Hungry Horrors was a game that I couldn’t help smiling at when I first laid eyes on its demo release trailer a little under two weeks ago.
This colourful roguelike deckbuilder set itself apart from other entries in the genre as it replaces combat with cooking. Playing as a princess, you’ll whip up dishes for legendary monsters from British and Irish folklore. If you fail to impress, however, it’ll be you that’s on the menu.
The game just received its very first demo earlier this month, and its planned to release on PC at an unconfirmed date in the future.
Jerzy Pilch, co-founder of Clumsy Bear Studios (the game’s developer), very kindly took some time out of his schedule recently to answer some of our most burning questions. But before we dive into just how awesome this one sounds, why not check it out for yourself? You can add the game’s demo to your download queue here.
RL: What is Hungry Horrors for those unfamiliar?
JP: In Hungry Horrors, you play as a princess tasked with feeding monsters from British and Irish folklore before they devour you.
Drawing inspiration from our favourite games and aesthetics, we blend retro 2D pixel art visuals, turn-based card gameplay, roguelite progression and storytelling, gothic camp, and distinctly British humour.
RL: The concept for the game is pretty charming, what inspired its cooking-based combat?
JP: We always wanted to make a game with a more relaxed combat system – something you can play to unwind after work instead of adding more stress. That’s why it’s turn-based: so you have time to think.
The cooking came from wanting to add some light crafting and do something different from just slaying monsters. Even cosy games like Stardew Valley rely on combat. We wanted to be different.
Why kill them when you can feed them?
Also, we watched the anime “Delicious in Dungeon” while coming up with this idea!
RL: What drew you specifically to British and Irish folklore?
JP: I really wanted to establish the world and its rules before we started creating it. I’ve always been a massive fan of Greek, Roman, or Norse mythology – but those have been explored a lot, and done incredibly well in games like Hades or God of War.
Slavic myths have The Witcher, but when it comes to Celtic and Anglo-Saxon legends, most games focus on Avalon, Merlin, or Robin Hood. There aren’t many that dive into the deeper folklore beyond those familiar stories.
Once I started digging further, I discovered this amazing world of hags, goblins, fairies, and dragons – not just in old folk tales, but in literature too, from Shakespeare and the Brontë sisters to Tolkien and Pratchett. All of them tied to specific places across the British and Irish Isles.
I really wanted to explore that more. I’m Polish, but my partner is British, so we made it the heart of our game.
RL: What meta progression systems are present, and how do they impact gameplay between runs?
JP: There are two types of progression systems in Hungry Horrors: progression within a run and progression across the game.
In each run, you can collect dish cards to add to your deck and pick up buffs that enhance your dishes or the princess herself – for example, a bonus to sweet dishes, potato-based dishes, or a stamina boost for the princess.
During a run, you can also find recipes, special ingredients, and artefacts. These persist after death, allowing you to grow stronger with each new attempt.
We’re also testing a few additional systems at the moment, but we don’t want to spoil anything until we’re fully happy with how they play.
RL: What does the gameplay loop look like outside satisfying the hunger of these legendary monsters?
JP: After the tutorial, you start in the castle kitchen, where you can cook dishes to build your deck and upgrade your kitchen supplies.
When you leave the kitchen, you progress through biomes. Most of the time, you choose between two doors. One possible room is the Lair or Cursed Lair, where you can encounter Horrors, which are powerful legendary monsters.
Other rooms include:
- Nook, where you’re asked to make a choice that can lead to a positive, negative, or mixed outcome
- NPCs, who offer quests and ask for items in exchange for powerful rewards
- Vendors, where you can trade for upgrades
- Trove, where you usually choose between two reward chests
There are also a few more room types that haven’t yet appeared in the demo.
When you die, you return to the base. There, you can use items collected during your run to upgrade your setup, unlock new recipes, and start your next run stronger than before.
RL: How was your recent trip to London Games Fest? It sounds like you had quite an ordeal, dealing with broken bones, an earthquake, and a ticking clock with getting the game’s demo live.
JP: The launch of this demo was the most intense weekend of my life. It was already stressful, with last-minute changes and testing to get everything ready in time for the festival. But on top of that, there was an earthquake in Bangkok. We were living on the 10th floor, had to change flats three times until we found one that wasn’t damaged or infested with cockroaches, and then my partner fractured his arm. It added levels of stress I didn’t even know existed, haha.
Right after we moved, I flew to London. The next day, I was setting up our station. Since I was on my own, I spent almost two full days standing there, talking to people for ten hours straight without leaving the booth at all.
Despite everything, I’m so happy with the feedback we got from players. Both devices, the PC and the Steam Deck, were always in use. Some people beat the demo, and others spent over an hour playing. It really felt like people were getting pulled into it, and that is the best thing I could have hoped for.
It was my first expo as an exhibitor, and I learned so many new lessons.
RL: What can players look forward to in the game’s first playable demo?
JP: In our first demo, you start in the dungeon, where you go through a quick feeding tutorial. After that, you enter the castle kitchen, your base, where you learn how to create your deck. From there, you can explore two biomes featuring six unique creatures and two bosses, all inspired by British and Irish folklore, such as the Glaistig and the Buggane.
You can discover a variety of room types, including the Trove, Nook, and Sanctuary, and learn over 20 different dishes made from humble ingredients like potatoes, eggs, and flour, with recipes such as Yorkshire Pudding or Boxty.
Additionally, you can meet a few NPCs, visit a vendor, collect potions, buffs, and artefacts, and learn more about the monsters and food you’ve discovered through the compendium.
RL: Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! Now to save you scrolling back up for the link, head this way for the Steam page and the demo version of Hungry Horrors.
