Hungry Horrors Review -

Hungry Horrors is the first video game by the two game developers behind the London-based Clumsy Bear Studio.

This title is a treat for pixel art lovers. A classic card game with a pixel art aesthetic, full of dungeons, warlocks, and a princess who must save her kingdom from monsters.

The princess

You are the princess in this title. She is not presented as a strong woman, ready to conquer the realms and fight the monsters mightily. She wouldn’t be bothered, and that’s ok.

Additionally, she can’t cook, and that wouldn’t be a problem either, but in this game, cooking and feeding are matters of life and death. In any other fantasy world, lack of cooking skills is not a big issue, but here, this is the only way to survive the monsters.

Wait, what? Cooking? Isn’t this supposed to be a card game? Yes, it is. So let’s get into it.
Initially, I thought that this was an interesting (code for “did not like it”) idea. Why would I want to have food recipes to feed monsters? Well, the thing is, when a hungry monster appears, you have to feed it. How do you feed it? With your deck of cards, where each one is a food recipe.

And here is an important note. The developer duo has created a world heavily inspired by British and Irish folklore, and as you would expect, their fighting cards include delicious recipes from their region. It’s impossible to play this game and not crave haggis.

The beginning

Let me take it from the start. You are a princess, and a lovely cat takes you through the tutorial, which I highly recommend taking, as you get to know a lot about the backstory, plus learn to use the cards and how to create or spice up your recipes for better fighting results.

As a princess, you have a castle as your base, the place where you get to place your materials to build your recipes. There is a wizard who appears occasionally and gives you words of wisdom (or annoyances), and there are doors, each one leading to a different set of caves. You need to enter them gradually, so first you enter the first door, complete all the stages successfully, before you can continue to the next one.

The gameplay

The two-dimensional gameplay guides you, the pretty princess, into caves where you have to “fight,” or more correctly, feed a monster. Typical of a card game, you are presented with your deck of cards, each one being a food. As it is turn-based, each one of you moves gradually: first you, then the monster. As the monster approaches you step by step, you must succeed in satisfying its hunger before you run out of moves. The interface shows you how many steps you have, what the monster is craving, sweet or savory, and how many feeding points it receives on each card. Only when the monster is well fed will it be conquered, and you, the princess, can collect the loot.

Obviously, at the beginning of the game, you start with simple (still what seem to be delicious) recipes that you then need to develop and enhance to feed more demanding monsters.

How do you get new or enhance said recipes? Well, you have stages, or let’s call them caves, as this is what they are, where the loot can be an ingredient to make advanced recipes, acquire “kettleware,” a new recipe, or even a new spice that can give you buffs.

Mind you, you must feed yourself, because your own stamina gets depleted. If you lose a fight, you will faint, and you will be brought back to your castle, where you will start the fight again.

Don’t fret if you suddenly meet enemies with a much higher hunger than usual. The game adapts and will hand you equivalent cards. Use them wisely.

And the leap can be steep. What I thought was easygoing, I was surprised when I entered the next level, where feeding the monster was not as straightforward as I thought it would be. It got significantly harder, and that’s a good thing. The game suddenly challenged me. It didn’t let me stay comfortable or bored with the same things happening all the time.
Instead, now I have to be strategic. I must collect more recipes, more ingredients, kettleware, and build my deck so I can feed the most demanding and hungry monster in my kingdom.

A fun game

Some fun moments. Once I left the computer for a short while, so upon my return, the character had engaged in some funny time-occupying activities. Usually, she takes on a closed-eyes, non-impressed expression, but occasionally she dances or plays with what looked at the time to be a potato. A funny moment from the developers.

Hungry Horrors is a fun pixel art game with an interesting choice of fighting weapons. Who doesn’t like food? And beyond that, it offers a great way to learn about traditional British Isles foods. What I enjoyed the most was how, just when I started to feel comfortable, the game presented me with new challenges. New recipes, new monsters, new spices to experiment with, new kettleware to collect — all essential items to build a strong deck and feed even the most demanding monster. If you enjoy pixel art and card games, this is definitely one to try. It’s still in beta, but already a highly enjoyable experience.

Played on Windows.