GO! GO! Hamster Chef is a cute Retraux cooking simulator. A hamster named Hamtaro is inspired by a friend to start a food delivery business.
The game was made for the N64 Style Graphics Game Jam, with the theme of Incompatible Genres.
A definitive edition with additional content is also in the works, and released on Steam on August 19th, 2024.
Due to the game's short length and simple, straightforward plot, no spoiler tags are necessary on this page.
GO! GO! Hamster Chef contains the following tropes.
- Bittersweet Ending: The definitive edition ends roughly the same as the original game, but rather than Hamtaro being implicitly killed in one final ambush, manages to escape the town and The Static, but all of the townsfolk were corrupted by it.
- Covers Always Lie: All of the screenshots on the itch.io page are subtly inaccurate to make the Disguised Horror Story more misleading:
- Hamtaro jumping on his scooter while Bunjamin watches: Hamtaro's hat fell off his head (something that doesn't happen in gameplay no matter how fast you go) and NPCs don't move their heads to look at the player.
- Hamtaro handing some fries to Hopper: in-game, there's no animation for giving someone food.
- All the characters standing on the bridge: such a scene never happens.
- Hamtaro working on several dishes at once: the ability to put food on the counter does not exist.
- Disguised Horror Story: Starts off as a cute Animal Crossing/Story of Seasons-esque social sim, turns into a Slender-inspired horror game on night 3.
- Easter Egg: Two related to the escape sequence, which both became achievements for the Steam version.
- Attempting to go into Hamtaro's house after Bunjamin begins his chase results in a unique cutscene where Bunjamin simply opens the door and charges at Hamtaro.
- Going into the forest after the chase begins. Attempting to leave after going in will result in an ambush by the infected townsfolk, and nearing the underpass you found Hop Pop's corpse will result in him charging at Hamtaro.
- Escape Sequence: The last part of the game. Bunjamin screams and starts chasing you. All the other characters do the same as you pass them, and you need to reach the town's exit without being caught.
- Familial Cannibalism Surprise: An indirect example. Hopper is given food that includes mushrooms taken from Hop Pop's corpse.
- Fingerless Hands: All the animal characters have simple spheres where their hands should be.
- It Can Think: The infected townsfolk in the chase sequence behave akin to zombies, but the infected Bunjamin calls Hamtaro to invite him over to his house in an attempt to ambush him, suggesting they're capable of some form of tactics.
- Jump Scare: Hamtaro has a bad feeling about being invited over to Bunjamin's house. The moment you approach the house, Bunjamin screams and starts chasing you. While trying to escape, the other characters do the exact same thing as you pass by them. Even after you leave the village, Hop Pop comes down the middle of the road for one last obstacle. And once you do make it, the ending is interrupted by all the corrupted villagers popping up (with human eyes) and screaming again.
- Missing Secret: A few, to make the Disguised Horror Story more convincing, such as Hopper promising to tell you a secret when he knows you better (there is no Relationship Values system, so you can never earn his trust and find out his secret) and many empty houses with signs in front (nobody ever moves into them).
- Ominous Visual Glitch:
- The Static causes the screen to go fuzzy when it's nearby.
- Before the Escape Sequence, Bunjamin's model is spasming like a character from a malfunctioning Nintendo 64 cartridge. So do the other characters during the escape.
- Racing Minigame: Let's Ride! mode is a simple racing time trial unlocked after completing the main story.
- Retraux: Has Nintendo 64-style graphics, as expected from the game jam it was submitted for.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: The official description:This is a fun, innocent game which does not contain ANY dark twist.
- Too Dumb to Live: During the Escape Sequence, you can go back into your house and sleep, which results in a unique cutscene and death.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The trailer for the Steam release more or less spells out that GO! GO! Hamster Chef is a horror game.
- Variable Mix: The music switches from a calm piano and xylophone tune to a more upbeat piano and accordion variant when you ride the scooter.
- "Will Return" Caption: Version 1.10 adds credits that end with the promise that Hamster Chef will return.
- World of Funny Animals: No non-animal characters (apart from the Static) are present. You've got a hamster, two frogs, a rabbit, a bear, and a mentioned-only mouse.
