Spicy Strategy: “Food Devils” Serves Up Roguelike Tactics with a Side of Romance

Get ready to spice up your tactical RPG experience! Polygon has the exclusive scoop on Food Devils, an upcoming indie gem from Studio Daimon, set to launch November 5th. This isn’s just another strategy game; it’s a devilishly delicious blend of hot demons, restaurant customization, and dating sim gameplay that promises to be a late-year standout.

A Recipe for Roguelike Delight

In Food Devils, you take on the role of a chef in a post-apocalyptic world, tasked with recruiting demons to help you survive. The key? Cooking for them! Attract those fiery companions (both physically and romantically) by crafting delectable dishes. To gather ingredients, you’re thrust into grid-based tactical battles reminiscent of Fire Emblem games, where strategic positioning and clever use of abilities are crucial.

After the hunt, it’s back to the restaurant! Here, you customize your establishment to attract different adventurers, who in turn can help you on future expeditions. But the real draw? Forging Devil Contracts or embarking on romantic adventures with the five titular Food Devils.

The Secret Sauce: Intertwined Systems

What makes Food Devils truly special is how all its systems work together. Studio Daimon emphasizes that every element feeds into the next, creating a cohesive and engaging experience. The developer highlighted how they’re putting a unique spin on familiar Fire Emblem-style gameplay.

In an exclusive interview, Alfred Kamon, game director at Studio Daimon, explained the design philosophy:

“One of the main goals while designing Food Devils was to make every system feed into the next. You hunt monsters to get ingredients, cook those ingredients into dishes that buff your party, customize the restaurant to attract different adventurers, then bring those adventurers back into the next expedition. Even the story is structured around that loop…”
“For example, changing your furniture changes the kind of adventurers who visit and their personal traits. The food you cook affects general stats for your next expedition…The restaurant isn’s meant to feel like a separate management chore — it’s actually the relaxing half of the tactics game.”
“I love romance in my RPGs, but I’ve always found it a bit strange when the relationship stops existing after the confession scene, aside from maybe some stat bonuses or slightly different dialogue. In Food Devils, relationships are part of progression because a Devil is literally an embodiment of Appetite — a very strong drive and ideology. The more you nurture that Appetite through quests and support conversations, the more powerful that Devil can become, unlocking new meta-progression abilities.”
“I know players are attracted to the designs of our Devils, and I wanted to give them not only satisfying dialogue, but also consequences that make their choices feel alive. Oh, and spicy dialogue. Because there isn’t nearly enough spiciness in non-erotic RPGs nowadays.”

Image: Studio Daimon

Calories, Hunger, and Tactical Twists

One of the most intriguing twists in Food Devils is the “Calories and Hunger” system, which adds a unique layer to tactical combat.

“As a huge Fire Emblem fan, I’ve always found it funny that your ‘Jagen’ characters (the pre-promoted veterans) often end up benched because they’re too strong or steal EXP from the rest of the army. Food Devils kind of flips that idea.”
“Every expedition has one Devil as your absurdly powerful ‘pre-promote’, and up to four human adventurers…The catch: Devils need Calories to perform their powerful attacks, and the humans generate those Calories by interacting with the battlefield…”
“The humans are far from dead weight, though. With the right skills and combinations, they can do a lot of the work themselves. And there’s a price: every Calorie generated also inflicts 1 Hunger on that adventurer, and too much Hunger can kill them permanently.”

Image: Studio Daimon

Romance, Ideology, and World-Changing Choices

The game also features a dynamic “culture” system for your restaurant, influenced by your playstyle and cooking choices.

“Food Devils takes some time to introduce its evolving mechanics, lore and characters. But once the player is familiar with the world, choices start to carry more weight…”
“For example, if you develop the restaurant according to Poison Devil’s progress-obsessed advice, money may eventually be introduced into what starts as a completely free restaurant…Follow Vegan Devil’s ideals instead, and you can unlock a pacifist route where neutralizing monsters is favored over killing them.”

Image: Studio Daimon

Food Devils promises a unique blend of strategy, romance, and roguelike elements that’s sure to tantalize players looking for something fresh and exciting. With its November 5th release date fast approaching, and a free demo available on Steam, there’s no better time to dive in and experience the delicious chaos for yourself! Steam