Getting the munchies in the West might mean a fridge raid for some leftover pizza, cheese, or a packet of Hobnobs. In Japan, it’s a bowl of Midnight Ramen, freshly served on your PC.
In this cooking simulator/visual novel, you play as Homura, as they serve the locals, opening up shop at midnight. It sounds like a risky business venture, but those who have visited Japan will appreciate how ‘safe’ this can be.
Buying a ticket to experience it first-hand might be too expensive. You could get a better perspective from the Netflix series Midnight Diner – an inspiration for Midnight Ramen. In this series, the master will recreate any meal requested, in exchange for a few yen and a story.
Midnight Ramen Review
But we’re gathered here today to celebrate the indie from Cointinue Games. Their debut is a hybrid of visual novel and cooking simulator, with an emphasis on it being cosy. There are zero penalties for wrong orders (the dish will be corrected if it’s about advancing the story), no time limits, nor an ounce of pressure. For that reason, the cooking sections are thoroughly enjoyable.
A customer will approach the counter and ask for some ramen, a side dish, and/or drink. The camera pans down to your work area, and then you cook the noodles according to the customer’s preference, applying toppings, seasoning, and serving drinks. I played Midnight Ramen entirely on the Steam Deck, and the cooking section was incredibly intuitive, to the point that I did not look at any of the controls.
Regarding the story, we begin with a regular customer and a few newbies who stumble upon the location, and gradually, we build up a rapport with them. Besides the chair-throwing and false promises made from drinking booze, there’s a sense of community here like there is in your local pub. Each night, your clientele will offload their day with the naive Homura desperate to help, while her mentor shows his experience through active listening.
Soul Food
There is a weaving arc for each character, and we follow from start to finish, fusing a connection with them and empathising with their dilemma. Some are a little more elusive than others, but the way to a person’s soul is through their stomach, apparently, and by the end of the tale, you’ll no doubt have bonded with them in some way or another.
This could be a good opportunity to touch upon some of the stories, but that would spoil it. Midnight Ramenstarts as a slice-of-life sim, then takes a detour where there are a few hiccups with some terminology. Perhaps it was just me, but it got mildly confusing in places with some terms swapping out. In the end, it all made sense, and most importantly, it hit ‘the feels’.
After completing the main story, it was disappointing that it was over too soon. What was more surprising was how abrupt it was after the investment. After ‘completing’ the story, it became apparent that there were hidden paths. These show on the chapter roadmap, providing hints on how you can change the narrative slightly. New paths opened, eventually providing the true ending, which was an absolute delight and complemented the relationship between the characters.
The soundtrack started great but got repetitive for the first few shifts, using the same Purrple Cat song initially. That gradually advanced, and the remaining tracks nailed it—even pulling on the heartstrings when necessary. It was a lo-fi choice and, like the true ending, complemented the overall mood of the game and the excellent art style. The visual novel-style characters were brilliant, but the cutscenes were a highlight and would look great as a desktop wallpaper.
Midnight Ramen Review Summary
So, should you ignore your diet app and head for a bowl of Midnight Ramen? Absolutely. Cosy games have been popular of late, and the recipe is usually cute visuals, lo-fi beats, and chilled gameplay. As mentioned, Midnight Ramen hits every note and is a proper feel-good experience that needs to be part of your collection. And yes, the title was intentionally written as ‘stimulator’—this evoked the feels!
