Neon
Noodles

Neon Noodles (2023) is a simulation game where you direct worker robots to prepare food orders for your clientele. Unusually, rather than making each dish individually, you design a series of steps so your robots can create a continuous supply of the dish with maximum efficiency. Paired with a science-fiction story about capitalism and class divide, it makes for a standout mix of narrative and optimisation-based strategy.

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Set in a dystopian future where food has become the ultimate status symbol, you control an automated food preparation system known as Neon Noodles. As you learn the intricacies of the world and your place in it, you uncover how corporate greed and the upper echelons of society conspire to maintain the status quo and keep the poor in their perceived place.

Play involves designing sequences that robot workers repeat to create the dishes your clients desire. You create food by taking ingredients to different workstations where different steps occur; for example, at one station you can chop ingredients, at another combine them, and at another, you deposit the final meal.

The result is a game that is not only a cerebral challenge but also a social criticism of the industrialisation of food. It starts simply, but quickly gets complex as you add robots in tandem and new workstations with special abilities. Optimising your robots' workflow to create the most efficient meal creation system and get the highest score requires careful consideration and experimentation.

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Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Neon Noodles 3 weeks ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 3 weeks ago.