PlateUp!
A co-op restaurant management roguelike with randomly generated upgrades.
PlateUp! is a co-op restaurant management simulation game with roguelike elements, released in 2022. It was developed by the Bristol-based studio It's Happening—founded by solo developer Alastair Janse van Rensburg, a former cybersecurity researcher—and published by Yogscast Games. The game supports one to four players who must take orders, prepare and serve food, and clean dishes. If tasks take too long, customers become unhappy and the players lose. Each run typically lasts 15 in-game days. After each day, players choose from randomly generated upgrades like sinks or stovetops, and between days they pick one of two difficulty modifiers that permanently alter the run by complicating the menu, changing player mechanics, or adjusting customer behavior. Between runs, players return to a warehouse where they unlock new features and set parameters for their next restaurant.
The game originated from van Rensburg and his friends looking for co-op games to play during COVID-19 lockdowns. He designed it to be accessible for new players by allowing cooperation without fixed roles and mapping most functions to one or two buttons. PlateUp! launched for Windows on 4 August 2022. A console edition, originally planned for 2023, was delayed and released on 15 February 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S, and was included in Xbox Game Pass. Post-release updates added event modes, recipes, and appliances.
Critics gave the game "fair" reviews according to OpenCritic, with 82% recommending it. Reviewers praised the gameplay, with Nintendo Life calling the roguelike elements and progression addicting, Push Square noting the game encourages collaboration and feels calming, and Polygon highlighting its strategy and replayability, calling it a "fantastic double-date game." TheGamer, however, noted its difficulty curve might be divisive. The art and interface drew criticism, with multiple reviewers describing controls as "imprecise" and "clunky," and the interface as "cluttered" or making items hard to identify. The game drew comparisons to Overcooked, but reviewers noted that PlateUp!'s roguelike structure and collaborative focus set it apart. Commercially, it sold over 1.5 million copies on Steam as of February 2024.
Quick Facts
- Title
- PlateUp!
- Developer
- It's Happening
- Publisher
- Yogscast Games
- Platforms
- Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · PlayStation 5 · Xbox One · Xbox Series X and Series S
- Genre
- Simulation, roguelike
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
PlateUp! was developed as the first game of solo developer Alastair Janse van Rensburg, a former cybersecurity researcher based in Bristol, England. The game originated from Rensburg and his friends searching for co-op games to play during COVID-19 lockdowns. Rensburg designed the game to be accessible to new players, simplifying controls to one or two buttons and allowing players to work together without specific roles.
Gameplay involves one to four players operating a restaurant by taking orders, preparing food, serving food, and cleaning dishes. Runs normally last up to 15 in-game days, with randomly generated upgrades and difficulty modifiers chosen between days. The game is structured into runs, with a warehouse between runs where players can unlock new features and select parameters for their next restaurant.
The game was released for Windows on 4 August 2022, with a console edition delayed until 15 February 2024 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S. On Xbox, it was included in Xbox Game Pass. Post-release content updates added event gamemodes, recipes, and appliances.
Reader's Guide
PlateUp! drew comparisons to Team17's 2016 cooking simulation game Overcooked, but reviewers noted that the roguelike elements and progression between runs made them different experiences. Nintendo Life considered the roguelike mechanics to provide variety and encourage repeat play, describing the game as addicting. Push Square described the game as encouraging collaboration rather than chaos, making it calming. Polygon praised the roguelike mechanics for improving strategy and replayability, calling it a 'fantastic double-date game'. TheGamer claimed the game would be divisive due to its difficulty curve. Critics generally praised the gameplay but criticized the controls as 'imprecise' and 'clunky', the interface as 'cluttered', and the graphics for making it difficult to identify items. The game was commercially successful, selling more than 1.5 million copies on Steam as of February 2024.
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