Occasionally, there is a game that brings a presence of gore you’ve never experienced in a video game. Ravenous Devils labels itself as a horror cooking simulator, imagine Overcooked meets Sweeny Todd and you’re almost there. Developed by Bad Vices Games and published by Troglobytes Games, the game is now available on the Xbox family of consoles and comes in at a super low price point of just £4.19. Admittedly, when I see a cheap priced game on the store my expectations are pretty low, there are, however, some hidden gems out there. This daring escapade isn’t one for the faint-hearted and caters to a mature audience.

Introduction

If you’re a fan of games where you have to dash around to get tasks done, you’ll be right at home with Ravenous Devils. If you have played the already mentioned Overcooked and other experiences such as Moving Out and Get Packed, you’ll know where I’m coming from. Here you’ll be taking on the roles of Percival and Hildred who have just moved into a new area with the concept of making megabucks and becoming rich. All isn’t what it seems though, as you’ll be running two businesses in sync with each other whilst murdering some of your customers to yield their clothes and bodies. This is a game I had to put on when I had ensured my children were in bed as there are some blood-curdling moments, literally, within your time with the game. Percival is in charge of the tailor shop on the upper floor and is responsible for killing customers on the sly. When they enter the shop for what they think is an appointment, you slay them, strip their clothes for cloth and then throw their naked body down a hatch for Hildred to mince into meat.

In this secret act of cannibalism, you’ll be using this human mincemeat as an active ingredient to make into burgers, pies and steaks to sell in the pub on the middle floor. All the dirty work is done by Hildred in the basement. As the player, you will be in charge of flicking between each floor and assisting with the smooth running of this seedy business. As with most games in this genre, it starts at a gentle pace and becomes more intense, Ravenous Devils is no different. You’ll need to keep you eyes everywhere and plan and prepare in advance to squeeze every bit of cash out of the paying public.

Gameplay

Ravenous Devils is quite clever in the fact that whilst customers are seeing a tailor shop and a pub as two separate businesses, the player is running them between Percival and Hildred and they can’t function without each other. In the tailor shop, you’ll be stripping the clothes from dead bodies and recycling them using a sewing machine in order to turn a profit in the shop. A door divides the workshop and the main store so customers browsing will not witness the killings that take place. Percival however, needs to ensure that after each murder that he uses a mop and bucket to clean the blood splatter remains from the wooden floorboards. You can action Percival into throwing the naked bodies down a hatch at the rear of the workshop, the result is the corpse flying down two floors and landing at the bottom of the basement.

Once Hildred has human remains at her disposal, she can grind bodies up using a mincing machine in the basement. This churns out mincemeat in preparation to make goods for your pub upstairs. I quite enjoyed the rotating element of the gameplay, without killing Percival can’t make clothes and without bodies in the basement, the pub has zero stock to play with. When things become hectic you’ll be flicking between floors within seconds, ensuring you’re killing and grinding quick enough to meet the demands of the business. As you progress the game becomes more complex with unsavoury characters visiting and people snooping around almost discovering your secrets. These brief moments made me want to see it out to the very end and keeps you engaged through the addictive gameplay loop.

Upgrades

During the course of the game, you’ll have the opportunity when the business closes for the day to upgrade your equipment and invest in new recipes. These new acquisitions will speed up your cooking process and timings to cure the rumblings of the bellies upstairs. Use the revenue you’ve made to make your ovens cook quicker and your sewing machine perform faster. Add additional workspace, more ovens, tables, decor and even add functionality to make use of decomposing bodies. Yes, you read that correctly, use rotting flesh as fertiliser for vegetables. As you tick off the other ingredients in the unlock list, the menu of recipes extends which enhances Hildred’s workload. Ever been in a restaurant and grown impatient with a long period of waiting? Ravenous Devils mimics that feeling within the on-screen customers, keep them waiting and their patience will wear thin and you’ll lose money and hamper your reputation at the end of the day.

There are additional tools later on that will ease the busy service like a staff member waiting on tables and even a cat to bring a calming environment to all. If you tire of what Percival and Hildred are wearing as their attire, you can access fresh looks in the skins menu. Although I’d recommend kitting out your business before unlocking these new aesthetic trendy victorian threads.

Control Layout

The control system here is a breeze and super simple to master. Transitioning throughout the floors is as simple as using the D-Pad or shoulder buttons. Selection of what you want to interact with is performed by moving a solid red line and highlighting what action you want to do. I did find this extremely clunky at times to the point I sometimes had to click something twice which slowed my progress. Making these choices is a case of moving the red line using the analogue sticks. There is a zoom-in perspective if the player desires a closer look into each floor, this did make clicking some functions slightly more bearable.

Graphics & Audio

Ravenous Devils has an old age victorian vibe to the overall theme. Those who have loved and enjoyed Sweeny Todd or perhaps Peaky Blinders will be familiar with what the development team have created here. The lighting effects and dark, dingy streets against the backdrop of your beloved business are well illustrated. There is a slight grainy tinge to the overall aesthetics and whilst you never go beyond what you see on your screen from the minuter you play, the art team have done an exceptional job to match the mechanics of the game.

There are a few brief cutscenes both in the introduction and throughout your time with Ravenous Devils with some voice-acted moments. Whilst it is nice to see voicing in a budget title, it sounded like they were recorded in a low-quality environment rather than somewhere more professional. This is a minor criticism though and doesn’t really affect your overall experience of the game. You’ll hear some slightly humourous one-liners from Percival and Hildred amongst some well blended in-game music that captures the atmosphere.

In Conclusion

For a game of such a low price point, I was staggered at how much fun I had with Ravenous Devils. Even after playing for around eight or so hours, I couldn’t help but think why they are charging so little for such a unique take on the genre. Fans of games like this will quickly become hooked on the rinse and repeat mechanics but increasingly utilising the upgrades to turn more profit and a successful business. Sadly I became disappointed that the longevity doesn’t surpass much beyond the integrated story. I would have loved to have seen some extra modes such as an endless unlimited playthrough where you keep going until someone discovers what you’re up to. But it is hard to knock what the team have achieved with such a generous priced offering and for less than the price of a pint, it is well worth the purchase and your time.