Happy’s Humble Burger Farm was a surprise hit for me. In retrospect, it’s not that much of a surprise. it checks off a lot of my boxes. I like wage horror and I can dig work sims. However, my appreciation with it goes deeper down into the feeling of isolation it provides, as well as the surprisingly inventive ways that it adapts the core concept of cooking fast food.

When I reviewed it (it’s on the other site, so I’m not linking it), I mentioned that the formula would adapt well into a multiplayer game. However, it would seem that in the years since, I’ve lost my appreciation for online co-op games. Perhaps because of oversaturation, but more likely because I’m shy and, while I’m sure some within my orbit would be willing to play with me, I find it difficult to even ask. I’ll figure myself out eventually. Maybe. Probably not.

Anyway, Happy’s Humble Burger Cult is a co-op follow-up to Burger Farm, so that puts me in an awkward position.

IT’S A FELONY TO TEASE THE ORDER BOX

Burger Cult takes place sometime after Burger Farm. The underground simulation facility made by the shadowy corporation, Obscure Biotechnology, has long since been shut down (maybe?), but many of the test subjects, and even the staff, are still trapped inside. Along with them are horrible monsters based on the “Barnyard Buds,” a collection of cartoon mascots. In Burger Cult, all but “Asset Joy,” based on Happy the Humble Heifer, are contained. Asset Joy is still out there.

Unfortunately, a lot of the remaining test subjects have begun to worship the assets, and attempt to appease Asset Joy by continuing to participate in a fast food simulation which was used to test a mind-control chip.

So, to start with, I haven’t played the actual multiplayer of Happy’s Humble Burger Cult, and I admit that’s not ideal. But it isn’t for lack of trying. When I checked, the public server list was completely empty. That’s not all that damning, since this feels like a game that wouldn’t go well with randoms, but it did thwart my compromise for testing out the multiplayer.

It’s further not damning because it plays pretty well solo.

MINIMUM WAGE

The setup is that you start in a lobby and queue up for some burger flipping. You jump into the simulation’s entryway, select a modifier, and then go to work. The simulation fires up and your job is to just serve customers. They make orders, you punch them into the register, put their meal together, and serve it to them.

As you work, the simulation gradually breaks down. Its deterioration is slowed by effective work, and sped by fucking up. As it deteriorates, enemies show up to annoy you before eventually Asset Joy appears. Stick around longer and she’ll get angry and start murdering people.

The goal is to serve enough orders within the time frame. You can then “clock out” or remain and continue serving meals for bonus dollars. Once you’ve ended your shift, you are then given a few closing tasks that must be completed before you can jump in a hole that returns you to your home base. For every successful round, you’re provided with a multiplier that increases the money you make from your work. The multiplier increases with each success alongside the simulation getting more difficult. Eventually, it’ll become unmanageable and you’ll lose and the multiplier/difficulty will reset.

You progress by sacrificing money. Each time you level up, you get customizations, items (such as power-ups) that you can buy, and – most importantly – new venues to cook in.

WANT FRIES WITH THAT?

The actual cooking is largely reminiscent of Burger Farm. You place items by throwing them, essentially. They readily snap into place in a rather satisfying way. Fries, nuggets, cookies, pies, and drinks; there’s a small process for each. 

Burgers are the most complicated, however. You need to cook the patty (if there is one) and slap all the ingredients together. Each venue has its own recipes, and adding or omitting a single ingredient might mean starting over.

It’s fun. It’s not as puzzle-y as something like Overcooked but it clicks together in a way that doesn’t just feel like constant microprogression. It can get repetitive after a while, which I think is where having coop buddies would ease things. If you can rotate responsibilities, then it can keep things fresher longer. Theoretically.

And when I say “repetitive,” I don’t mean that to sound damning, either. I mean that a long run is usually enough. Each round is about 10 minutes, so a really solid round might last about an hour. It’s easy to put aside and come back later. I never dreaded returning, but it’s literally the same task repeated, so obviously it has a shelf life. It comes with the territory. The different venues you cook in at least at some small variability.

WHERE’S THE BEEF?

The horror side of things is more of a problem. I think the major issue is that only one thing in the entire game can kill you: Asset Joy. And she doesn’t appear until significant time has passed. When I envisioned Burger Farm as a co-op experience, I figured that there’d be more danger to things. Like, if the kitchen was a relative sanctuary, but everyone needed to keep their ears peeled in case something sneaks in the back door and blows up the grill monkey. Or if garbage had to be run out to the dumpster and players would have to scramble through the parking lot to avoid being picked off.

But there’s no tension here, and everything becomes kind of hectic as you rush to meet orders. It’s not a creepy nightshift, it’s goofy and slapstick. A pinch of that isolation and atmosphere that made Burger Farm so effective would have done wonders, but I get that isn’t conducive to a group environment.

And that’s… fine. As I said, I think the core game is fun, even when you’re playing by yourself. Beyond the work, you also collect cassette tapes that provide short (and very weird) cartoons and audio logs that give background to the world and follow-up on the events of Burger Farm. So, while the narrative doesn’t make it a faithful follow-up to Burger Farm, it at least has that bit of worldbuilding.

A SOMETHING-BURGER

Happy’s Humble Burger Cult has me in this awkward spot where I enjoyed it, but I didn’t exactly meet it at its level. And for that matter, it didn’t really meet me at my level, either. Finding time to organize folks into an online co-op game is just too difficult for me these days.

As a solo experience, however, it’s still fun as an expanded version of Burger Farm’s restaurant facet. And really, that’s enough, since food service wasn’t actually the primary focus of the previous game. A standalone release that does focus on it makes a lot of sense and works very well. It has a very low cost of entry, so even when viewed as supplemental, it’s worth it.

Even still, improvements through updates are needed, as Happy’s Humble Burger Cult is a bit uneven at times. Pre-release, it was extremely difficult to complete even one run playing solo, but that was quickly touched up along with a lot of other things. It’s in pretty good shape right now, but things like progression could be better, and enemies that are actual threats instead of annoyances might make things more interesting. It’s easy to come up with a wishlist, is what I’m saying.

While I can’t be sure how everything fits together when played with others, even the solo play of Happy’s Humble Burger Cult is an enjoyable slice of job. It’s definitely not Overcooked in terms of depth, and the horror is pushed out of the way to make room for hijinks, but the care that Scythe Studios always put into the small details elevates it. Really, it’s not made from the freshest ingredients, but it’s a tasty sandwich that gives you what you paid for.

6/10

This review was conducted using a digital Steam version of the game. It was provided by the publisher’s PR.