Fast Food Simulator is a simulation game where you can run your very own fast food joint with your own crew of employees. Read our review of its early-access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.

Everything We Know About Fast Food Simulator

Fast Food Simulator Story Plot

Fast Food Simulator does not feature a central storyline or narrative plot. Instead, it encourages players to manage their fast-food business in their own way, crafting personal narratives and immersing themselves in their roles as employees.

Fast Food Simulator Gameplay

Fast Food Simulator focuses on maintaining and operating a player-owned fast-food restaurant, encompassing all the responsibilities that come with it. Players have complete freedom in how they manage their establishment, from deciding which supplies to order to determining how to handle the various tasks necessary for smooth operations. These tasks include preparing food, ensuring cleanliness, managing stock, and maintaining overall efficiency.

Players can interact with a variety of stations tailored to specific management tasks. In the kitchen, this includes grills, fryers, and assembly stations, while the front counter features ice cream machines, soda dispensers, and cash registers. Additional responsibilities include delivering food to tables, organizing storage, ordering supplies, cleaning the restaurant, and managing a drive-through window for customers on the go.

The primary objective each day is to generate profit by satisfying customers with accurate orders, fast service, and a clean environment. Earnings are reinvested into resupplying and expanding the restaurant’s offerings, unlocking new products, condiments, and tools to enhance operations and tackle more advanced challenges.

Fast Food Simulator Review [Early Access]

A Few Sides Short of a Meal

I have fond memories of my younger days, spending endless summer afternoons glued to the screen, flipping patties and whipping up sundaes in Flipline Studios’ Adobe Flash-based food-serving games. From Papa’s Pizzeria to the never-ending -erias, these games were the epitome of repetition, formulaic design, and snail-paced progression. And yet, they were absurdly addictive. I’d happily spend hours perfecting my routine, and somehow, that grind never lost its charm.

Then there was Diner Dash on my trusty PSP—a treasure trove of memories. Each new decor unlock was like a badge of honor, and I’d grin like a kid at a candy store (because let’s face it, I was) every time I spruced up my virtual eatery. Those were the days when the joy of multitasking felt like a superpower.

What I didn’t realize back then was that I had a budding talent for these food-serving games. More importantly, I loved them with an inexplicable passion. Fast-forward to today, and it’s no surprise that Fast Food Simulator caught my eye. The question is: can it hold its own against those beloved classics in capturing the fast food frenzy?

Not to skip straight to dessert, but I’d say Fast Food Simulator shows promise, although it’s still an a la carte experience, for better or worse.

A Lunch Rush Worth Experiencing

Fast Food Simulator is a streamlined, gamified take on the fast food service industry—simple enough for casual players but just challenging enough to keep you on your toes when it comes to nailing those orders. In this game, you’re not just flipping burgers; you’re running the whole show. Think of yourself as a hands-on manager: handling everything from cooking to customer service, and even hiring staff to help you run the store.

The game unfolds in a series of in-game days, with each day lasting as long as you decide (though the minimum is eight minutes). During that time, your main goal is to serve customers their orders quickly and efficiently. At first, you’re a one-person army: cooking, assembling, delivering, and cleaning up every order. Over time, you can unlock help through hiring or diving into a multiplayer mode for some immediate teamwork.

Accomplishing each part of the food-service process requires you to interact with different parts of the store, with each station offering up its own challenges in addition to the overarching matter of managing the timeliness of your orders.

You’ll be handling a grill, soda dispenser, ice cream machine, cash register, and a small arsenal of kitchen tools—pots, pans, bottles, refrigerators, and more, all while making sure those burgers aren’t over or undercooked, those drinks stay cold, and those ice creams stay unmelted.

Orders themselves can range from the simple (a plain burger) to the downright ridiculous (towering creations with sides and drinks that might give a silverback gorilla second thoughts). The variety ensures you’re always engaged, and every task feels rooted in the chaos of real-life fast food work. I wouldn’t call it overtly hectic, but it’s certainly not the leisurely pace those other games I mentioned had.

Regarding progression, your performance impacts your restaurant’s success. Fail to keep up, and customers leave unhappy, slashing your profits and reputation. Some might even skip paying altogether. While this loop feels familiar—echoing the likes of Diner Dash or Cook, Serve, Delicious!—the game’s focus on hands-on management does give it a somewhat unique spin on top of it all.

That said, the game doesn’t exactly shake up the formula much past that. Sure, you’ll unlock the occasional new ingredient every few levels, which spices things up a bit and keeps orders from getting too stale.

But beyond that, the core gameplay loop stays largely the same. It’s not necessarily a bad thing—simulation games, especially those emulating real-life vocations, don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be engaging. Still, a touch more flair or variety in unlockable features could have elevated the experience.

Very Simple Visuals and Audio

Taking away even more from the already middling gameplay loop is the game’s visual presentation, which can only be described as painfully simplistic. Even by the standards of soulless dystopian fast-food chains, it’s completely unappealing. The store you start with feels devoid of personality, and while I’d like to think this is a satirical nod to the current state of the fast-food industry, it doesn’t exactly make for compelling visuals in a simulation game.

I’m not asking for a throwback to the golden days of 90s McDonald's décor (the peak of human creativity if you ask me), but it would be nice if the restaurant looked like something other than an abandoned Pizza Hut in rural Tennessee that hasn’t seen a customer since before they still served the Triple Deckeroni.

Customization options are virtually nonexistent—you can name your restaurant and slap up a sign, but beyond that, there’s no way to give it any personality. You and your workers can choose between two uniforms total and a few palette swaps for your hair and eyes, but other than that, you’re all just random Joe Schmoes working a minimum-wage job. It’s a missed opportunity to inject some life and engagement into the game without just adding more menu items.

The audio fares a little better. The music is not terrible, but it’s far from inspired—functional at best, forgettable at worst. The voice acting is very stock-sounding and unbelievably loud, so there’s that. This is definitely a game to play for its repetition and challenge, not for its vibes.

Accessible Even if You’re Missing A Few Bussers

On a brighter note, even in its unfinished state, Fast Food Simulator serves up a smooth and satisfying experience in both single-player and multiplayer modes. If you’re opting for the solo, à la carte approach, the game offers a steady progression that lets you slowly build your dream crew of workers. Pay attention to the hustle, and your crew will do just fine—a claim I can’t confidently make for certain other sim games like Supermarket Simulator, where the AI workers are about as functional as a McDonald’s ice cream machine.

Multiplayer, however, is where Fast Food Simulator truly shines. The built-in voice-chat feature brings the chaotic, high-energy atmosphere of a fast-food kitchen to life. Coordinating with teammates, shouting out orders, and scrambling to meet the lunch rush captures the authentic spirit of the industry in a way that’s as hilarious as it is immersive.

If you can rally your friends, I highly recommend tackling the mayhem together. There’s nothing quite like the camaraderie (and occasional yelling matches) that come with running a digital burger joint as a team. But even if your friends aren’t fans of simulation games, no worries—you can jump into public lobbies and team up with strangers. This is in favor of the game, of course, but take it with a packet of salt—nearly every simulation game is improved by multiplayer.

Great Start, But This Menu Needs Filling Out

Overall, Fast Food Simulator wears its early access status on its sleeve—and that’s perfectly fine. It doesn’t pretend to be more than it is, but I can’t help wishing there was more to sink my teeth into. The foundation is solid, and the gameplay is genuinely fun, especially when you rope in some friends for chaotic, burger-flipping camaraderie. Still, the lackluster progression and barebones personalization options leave something to be desired.

On the bright side, the game’s roadmap promises a heap of future updates, teasing added complexity beyond just new menu items. That’s definitely a plus, though I can’t help wishing those features were already here so I could task my least-favorite crew member with crafting a five-patty abomination while I deal with a clogged toilet in the back. Until then, it looks like I’ll have to stick to a real-life service gig for my fix of fast-food chaos.

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Fast Food Simulator Product Information​

Title	FAST FOOD SIMULATOR
Release Date	December 10, 2024
Developer	No Ceiling Games
Publisher	No Ceiling Games
Supported Platforms	PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
Genre	Simulation
Number of Players	1-6
ESRB Rating	RP
Official Website	Fast Food Simulator Website

Aaron Bruce Albert..

A massive fan of roguelikes, turn-based RPGs, and open world adventure games. His gold standard games include The Binding of Isaac, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and Dragon Quest Monsters Joker.