The Tiny Teams event of this year has recently ended, with the Yogscast showing off their latest published game during it. That being PlateUp! – a roguelite cooking management game playable solo or in co-op. Made by a single person, the aim of the game is to manage the restaurant for fifteen days to get franchised. But that’s harder than it would seem.

Being a roguelite, there’s no specific levels here other than the progression bar that will unlock more options for set up of the restaurant. Choose the layout and what you’ll be serving (you’ll start with steak), then jump from the HQ to the restaurant to begin the session. When there, you’ll have a preparation phase to make any changes you want before starting the day.

Successfully see a day through, and you’ll repeat the process, gaining blueprints that you can spend earned money on to help you make management easier. After every three days, you’ll earn a star and need to make a choice between two options. These have some affect on the restaurant, whether that be adding something new to the menu (which will reduce the amount of customers per day) or a passive effect that’s usually negative.

The gameplay loop keeps things engaging. You need to play to your strengths, using everything the game gives you to make sure you do not fail. Customers of the restaurant have patience bars, and if just one falls to zero, it’s game over. The restaurant is closed. If you feel you need help in the kitchen, prioritise those blueprints that will help – such as extra (or upgraded) counters, dishes, or sinks. Save for decorations that give passive perks such as increased patience if you want some more breathing space.

The game gives you the ability to manage things how you want. Repeated plays will help you understand all the options available to you, as well as practise runs you can use during any preparation phase. Getting and passing day 15 is possible – even solo – as long as you remain on top of things. Great management makes for great success, after all.

For me, I’ve been solo for all of my playtime. Each time I’ve found myself wondering just how I’ll plan things out. Whether I’ll get lucky with blueprints for that extra seating space on the second day. Only once have I managed to get to day 15, but then I completely bungled things as I prioritised the wrong orders (and messed a few up). But it is absolutely fun to keep trying.

And while I have been solo for all of my playtime, I’ve seen the Yogscast showing the game off through their videos and streams, and co-op looks even more chaotic as everyone ‘works’ together to see the restaurant succeed. It does help to have an extra pair of hands, certainly, as each person manages waiting or cooking. But whether you get to day 15 depends entirely on your communication and management.

There’s a demo for it so you can see if you’ll enjoy it, but I can easily say that even as a solo player, there’s plenty of enjoyment to come from it. The random elements from being a roguelite provide an interesting challenge as you try to succeed, with no two runs ever being truly the same. If you enjoy the frenetic action of micro-management, you can’t get any better than this. If you do want to see the game in action, take a look at this Yogscast video, where Lewis, Briony, and Kirsty aim to get their burger restaurant franchised.

Images Taken From:
PlateUp! (Original Screenshot)