Papa's Paleteria To Go! Review: Yet Another Addictive Papa Louie Game (2024)

Restaurant-style simulation games have held a subtle, yet staple, presence in the gaming scene over the years. From age-old titles like Diner Dash to the more modern all-encompassing takes on the genre such as PlateUp!, these types of games are a go-to favorite for many looking to test their time management skills and, most importantly, to see if they've got what it takes to run a restaurant.

There are plenty of games to choose from but none have arguably had a bigger, more felt impact than the "Papa Louie" restaurant series. Developed by Flipline Studios, an indie game studio consisting of Matt Neff and Tony Solary, the games in this series usually follow a character who assumes control of one of Papa Louie's various restaurants.

The latest addition to the series, Papa's Paleteria To Go!, was released in March 2024 and offers players a whole new challenge to take on.

Table of Contents

1. Game Concept
2. Gameplay
3. Graphics / Visual Presentation
4. Sound
5. Performance
6. Microtransactions
7. Uniqueness
8. Conclusion
9. Final Rating

Game Concept

The game's dessert-filled story begins with you taking control of a paleta (otherwise known as ice pops) store known as Papa's Paleteria. At the store, you'll prepare "seasonal delights" for the people of the seaside town of San Fresco.

With over 40 Special Recipes to master and 129 ingredients to unlock, each order is as unique as they come.

In addition to this, you'll have to ensure that you prepare each order to meet the picky needs and wants of the 148 unique customers in the game. Your performance in each order is graded across four areas: Wait, Build, Chill, and Top.

Gameplay

The crux of the gameplay in Papa's Paleteria To Go! is the overall preparation of the paletas. It involves a complex process that accounts for taking the order, building the paleta in time, chilling it correctly, and adding the right toppings. All four areas are key when it comes to the final score you get and the tips you receive from the customer.

Like other Papa Louie games, this paleta-making process is a delicate one and rewards you for your precision and timing. One second too long or short and that means an unsatisfied customer. Thankfully, the steps to create a paleta are easy and this can be attributed to the intuitive touch buttons and swipe controls. The game also features a straightforward UI.

As you progress through the game and unlock seasonal flavors and special recipes, the game becomes more engaging.

Another addition to Papa's Paleteria To Go! that's downright fun is its free-play Food Truck mode. In it, you can experiment with different ingredients and flavor combinations to create a truly special paleta for your customers. We previously saw the Food Truck in Papa's Cluckeria To Go! and Papa's Freezeria Deluxe, so we're glad it makes an appearance in Papa's Paleteria To Go!

Overall, the gameplay in Papa's Paleteria To Go! is simplistic, similar to Papa's Mocharia To Go! as it primarily focuses on creating a single item and so, is easier to navigate than perhaps Papa's Sushiria.

Graphics / Visual Presentation

Papa's Paleteria To Go! has the same animation style and character design that every seasoned player of this franchise has come to love. The graphics, though simple, are iconic and make it stand out above the rest. Any departure from this and it wouldn't feel like a Papa Louie game.

Beyond this, the various creams and toppings present in the game are bright, fantastical, and mouth-watering. It's often said you eat with your eyes first and we'd be lying if we said we didn't come across any paletas that we would try in real life.

On top of this, we appreciated the vibrant designs of the game's layout and of the areas outside of Papa's Paleteria, particularly the seaside town of San Fresco.

Sound

Flipline Studios has a rather minimalistic approach when it comes to sound design for their many games and this appears to apply to Papa's Paleteria To Go! It has basic yet catchy background music and immersive sound effects throughout the paleta-making process.

In our honest opinion, can the sound design be slightly improved, particularly the clarity of certain sound effects? Yes. Would the game greatly benefit from this improvement? Yes, but only very slightly.

While sound design can be important for narrative-driven games, we believe it doesn't have much of an impact on simulation games as, for the most part, you'll be too occupied with trying to accurately prepare the orders to notice the music playing in the background. This simplistic approach to sound design can be seen across multiple restaurant simulation games, so for a two-man studio to deliver on this and deliver it well is an achievement in and of itself.

Performance

Given the game's lightweight download size and graphics, Papa's Paleteria To Go! earns points because it doesn't require much in terms of hardware specifications for your mobile device. Its system requirements of Android 5.0 or higher and iOS/iPadOS 12.0 or higher mean that the game will run consistently on most mid- to high-range devices.

In terms of pure performance, Papa's Paleteria To Go! runs like a dream, barring a couple of times when we encountered lag. Overall, the graphics are impressive, the transitions between scenes are seamless, and the controls are responsive.

You also have the option to swap between high- and low-quality graphics. This nice little feature is always welcome, especially if you're on a lower-end device.

Microtransactions

Microtransactions are kept to a minimum in Papa's Paleteria To Go!, with the game offering players the opportunity to purchase tips and mini-game tickets.

Though they can be useful, specifically if you're a fan of bonus content such as the daily mini-game and decor, this microtransaction system does not restrict you from experiencing the core gameplay features. For us, this is a plus and leaps over other titles which make in-app purchases a necessity at times.

Uniqueness

Having played a few restaurant simulation games in the past, Papa's Paleteria To Go! (and the rest of the Papa Louie franchise, for that matter), stands out as one of the most unique titles in the genre.

Its eclectic animations, distinct flavor combinations, and addictive gameplay are all elements I've come to appreciate more as I play the game.

This game is certainly a breath of fresh air if you're looking to escape the more complex restaurant simulation games like PlateUp! or Overcooked. Papa's Paleteria To Go! is a pleasant game that offers you a chill restaurant experience without the added pressure.

Conclusion

Papa's Paleteria To Go! is a casual, relaxing restaurant simulation game that's made for all ages and all types of players. In their latest installment, the developers deliver a highly addictive game with orders and customers that are often never the same. This constant change is a great feature that ensures that you, as a player, are always faced with a new challenge whenever someone steps up to the counter.

Though this game may be simple by some metrics, it's not for the lack of trying. Flipline Studios perseveres with its quirky animations and builds upon gameplay elements that have made this franchise so successful since the beginning. At this point, Papa's Paleteria To Go! is an awesome game crafted using a formula that has been slowly perfected over the years with each new game released.

Final Rating

Our final rating considers the game's performance across six key areas. Namely, the areas are gameplay, performance, graphics / visual presentation, sound, uniqueness, and the level of microtransactions in the game.

Here is an overview of the scoring in each area: