Monster Chef is an action RPG where the monsters you fight become the food you serve. You play as Pranzo Giusto Gusto, a small chef-warrior with a cloud-shaped hat, metal limbs, and a backpack full of kitchen tools. During the day he hunts food-themed creatures in bright outdoor areas. At night he runs an inn and serves the results to a crowd of monster and human guests. The game appeared at The MIX Fall Online Showcase on October 16, 2026, with a gameplay trailer that covers both halves of that loop.
Quick answer: Monster Chef has no release date yet. It is coming to PC, Mac, and Linux, and you can wishlist it on Steam now.
Monster Chef release date and platforms
| Detail | Status |
|---|---|
| Release date | TBA |
| Platforms | PC (Windows), Mac, Linux |
| Store | Steam (wishlist open) |
| Studio on title card | Studio Voxel |
| Showcase debut | The MIX Fall Online Showcase, October 16, 2026 |
The trailer ends on the Monster Chef logo with a “WISHLIST NOW!” prompt. No official launch window is confirmed, and no consoles are listed.
Daytime combat: Cooking Resistance and the Iron Pot
Combat doesn’t just kill monsters, it prepares them for the kitchen. Every enemy has a bar for Cooking Resistance, which you wear down with melee strikes from a chef’s-knife sword. Once that bar breaks, you throw a pot at the weakened monster and it turns into a finished dish. The in-game recipe book spells it out. Attack with the [X] button to destroy the monster’s Cooking Resistance, then throw a pot to cook a Pasta.
The HUD shows an “IRON POT” slot next to a “DAILY MENU” panel, so the dishes you cook in the field seem to tie into what the inn needs that night. Floating popups like “PASTA!”, “INSALATA!”, and “Gusto!” appear as monsters turn into food.
| Monster | Dish shown with it | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Mandragora | Mandragora Pasta | Regular enemy |
| Psy Cabbage | Insalata | Regular enemy |
| Pecorino | Panini | Regular enemy |
| Lumaco | Not shown | Regular enemy |
| Doro | Not shown | Regular enemy |
| Modoro | Pasta | Boss |
| Cinclop | Not shown | Boss |
The recipe book lists Mandragora Pasta with a Florin value of 2. That’s the clearest sign so far that each dish has a set price when served at the inn.
Gathering wood and stone
Not everything in the wilds is a fight. Pranzo mines stone and chops wood using context prompts like “R2 MINE.” Each gathering tool has a limited number of daily charges. The axe shown in the trailer lists “Daily Uses: 5,” which caps how much raw material you can collect per day.
Night shift: running the inn
When night falls, Pranzo warps to a dark, half-ruined hub and opens the doors. The inn starts out run-down. The first scenes show him sweeping a neglected room before service starts. Once the “The Inn is open” sign goes up, guests sit at round tables, and speech bubbles show what they want to order. You carry the right plate to each table, sweep up spills with a broom, and keep an eye on each guest’s patience. Happy guests leave tips, shown as “TIP +1” popups. Later clips show the inn packed with far more guests.
Each shift ends with a scorecard. The one in the trailer shows a clean run that earned a “NEW RECORD” banner.
- Plates Served: 8
- Tips Earned: 5
- Plates Wasted: 0
- Upset Guests: 0
- Total: 28 Florins Earned
Florins, tools, and Furia the blacksmith
Florins are the currency that links the two halves of the game. You spend them on fixing up the inn, buying gathering tools, and unlocking service stations. In the trailer, a “SOLD” screen confirms the purchase of an axe described as a tool that “Allows you to gather Wood in the Wilds.” Right after, a new workshop opens for Furia, the Exiled Blacksmith. Florins also unlock story milestones, not just equipment.
Dungeons, secrets, and boss fights
The overworld is a hand-drawn map that Pranzo walks across to pick where to go next. One route drops him through a sinkhole into a dungeon full of floor spikes, lightning pillars, and large machinery. Above ground, a “Secret Found” alert pops up beneath a giant tree with a sleeping face, so hidden spots are tucked into the landscape too.
Boss fights use the same cooking system on a bigger scale. Cinclop is a huge boar-like beast. Modoro is a giant crab-shaped tomato. Both fights take several phases and rely on dash attacks and pot throws. The Modoro fight carries an “ORDER’S TRIAL” label, and it ends with the familiar “PASTA!” popup.
Monster Chef characters
- Pranzo Giusto Gusto: the fixed protagonist, with glowing eyes, a red scarf, and a blue tunic
- Furia, Exiled Blacksmith: an NPC you unlock with Florins, who runs a forge
- Stomaco Vuoto, King of the Humans: a story character whose dialogue mentions rumors
The trailer closes with a hint of what’s to come. Pranzo walks into a dark cave as a huge golden monster eye slowly opens in front of him. It’s never explained, which fits a game whose release date, genre tags, and full story are still under wraps. For now, the Steam wishlist is the only way to follow Monster Chef toward launch.
