Papa’s Wingeria: No seconds for me, thanks

The Papa’s games aren’t for everyone. Some people just don’t like the minimum wage simulation aspect of the games. You work hard, are under pressure, and barely get paid. They really are like working at a terrible job! Even so, the games are popular and have some addictive gameplay behind them. Papa’s Wingeria is the newest game in the series, but in some ways it feels like a step back from Pancakeria.

Papa has opened franchises for burgers, tacos, ice cream, pancakes, and now wings. Wingeria has a lot of bells and whistles in comparison to the previous games in the series. You can create a character now, there’s a ton of stuff in the shop, and you can change your character’s clothes — all new features. Even with these additions, the base gameplay is essentially the same as the others in the series. Take orders, cook and prepare food, then deliver food. I personally have no issue with how the games play out (though some people do), but there’s something a bit off about Papa’s Wingeria.

The actual food preparation is a combination of simple and annoying. Food prep was fun in Freezeria, stressful in Pancakeria, and in Wingeria it’s just downright no fun. You cook a set amount of wings per batch, choose the amount of sauce per batch, and then take part in a mini QTE that feels tacked on to mix the sauce and the wings. After that (yes, there’s more), you must place the wings and additional sides onto a plate in an even and decorative fashion, and then add dipping sauce in the center. There are too many steps within each step, and the amount of effort you have to put into just making wings or french fries or what have you is excessive for the type of game that it is.

I’ve been a big fan of the series for a while, but Papa’s Wingeria just sort of falls flat for me. While the games have always sort of felt like a chore, I still enjoyed them for the most part. I simply don’t enjoy it this time around. I’ll take the lower quality graphics and better gameplay of the previous Papa’s games over Wingeria’s any day.