Cooking Mama Let's Cook! is a smartphone and tablet adaptation of the famous Nintendo DS and 3DS cooking game. Join Mama and Papa in the preparation of delicious dishes, but remember to bring your wallet!

What are we making today?

Cooking Mama Let's Cook! has the same gameplay as previous games in the series. You play as a trainee chef, and must prepare all kinds of dishes and accompaniments. Don’t worry if you don’t know how though, because you have Mama to guide you through the process of perfectly preparing each recipe.

Starting the game you have access to four recipes (three salty and one sweet), with a fifth one unlocked if you login for seven consecutive days. Once all are complete you can start combining them together to create more elaborate dishes - but very little really changes.

Along with the basic gameplay, Cooking Mama Let's Cook! let’s you customize your kitchen, utensils, and the appearance of Mama. Though most of these cosmetic changes demand some real world cash.

The preparation of each dish in Cooking Mama Let's Cook! is based on a cooking process like peeling, cutting, seasoning, frying... you get the idea. Each step is a mini-game that requires a variety of taps and swipes that simulate a chef’s movements.

Do not be afraid to get dirty

The gameplay is very successful and responsive to every tap, and has the advantage of responding to multi-touch - unlike DS or 3DS. This advantage helped me finish many tasks significantly faster. Your goal is to complete each process in the time allowed. Doing well will see Mama reward you with three stars – and make Papa particularly happy (not the most socially forward thinking game it is true).

Aesthetically the game retains all the charm of its DS predecessors: colorful graphics, lively music, and cute characters. However, on large screens the low resolution of some elements does let the game down – thought the characters are always impeccable.

While the game is free to download, if you want more than the five default recipes you will have to be prepared to pay. This isn’t exactly cheap, either, and unlike most free games there is no way to earn recipes through play.

Fun… for a while

Cooking Mama Let's Cook! is well suited to phones and tablets, and while you are making new recipes, you will be charmed. Unfortunately, once you're done with all the combinations, you’ll need to pay to continue the fun. And that is when you may decide to stop.