Review Insights · App Store
Cooking Mama: Let's cook!
Office Create Corp. · 9,658 ratings · ★ 4.1
4.1
★★★★★
9,658 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 35 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"game"
26 negative reviews mention this · 74% of all complaints
★★★★★ "God please fix this bug. I started the game cooking mama and this random allow ads thing that I saw in the anime Kai app. So I deleted the anime Kai app and it still pops up! I hate this please fix this bug??" - Gaston1945
2
"play"
11 negative reviews mention this · 31% of all complaints
★★★★★ "So many ads and popups. Genuinely unplayable due to the number of ads and pop ups. You have to close probably 10 separate pop ups just to get to the main menu. There are so many flashy things on the screen as well. If you are sensitive to flashing lights avoid thi…" - BiAsra5
3
"cooking"
8 negative reviews mention this · 23% of all complaints
★★★★★ "God please fix this bug. I started the game cooking mama and this random allow ads thing that I saw in the anime Kai app. So I deleted the anime Kai app and it still pops up! I hate this please fix this bug??" - Gaston1945
4
"mama"
7 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "God please fix this bug. I started the game cooking mama and this random allow ads thing that I saw in the anime Kai app. So I deleted the anime Kai app and it still pops up! I hate this please fix this bug??" - Gaston1945
5
"cooking mama"
7 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "God please fix this bug. I started the game cooking mama and this random allow ads thing that I saw in the anime Kai app. So I deleted the anime Kai app and it still pops up! I hate this please fix this bug??" - Gaston1945
6
"deleted"
5 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "God please fix this bug. I started the game cooking mama and this random allow ads thing that I saw in the anime Kai app. So I deleted the anime Kai app and it still pops up! I hate this please fix this bug??" - Gaston1945
7
"popups"
5 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Too many ads!. I hoped for a bit of what this game was like when i was younger but had to uninstall quickly because of the CONSTANT popups and ads! It feels cheap, and like there are no consistencies for ‘performing’ poorly in the game as long as you fini…" - Umelichany
8
"know"
5 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I Did Not Like Cooking Mama :(. I was very excited to play Cooking Mama due to the 4.1 overall star rating and good things I had heard about it. However, the second I opened the game I almost started seizing because there were so many pop-ups it was literally flashing in …" - Spencer Korner : )
9
"constant"
4 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Too many ads!. I hoped for a bit of what this game was like when i was younger but had to uninstall quickly because of the CONSTANT popups and ads! It feels cheap, and like there are no consistencies for ‘performing’ poorly in the game as long as you fini…" - Umelichany
10
"every"
4 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Overstimulating and confusing. The interface is HORRIBLE! The game controls are unclear, I can’t figure out how to navigate the game and there’s an ad\pop up every two seconds. Way too many unnecessary graphics, really ruins a nostalgic game" - rootedangel
11
"money"
4 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Could be better. It feels like a money grab. There’s ads EVERYWHERE and you have to pay for certain recipes. The game also almost ensures you don’t fail and will sometimes auto do the work for you. It’s subtle but I know I shouldn’t have done well on certai…" - jackielionn
12
"play game"
4 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
📋 All 35 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
God please fix this bug
I started the game cooking mama and this random allow ads thing that I saw in the anime Kai app. So I deleted the anime Kai app and it still pops up! I hate this please fix this bug??
Deadly game
If you use too much meat you will be cooking
animals
animals
SEIZURE FROM ADS *dramatized*
I literally downloaded this cos I remember playing it when I was younger. I click on the app and I literally got bombarded with 1 million ads and it got me so upset that I just deleted it. Why would I wanna click through 6000 ads before playing a silly game that’s meant to relax.
I Did Not Like Cooking Mama :(
I was very excited to play Cooking Mama due to the 4.1 overall star rating and good things I had heard about it. However, the second I opened the game I almost started seizing because there were so many pop-ups it was literally flashing in my face. It’s seven in the morning. I don’t know what all these buttons are doing and why are there so many. I’m overstimulated.
I never play. Because?
The constant ads made me tired of it. I loved the gameplay, but the ads drove me away
Stole money for recipes
I bought multiple recipe packs on my iPad, but every time I attempt to make the recipes the app says it needs internet to download, but I am connected. I tried restarting, redownloading and just about everything google recommends.
Too many ads
There’s too many bugs on this game and aggressive advertising
An ad just to OPEN the game?!
I actually adore this game. It’s super cute and looks identical to how I remember the DS game looking. But the most recent update made it so that in order to just open the app, you have to watch an ad. I don’t mind the optional ads throughout (though they’re honestly a bit much) but to FORCE me to watch an ad just to play your game?! No thanks.
to view this review, you must watch an ad
there’s a big, animated arrow pointing at a button to watch an ad pretty much the entire game directed towards children
No sorry
The game was so rushed like I just don’t like the was it was rushed because when I first got on it it was just popping stuff all in ma face like slow down and when I failed a game she said I failed like I don’t know dat and I didn’t like the was she said it so that game was the worst
What went wrong...
too many ads, too many pop ups. SO overstimulating because everything is BOUNCY??? i miss the 3ds version… i was hoping this would be similar… deleting less than 5 minutes after playing 👎
Update made it terrible
I used to really like this game it was simple and the screen wasn’t as busy and anxiety provoking as it is now I lost all my progress updating it and it’s just confusing to navigate with all the ads i don’t think the app will stay on people’s phones for long :/
No don’t play
A dumb bass like this game , this game is a joke!
Bad
Its been weeks and the item shop hasn’t been restocked I’m not sure why its even out of stock if i haven’t purchased anything 🤨🤨🤨 you guys need to fix that!! for now u are getting ONE STAR 😒
Ads and pop ups
I just downloaded the game and was bombarded with pop ups. Then a ad. I didn’t get a chance to play anything and got a ad. That was a insta delete for me. No thank you
Way too many ads
I used to adore this app and I haven’t played it in a few years… man what a whiplash it was to play it again, the game is FULL of ads and pop ups and it takes you a while to actually even play because you have to click x on so many things before you can continue. It used to not be like that so that’s honestly really disappointing to see. Naturally too there’s only like two things you can cook for free and the rest need to be bought which is expected but at that point you’d save more money just buying the console games and playing those instead.
Too many pop ups that distract from the actual game play
I was hoping for a game similar to the original DS game, but this version has way too many pop ups and extra features that are so distracting. Gave me a headache and had to delete it :(
Seriously?!?!
Cooking mama is a jerk!!! Why do you have to get me several times?!?!
Desperate developers
I loved this game as a kid and was sooo excited to find this. Only to be disappointed by constant popups of flashy sales and ads. I get you need to make money but it makes the game unplayable. All the other game modes seem unnecessary too. The game itself is amazing as a stand alone, it doesn’t need all this fluff to keep people interested.
Concerning
Every time I download this game I get spam text messages that are usually porn. That’s a bit worrisome since children play this game.
Yeah it’s still happening. What is with this game!? Uninstalled and won’t be reinstalled until that’s fixed (which means never)
Yeah it’s still happening. What is with this game!? Uninstalled and won’t be reinstalled until that’s fixed (which means never)
Stuff was deleted
I used to play this game all of the time. I bought multiple recipe packs, and had many coins saved up. Then I didn’t play the game in a while and redownloaded, all of my progress was gone. My packs were deleted, coins were gone, decor and clothing gone. I was still on the same account, all of my achievements were still there. So I sent an email to the game and they never got back to me :( Just went and checked the game again and yeah all of my stuff is still gone.
DO NOT DOWNLOAD
I’m a kid and this is a horrible game I felt shaky cooking mama cuisine is way better try that
Too many ads!
I hoped for a bit of what this game was like when i was younger but had to uninstall quickly because of the CONSTANT popups and ads! It feels cheap, and like there are no consistencies for ‘performing’ poorly in the game as long as you finish the task before the timer ends. I’d rather buy the actual game from nintendo or emulate it.
Overstimulating and confusing
The interface is HORRIBLE! The game controls are unclear, I can’t figure out how to navigate the game and there’s an ad\pop up every two seconds. Way too many unnecessary graphics, really ruins a nostalgic game
So many ads and popups
Genuinely unplayable due to the number of ads and pop ups. You have to close probably 10 separate pop ups just to get to the main menu. There are so many flashy things on the screen as well. If you are sensitive to flashing lights avoid this game.
Could be better
It feels like a money grab. There’s ads EVERYWHERE and you have to pay for certain recipes. The game also almost ensures you don’t fail and will sometimes auto do the work for you. It’s subtle but I know I shouldn’t have done well on certain cases.
Review
I really enjoy this game but the only major issue is that I have 0 sound from anything from the game, I already checked in settings but nothing. I deleted the game and installed it again but nothing changed but on my other phone it works, I don’t know why.
Just not the same
I lived for this game on my Nintendo DS, but it’s just not the same anymore. The graphics are horrible and there are way too many pop up ads. It’s not exciting. I’m glad everyone else likes this app! Just not for me.
Stressful but fun
It’s making me get mad a lot
Constantly Interrupts the Fun
Cooking Mama has always been its own quirky brand of cooking simulation, but this installment is unfocused with the amount of overcomplicated menus, shops and in-app purchases. The game is jam packed with ads and popups at every corner to an overstimulating degree. The recipe shop claims you can disable ads after purchasing a pack, however they will still be promoted in the corner or banners at the top of the screen on menus. Credit where it’s due there are new minigame types via Happy Village but I wish once you reach a certain level your crops and animals could grow when you are away since it gets dull quickly. Full 3d models rather than flat textures (crops, animals, fish, dishes served to customers) would make these side tasks a more enjoyable experience. I also miss having a cooking mode in the full titles that let you cook uninterrupted (no need to click a button to advance to the next step). I thought dojo mode would include this but it’s just Mama banging on a gong between each and every step, lol. Worst of all was learning the hard way that backup data is stored for only 24 hours-this is ridiculous for an app with full social media support and game center connectivity. That’s a lot of progress to lose if you take a break.
Bruh
She keeps asking what I wanna make and then she immediately says the restaurant isn’t open yet. Bro you don’t have to keep saying that. It’s just pretentious. I know the restaurant is closed.
Also the game never specified about the progress restoration, that it was about the previous purchases, and not previous game play. It immediately denies it after you try to restore stuff. Just insulting honestly.
Also the game never specified about the progress restoration, that it was about the previous purchases, and not previous game play. It immediately denies it after you try to restore stuff. Just insulting honestly.
There might be innapropiant ads because I looked in critical reviews
People say they’re are inappropriate ads so I wouldn’t get it if I were you. -VIP
OBNOXIOUS
I used to play OG cooking mama but this is so obnoxious. The ads and constant popups are so jarring. Its noisy and grating and gives off ipad baby. I managed to make 2 recipes before I got a headache and rage deleted the app. jesus christ
Very overwhelming
It made me very overwhelmed
Very good ,but
So as u may not no I’m 17 year old and this game is really good but the only problem is that there should be more free cooking mama last time I paid over 30$ and its was 20$ so pls make sure that u don’t buy it and also be more free games of this ,
Sentiment summary
74%
Positive (4-5★)
8%
Neutral (3★)
18%
Negative (1-2★)