Choose Restaurant Simulator 2023
Choose Restaurant Simulator 2023 if you want an Indie and Simulation experience. Restaurant Simulator 2023 launched in 2023.
Restaurant Simulator 2023 vs Cooking Craze
Restaurant Simulator 2023 and Cooking Craze both land in Casual on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Casual games on Steam. Restaurant Simulator 2023 (2023) is 1 year older than Cooking Craze (2024). Cooking Craze is free; Restaurant Simulator 2023 is paid (1.99 USD). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Cooking Craze
Choose Cooking Craze if you want a Free To Play experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Cooking Craze launched in 2024.
Both Restaurant Simulator 2023 and Cooking Craze sit in Casual on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Restaurant Simulator 2023 |  Cooking Craze | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Genres | Indie, Simulation, Casual | Free To Play, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Playable |
| Price | 1.99 USD | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | — | 71.6% positive (141 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | indiegames3000 | Matryoshka |
Side by side
- Both are Casual games on Steam.
- Restaurant Simulator 2023 (2023) is 1 year older than Cooking Craze (2024).
- Cooking Craze is free; Restaurant Simulator 2023 is paid (1.99 USD).
- Cooking Craze is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Restaurant Simulator 2023 has no Deck rating yet.
Restaurant Simulator 2023 vs Cooking Craze — FAQ
- Should I play Restaurant Simulator 2023 or Cooking Craze first?
- If you want chronology, Restaurant Simulator 2023 (2023) came out before Cooking Craze (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Restaurant Simulator 2023 and Cooking Craze similar?
- They overlap on Casual on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Is Cooking Craze free?
- Yes — Cooking Craze is a free-to-play Steam title. Restaurant Simulator 2023 is paid (1.99 USD).