The Art of the Bento
The bento box has been around for centuries and is considered a staple of daily-life in Japan. These containers are filled with all kinds of food, often arranged in a decorative manner, for people to take to work and enjoy during their lunch break. Preparing a bento, once the items of food are ready, is a task unto itself as you have to ensure everything fits perfectly.
Developers RedDeer.Games have seen the art form of bento preparation from a different perspective, as a type of puzzle to solve. Thus, Neko Bento has arrived to test your skills at packing bento boxes, but will its food-based puzzling leave a satisfying taste in your mouth?
Simple Concept, Complex Shapes
Neko Bento brings a rather straightforward concept to the table: fill an empty bento box with the food items available to you. The opening level solidifies its simplicity by presenting you with a rectangular box containing three empty tiles to fill, alongside a single carrot. All you have to do is select the carrot, which is exactly three tiles long, and place it in the box to proceed. This is followed by a similar puzzle where a 90-degree rotation of the carrot is required for it to nestle in nicely.
A Feast for the Eyes
While that sounds incredibly simple, which it absolutely is, there are numerous aspects that do add a higher level of complexity as you progress. It could be something fundamental like an increase in the number of items at hand alongside a bigger box featuring additional tiles to fill. There are even pre-filled tiles, with rice pulps of course, to create a more difficult shape for you to work around. It’s ultimately a test of your ability to organise the foods you have in the most efficient way possible to ensure everything fits in neatly.
Considering there’s a whopping 96 levels of this to overcome, the core puzzling concept alone wouldn’t carry you through to the end. Thankfully, the array of foods from Japanese cuisine and the timing of their introduction should keep interest levels afloat. Expect to feast your eyes on cute versions of tomatoes, onigiri, tamagoyaki (egg rolls), hanami dango, and shiitake mushrooms, to name just a few. The variety of produce isn’t merely a visual benefit either, as these things come in all manner of shapes and sizes to make your job a lot harder.
A Test of Logic
Take the salmon for example, requiring a massive 2×6 grid space to incorporate it into, or the enoki mushroom that has a vertical body with a mushroom head sprouting out at either side. And then there’s the huge sausage, spanning five tiles in addition to the ends curling upwards to fill another spot each. The sheer variety throughout is great; I’m barely scratching the surface on the delightful edibles that enter the fray. Some really obscure shapes are thrown your way as a result and such shapes make your brain go into overdrive as you attempt to piece them together, trying different layouts until it’s just right.
Figuring out the solution is very rewarding though, even if it will stump you for a short while and potentially force you to look up a guide on occasion. What is slightly odd however, is the steep nature of the difficulty because it raises questions as to who the target market actually is. I mean, the visuals all point to a family-friendly affair, with a cat chef watching over your work and food items looking cute by design – especially the little sausage styled like an octopus.
There’s very little chance of kids and casual puzzle enthusiasts getting through the whole of Neko Bento though, perhaps not even past the halfway point. In hindsight, a hint system would be beneficial and help balance things out, but as it stands, it’s a real challenge.
A Delicious Challenge for Puzzle Enthusiasts
Overview then, Neko Bento will give you more than your fill of food organising levels for a very respectable price. The concept is so simple to understand that anyone can give it a go, however, you should bear in mind how tough it becomes in a short space of time.
Those able to solve what lies ahead will witness an excellent array of delightful foods straight from Japanese culture, which really alter the problems faced and ensure a bit of freshness is added to the mix.
Neko Bento should satisfy your puzzling appetite for a few hours at least.
Important Links
Can YOU Pack Neko Bento on Xbox? – https://www.thexboxhub.com/can-you-pack-neko-bento-on-xbox/
Neko Bento Expands the Menu with Three New Level Pack DLCs! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/neko-bento-expands-the-menu-with-three-new-level-pack-dlcs/
Buy Neko Bento on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/neko-bento/9N4V77MNN0KV/0010
