Get ready for a feast of action with Hangry, the upcoming action RPG from Toronto-based developer Game Pill. Play as Hangry, a gorilla-like mercenary, and snack-n-slash your way through appetizing monsters and delectable planets. As you explore these mouthwatering environments, you’ll collect exotic ingredients and alien recipes as Hangry works off his debt to Chef Goutra, planet Zeta’s favorite greasy spoon Head Chef.  

Indulge Your Cravings

While Hangry’s debt may loom over him, it’s not his only reason to gather ingredients. Game Pill isn’t just being clever with the term “snack-n-slash.” Consuming raw ingredients grants temporary buffs for Hangry and his weapons while in combat. Using your bite ability during combat is a tasty way to turn your enemies’ powers against them. Just save some ingredients to bring back to Goutra’s Diner.  

Paying back your debt may be the underlying reason Hangry is working with Goutra. On Zeta, food is power, and it doesn’t get more powerful than the comfort food you’ll find at Goutra’s dinner. As Hangry turns in ingredients and recipes to Goutra, players will unlock more cooked dishes that can be consumed for more permanent buffs.   

A Visual Buffet That Is Hot But Not Quite Ready

One standout feature is the game’s beautifully developed world. From diverse planets and biomes to the creatures inhabiting them, these unique environments are a veritable buffet for players. The demo introduces us to the Marshes of L’Loy, a place home to purple cabbage plants and creatures like the Cherry Monitor – a pink soft serve and waffle cone monitor that is one cone-siderably amazing lizard.  

Unfortunately, these beautifully crafted worlds are dulled by lackluster optimization. Despite having a 2080 GPU, my PC struggled with the demo. Even after adjusting the graphic settings to medium with DLSS set to prioritize performance, I was only able to squeeze 40 FPS out of it. Even then, stuttering was common during flashier combat sequences or multi-enemy combat. Nevertheless, I enjoyed playing Hangry and believe optimization can be addressed before release.  

Controller Support

Hangry does offer controller support for Xbox controllers, and Game Pill recommends playing the game in this way. I played with a mouse and keyboard and didn’t find it to be excessively difficult. The key bindings felt natural, and I didn’t feel as if my experience was hindered by playing with a mouse and keyboard. Those feelings may change with time as the gameplay progresses, but if you would rather play with a mouse and keyboard, I would say it’s more than safe.  

More Than Just A Snack-N-Slash

While Hangry has action-packed combat at its core, there is still more content to digest. Chef Goutra is not just outsourcing the ingredient acquisition. At the end of the demo, we glimpsed a cooking mini-game where Hangry prepares his gathered ingredients. We only got a nibble of this Cooking Mama-lite game mode, but I can’t wait to see more of it.  

Additionally, the demo teased a catalog of collectible recipes. After finding a recipe card hidden in the demo area triggered my collector instincts. The recipes available in the catalog looked both alien and delicious. I can’t wait to discover more of these recipes in the final release.  

Final Thoughts

In summary, despite the graphic optimization issues, Hangry is a fun snack-n-slash, action RPG that takes you on a delicious, intergalactic journey to fight food-themed monsters while gathering ingredients and recipes. With a snacking mechanic that keeps combat fresh, a cooking mini-game to diversify the gameplay, and a colorful cast of characters and environments Hangry is shaping up to be one to watch. 

Hangry is set to release on PC and Xbox, but Game Pill has yet to announce a definite release date at this time. NeverMore Niche received a free demo key courtesy of Game Pill.