Choose Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game
Choose Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game if it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 73.8% positive across 760 reviews.
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game vs Star Chef 2: Cooking Game
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game and Star Chef 2: Cooking Game both land in Simulation 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 Simulation games on Steam. Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game (2020) is 1 year older than Star Chef 2: Cooking Game (2021). Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game scores higher on Steam reviews (73.8% positive) than Star Chef 2: Cooking Game (65.6% positive). 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 Star Chef 2: Cooking Game
Choose Star Chef 2: Cooking Game if you want an Indie, Free To Play, and Casual experience. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. Star Chef 2: Cooking Game launched in 2021.
Both Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game and Star Chef 2: Cooking Game sit in Simulation 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
 Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game |  Star Chef 2: Cooking Game | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Genres | Simulation | Indie, Simulation, Free To Play, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Playable |
| Price | 19.99 USD | Free to play |
| Steam reviews | 73.8% positive (760 reviews) | 65.6% positive (259 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Innervoid Interactive | 99Games Online Private Limited |
Side by side
- Both are Simulation games on Steam.
- Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game (2020) is 1 year older than Star Chef 2: Cooking Game (2021).
- Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game scores higher on Steam reviews (73.8% positive) than Star Chef 2: Cooking Game (65.6% positive).
- Star Chef 2: Cooking Game is free; Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game is paid (19.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game is Deck Unsupported, Star Chef 2: Cooking Game is Deck Playable.
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game vs Star Chef 2: Cooking Game — FAQ
- Which is better, Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game or Star Chef 2: Cooking Game?
- On Steam reviews Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game scores higher (73.8% positive) than Star Chef 2: Cooking Game (65.6% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game or Star Chef 2: Cooking Game first?
- If you want chronology, Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game (2020) came out before Star Chef 2: Cooking Game (2021). 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 Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game and Star Chef 2: Cooking Game similar?
- They overlap on Simulation 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 Star Chef 2: Cooking Game free?
- Yes — Star Chef 2: Cooking Game is a free-to-play Steam title. Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game is paid (19.99 USD).