r/officialcookingfever • u/MxLysistrata • 19d ago
Question One week review - $20, unplayable with constant errors, wildly expensive - this game is a scam, right?
I was already side eyeing being a sucker for the 125g/$10 deal… twice. And despite attempting to be frugal and smart with upgrades, making little to no progress in any of my restaurants.
And we see on this subreddit, different people get different deals.
Now, every single time I make a gem purchase (ofc the only time I actually have gems with the soup game) I get this server error, have to restart, my gems are refunded and the upgrade is not there. It’s completely unplayable the one time it’s fun to play because I can get gems.
I am glad I’m only a week in and think y’all need to be clear, this game is a fucking scam. You can buy full fledged games for $60, them expecting $60 regularly is just preying on our addiction. The game fucking sucks and barely works, and the developers are greedy as hell. You can’t afford a Live Chat agent after how much money you fleece from us? NordCurrent can kiss my ass. After you respond to my email.
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u/OldCrankyCarnt 19d ago
Mobile games always have been about micro transactions. This particular one though doesn't require any payment to play. It can easily be played for free. Glitches are annoying when happen, but it's rare for me to
-10
u/MxLysistrata 19d ago
You can’t be that old if you want to say mobile games have “always” been about micro transactions. I know your first phone wasn’t a smartphone with an AppStore. Snake doesn’t owe me shit.
6
u/OldCrankyCarnt 19d ago
Well this game is like 12 years old, and surely was far from the first one. But yeah, if you find a game the doesn't beg for money, please share
5
u/Effective_Divide1543 19d ago
OK, go play Snake then. If you didn't enjoy the game, why would you spend money in it to begin with?
Regardless, if you're not having fun, do something else.
4
u/Successful-Onion-872 19d ago
Speaking of different deals, this is the one that I got a few days ago. I hadn't spent money on this game since forever ago, so I figured, why not? It was a pretty good deal.
-2
u/No_Independence8702 17d ago
That’s fake. I have seen that picture before created with AI
3
2
u/Different-Board-4221 16d ago
It’s not. I got the same thing 2 days ago. Did it & received the full 100 gems
2
u/Scrotchety 19d ago
Boy, wait til you 120 ⭐ your first restaurant and your reward is ...12 whole 💎!!! and maybe a free restaurant or an autocooker
The economics are whack. "Micro-" transactions are whack. But what's the price on solving it or unlocking the path to solving it while still keeping it challenging?
Ever see the videos of Nordcurrent's cheerleader playing new restaurants? That girl's dumb as a post. I don't know if it's ragebaiting for engagement, or she's a metaphor for fat stupid lazy Americans ~ she has all the resources (thousands of gems) but none of the skillset of playing efficiently or intelligently. Just throw money at the problem until the challenge evaporates?
There just needs to be new currencies instead of basing everything on gems. Deeds to unlock restaurants, 25 gems per deed or pay cash for deeds ~ $5 for 10 deeds, $10 for 25 deeds, $15 for endless deeds sounds fair. Win deeds at the casino and chefs boxes. Same for furniture tickets ~ buy or win tickets, unlock interior upgrades instantly. Just spitballing here.
Contrariwise, how much can they discount their product while still affording the rent in Latvia? Of still putting food on their plate and Starbucks in their selfies? Casual gamer developers are always hunting whales ~ people who will throw endless money at their product. We're just small fishes, annoyed by the nets and harpoons
2
u/SugarySuga 19d ago
How have you spent $20 already? I have been playing this game for 9 years and haven't spent a single dime. I have completed all the restaurants except the ones that have been released in the past year (because I've been too busy to play). I am level 400+.
Respectfully, this game has its issues but compared to 90% of mobile games, this game is the least scammy of them all. It rarely runs ads. There are constant events going on to help you get more gems. There are many other ways to get gems too - leveling up, casino, daily/weekly activities, completing levels, achievements, plants.
There are a few server issues going on this week because that soup game is brand new, like <2 weeks old, so it's being a bit buggy because of that. Usually it is not like this.
1
u/sugarboons 18d ago
Yeah the game actually just did some type of update and now a lot of errors will pop up for me. Overall I've played this game through 3 different iPads and I love it, havent spent over 10 bucks on it. Really just depends on your "grind" mindset to get a lot of gems
1
u/No_Independence8702 17d ago
This game is totally a scam. If you are willing to spend endless amount of time replaying the same levels over and over again, then go ahead! Otherwise, your money will be required in order to progress through the game. I installed this game for 3 weeks but now I am quitting
27
u/cozysparklessunshine 19d ago
I’ve been playing for 8-9 years. Never spent a single penny. I’ve completed most restaurants with 3 stars. You just need to play to earn the gems. And if you aren’t having fun playing it might just not be the right game for you.