the orgasmic highs of a good workflow, Sedap! A Culinary Adventure is right up your alley. The demo is running as part of Steam Cooking Fest until November 18th, so be sure to try it out alone or with a friend and see how many people’s boba orders you can mess up too against the backdrop of a genuinely loving look at our shared cultural heritage.
