Sushi Ben Review Overview
What is Sushi Ben?
Sushi Ben is an interactive narrative-driven adventure game where players attempt to save a local sushi bar from being taken over by dastardly landsharks who want to turn a small seaside town into a dazzling resort. As Kotobuki Town’s newest resident, they suddenly find themselves in the center of it all, helping out the sushi restaurant’s apprentice, Ben, to keep the place afloat. They then begin their life as Daruma-Zushi’s consultant, getting to know the quirky townspeople and discovering something more behind the scenes.
It was originally released in 2024 as a VR-only title, and has now been released on Steam to be played on a flatscreen.
Sushi Ben features:
⚫︎ A Slice-of-Life Anime Story
⚫︎ A Picturesque Seaside Town with A Vibrant Cast
⚫︎ Colorful Visuals
⚫︎ Mini-Games Galore
⚫︎ The Best Froggy Companion
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
 Steam |
|
| $11.99 | |
Sushi Ben Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Interesting Narrative Vibrant, Cartoony Visuals Memorable Characters |
Soft-locking Bugs Several Typos |
Sushi Ben Overall Score - 74/100
Sushi Ben is a charming story-driven adventure game that is quirky, whimsical, and incredibly vibrant. From an intriguing slice-of-life-esque story told in vibrant, 3D manga panels, simple gameplay that everyone can enjoy, to a cast of colorful, unforgettable characters, it’s a fun journey to experience. However, its weakness lies in its plethora of bugs and glitches, the most common of all being ones that soft-lock players out of the game, which can be quite frustrating to replay.
Sushi Ben Story - 8/10
The story is admittedly cliché—save a shuttering restaurant from capitalism—but it’s not a bad thing. Its immensely animated storytelling and how it all plays out makes it fun and interesting, and behind its flashiness is a heartfelt tale of a community growing together. It’s wacky, whimsical, and lighthearted, and its jovial, memorable cast of characters tops the narrative experience all off.
Sushi Ben Gameplay - 6/10
Sushi Ben’s gameplay centers around a slew of fetch quests with a sprinkling of mini-games such as fishing, combat with ghosts, and bug-catching. While simple and fun, the gameplay is marred by bugs and glitches such as soft-locking, controls not working properly, items disappearing into the floor, and some unresponsive clicks that can require you to restart a certain area among others.
Sushi Ben Visuals - 8/10
Sushi Ben’s low-poly 3D graphics employ a very anime-ish art style rendered in dangerously bright colors, adding more to its visual charm. From the character designs to the different locations on the map, everything is beautifully rendered. The 3D manga-like panels that pop up from behind a character as you converse with them adds an extra layer of fun, making the whole interaction feel even more alive. However, minor text errors are plenty, such as awkward spacing between words, or misspelled words altogether.
Sushi Ben Audio - 8/10
It gets plus points for being fully-voiced, and the voice actors—both in English and in Japanese—deliver their lines really well, so much so it feels like you’re playing an interactive anime. The musical score is quite catchy, and its anime inspirations shine through. It’s nice that different locations have different background tracks playing as well, adding a bit of variety to your (weird) countryside life.
Sushi Ben Value for Money - 7/10
It’s quite a solid experience for $12, with a playthrough along with the extra sidequests taking around 10-12 hours at most, depending on how quickly you play through it. However, while it’s definitely a price that won’t break the bank, its bugs and glitches do pose a problem, especially if the game is released as a full game at this state.
Sushi Ben Review: A Delectable Slice-of-Life
I’m a big fan of anime and manga—it was practically my childhood. Nowadays, I haven’t had the time to watch anime as much as I would have liked, but it still holds a dear place in my heart. Thus, when Sushi Ben’s trailer came bumbling out of nowhere…color me intrigued.
Uplifting, slice-of-life stories are amongst my favorites, and Sushi Ben seemed just perfect for it. It says right on the tin that it’s directly inspired by the genre, and so it appealed to me from the get go—slice-of-life-esque plot, and bright graphics? Sounds whimsical, fun, and just right up my alley.
In contrast to what the game’s title would have you thinking, you’re not playing as Ben—you’re playing as a salaryman-looking guy (based on what you can see from the tutorial level) who has grown tired of the city life and plans to settle in the small seaside town of Kotobuki.
However, his quiet and peaceful countryside dreams are shattered when he unexpectedly gets roped into the issue at hand—a dastardly pair of landsharks from the Tsujigiri Real Estate Group are out to claim the idyllic town for themselves, and the town’s famous sushi spot, Daruma-Zushi, is being coerced into submission. Its owner and boss is out and about on a sushi pilgrimage, leaving the restaurant to the hands of his apprentice, Ben. With the help of the feisty but loyal tsukumogami (a Japanese spirit born from inanimate objects) Hyakumaru, you and your companion will do all that it takes to save the restaurant—and the town too!
Simple Mechanics, Simple Gameplay
Sushi Ben’s gameplay revolves around exploring and doing a series of quests for the sushi restaurant. Due to the alleged meddling of landsharks Minami and Mashiro with the restaurant’s supplies, it’s up to you to reestablish Daruma-Zushi’s supply line by visiting the respective characters. Of course, it’s not as easy as just showing up at their doorstep and getting on your knees for ingredients—you gotta do something for them first.
Each one of the story quests requires you to do an errand for the respective character, whether it be fishing for ingredients, catching annoying rice-eating bugs, catching ghosts with a mysterious jar, or even wrestling with (cute) boars. These mini-games have simple controls, making use of only the left and right mouse buttons (on mouse and keyboard) to adhere to the VR mechanics it used to have. Go to character, do the errand, have sushi with them at the restaurant—rinse and repeat.
While the gameplay loop sounds boring, Sushi Ben makes it a little more fun by using the different types of mini-games related to what you’re doing to keep it from going stale. It adds a bit of immersion to the whole thing as well.
Aside from story quests, you’re also free to do the daruma sidequests, which opens up to a whole branch of other sidequests that make use of different mini-games, like catching more fish for Junko or hitting targets hidden around town for Ray. Exploring every nook and cranny of the quiet seaside town is an experience in itself too, with secrets and funny easter eggs hidden here and there. (I have caught an entire bespectacled salaryman from the ocean using my fishing rod…)
Bright, Vibrant Visuals and Characters
One of the things you’ll immediately notice about Sushi Ben is its insanely bright and colorful low-poly graphics. The blue of the ocean is so blue, the green of the trees is so green, and the pink of the fluttering cherry blossoms—you guessed it—so pink. I may not be making much sense here in text, but if you take a look at the images, you’ll understand what I’m saying.
This very art style is half its charm, so whimsical and fun that you can’t help but smile and be happy too. From the distinctly Japanese-style housing, to the white torii gate in the center of the town by the ocean, the trees swaying in the air, Kotobuki Town looks and feels like an idyllic seaside paradise, down to the very last pixel.
Along that same vein, it’s no wonder that the vibrant cast of characters—both in designs, personalities, and lore—are memorable, each with their own different quirks that makes them loveable. They’ve made me laugh multiple times throughout my playthrough, and they’ve made my experience in Kotobuki Town more unforgettable.
Intriguing Slice-of-Life Anime Story
Of course, what ties all of the characters together is the story plot. While it is pretty predictable (er…most of the time) especially in the early game, it’s not a drag to go through because of how lively the scenes are, and that almost every new story quest brings in a new character to the table. It keeps things from growing stale, and
There’s also the fact that the narrative is written by Moa, famous for being the writer of the immensely popular (back then, I suppose) pigeon dating sim, Hatoful Boyfriend. Sushi Ben is not as (I say lovingly) ridiculous as the pigeon otome, but you can tell by the humor and the plot that it has their signature style, only in a more lighthearted take.
In fact, there are a few allusions to Hatoful Boyfriend, especially in the form of the pigeon character, Pot-chan…and even a special something. No spoilers here, but it’s evident that Moa really likes their pigeons.
Stellar Voice Acting
Full on voice-acting really brings the game to life, and its cast made sure to deliver. While I played mainly in Japanese, the English voices are just as lively and fitting, making the game even more immersive. While listening to the characters speak, sometimes you feel like you’re just watching an anime play out in front of you—in fact, they even have a story-only mode available in the settings should you be so inclined to just sit back and watch.
There are a few times the English dub doesn’t fit with what is said on screen, or some Japanese lines not being expressed fully by the English translation, but it’s hardly an issue, and it doesn’t take away a lot of context.
Glaring Bugs and Glitches
Despite its pretty solid foundation in terms of story and characters, the bugs and glitches are pretty evident here. Things from minor typos and funny little boars floating in mid-air to more major game-breaking bugs like soft-locking, freezing, and even scripted events not playing out correctly, such as triggering even when you’re not in the specific location (e.g. an entire scene with Shogo the mailman played even if he was in the adjacent area which you’d need to teleport to).
While the glitches may be because of the game being a direct port from VR and of a smaller indie team, it’s still a bit of a drag considering it’s released as a full game. Luckily, the developers appear to be squashing these bugs along the way based on their updates.
Is Sushi Ben Worth It?
Worth Its Salt and Sushi Rice
Sushi Ben is a charming interactive narrative-adventure game that gives pretty good bang for its buck, with an engaging narrative, a lovely cast of characters, and equally vibrant visuals that evoke a sense of happiness just from how bright it is. If you ever wanted a game that simply lets you live in your own chill, slice-of-life anime-style world, then Sushi Ben might just be for you.
Its only weakness lies in its variety of bugs and glitches that range from mildly annoying to game-breaking, but if you can look past that, then it’s the perfect game to spend a free day on.
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
| Steam |
|
| $11.99 | |
Sushi Ben FAQ
Is Sushi Ben available on consoles?
As of writing, Sushi Ben is strictly available only on Steam and VR.
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Sushi Ben Product Information
 |
|
| Title | Sushi Ben |
|---|---|
| Release Date | September 18, 2025 |
| Developer | Big Brane Studios, Inc. |
| Publisher | Big Brane Studios, Inc. |
| Supported Platforms | Steam, VR |
| Genre | Adventure, Casual, Indie |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | Sushi Ben Official Website |
