This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format.


A port of a 3DS game with some funky new motion controls, Waku Waku Sweets is this year’s answer to Cooking Mama, albeit with a dessert-based focus. You play as a young girl called Lime, an amateur baker of sweets and other confectionaries who strives to be the next Mary Berry, beginning her trade in the Fil Rouge patisserie. You can go about this the more traditional way by earning coins by completing baking jobs. You can also, however, take the advice of Lime’s talking rabbit companion, Paffi, and cook to increase the happiness of the townsfolk, which will give Paffi enough power to grant her wish of being the very best.

If it sounds silly, that’s because it is, but the nauseatingly upbeat anime plot manages to keep it cute, if a bit dialogue-heavy.

By replacing the stylus controls with the motion of the Joy-Con, the responsiveness can sometimes be a little temperamental. The game advises you upon booting up that Joy-Con are the way forward, though you’ll have far less potential for problems using the Pro Controller instead.

The minigames themselves are usually well thought out and span a vast array of different dishes from different countries, with over 100 to choose from. This keeps things generally fresh, though not all minigames are created equally, with the odd one being a repeat or a dud. Still, the number of recipes to buy or unlock creates a solid reward system that makes the less engaging bakes feel worthwhile. The ultimate goal is easily achievable with low stakes and incredibly one-dimensional characters that offer little conflict, but progression is at least offered via story mode.

Waku Waku Sweets will absolutely not be to everyone’s taste. However, much like a chef’s speciality dessert, it’ll be devoured by fans of its distinctive happy-go-lucky visual style and those who enjoy the cooking sim genre. As is, its lack of challenge, silly plot, and niche visual style make it difficult to recommend to everyone, but it certainly isn’t without merit.