Pao Pao is a mash-up of a farming sim, a fishing game, a quest adventure and a fast-paced cooking game set in a fantastic 3D world. That’s a winning combo!
The Backstory of Pao Pao
Pao was tasked with running a restaurant in the demo of Pao Pao. I arrived on a picturesque island and quickly embarked on a pretty comprehensive tutorial, which I appreciated. After that, the actual demo began. I was given some basic supplies and the key to my new restaurant! I was also instructed to meet some of the villagers and get to know them. And so it begins!
The Setting of Pao Pao
The setting of Pao Pao is a 3D open-world sandbox, and the graphics are wonderfully low-poly. I absolutely loved the feel of everything there. There is an area near my restaurant where I will be able to farm. There’s another area nearby with docks and boats that I can use to go to other areas. There’s a cute little sandy beach where I can fish. There’s also a town area that was really cool. There are a number of adorable homes, and I can enter the ones with a doormat featuring a pawprint on it.
There is also a series of roads with cars and motorcycles driving on them. When I walked in front of a vehicle, it had to slam on its brakes and squeal to a stop. Ha!! I found that if I stood in front of a vehicle long enough, the driver would start to beep his horn, and all the traffic behind him would get backed up. What cool details to include in a game.
The setting for the demo of Pao Pao was a nice size. A map was provided, and I can tell the area will be even larger in the finished game. There are so many little “neighborhoods” in this world. I found an arcade hall where I could choose to play games. I found a clothing store. And I also found an area where I can shop for supplies for the restaurant, and seeds for my garden, as well as decor items, I guess for my home. There’s even another island that I need to reach by boat in one of the quests.
The Gameplay of Pao Pao
I played in single player mode with a controller, but Pao Pao can also be played multiplayer with up to 4 players. The controls worked well and were not complicated. I met many of my neighbors and visited in their homes or businesses.
I visited Sedric, the librarian, and thought his library was really interesting. There were books that I could read excerpts from. They appear to be partial recipes that are suitable for certain occasions. I’m thinking perhaps in the final game I could try to complete them. These excerpts presented themselves as a collection of floating letters, and when I clicked on them, they became words. Really cool! I could also turn on any of the library table reading lamps that I wanted, which I thought was fun!
Pao Pao has a day/night cycle, and the restaurant can only be open in the day. That leaves the nighttime for accomplishing other tasks, or simply sleeping. I love how the scenery changes from day to night. All the street lamps in town come on at night for one thing! If I bump into some of them, they move, which makes me smile. I enjoy seeing small details like that in a game.
I also visited Milo the scientist in his lab. He gave me a quest to cook a certain meal for 5 different customers and report back to him. Something that I found interesting in Pao Pao was that I believe the soundtrack changed depending on my location. The music gets really peppy when I’m in the restaurant, and it’s open, for example! It’s calmer and more jazzy in other scenarios. A game feature that I really appreciated was having my choice of quest displayed in the top right corner of the screen. That really helped keep me on task.
Some of the Features of Pao Pao
I was given a journal which kept track of a number of things: my inventory, my quests and my collections. It also had a section called “guidance”, which went over all the mechanics of how to play the game, just in case I needed a refresher. I really appreciated that and used it a few times.
The gameplay includes fishing, and the mechanic is really unique and fun. As I was reeling in my fish, I had to keep it within a certain area by using my right controller button as well as my left joystick. I found it challenging and yet not too difficult. I usually enjoy fishing in the games I play, and this is no exception.
As I wandered around the town, I found some hidden Easter eggs, which was a nice surprise!! For example, I found a number of kites flying in the air, and learned that I could untie them and take them with me. When I was done with them, I could tie them up in a new location. I also found a basket of apples in someone’s yard, which I was able to eat, and a box of fireworks that I could set off! Ha! Such fun.
The Fast Pace of the Restaurant in Pao Pao
In general, I do not play fast-paced games. I’m just no good at them, so I don’t enjoy them. This is a ME thing, I know many cozy gamers love fast-paced games, maybe you are one of them! The restaurant in Pao Pao is fast-paced at times, kind of like the game Lemon Cake.
I absolutely loved the environment of the game, so I wanted to try really hard to play it. I posted my issue on the dev’s discord server, and some other players gave me some excellent suggestions. I was instructed to just make one dish, so that I could easily reproduce it, even under pressure. And also to only allow a couple of customers into the restaurant at a time, to help with the pressure of the fast pace. That worked like a charm for me! I’d prefer to spend a lot more time on the fishing, questing and adventuring components, while enjoying the lovely world that it all takes place in. I’m not sure yet if that’s going to be possible in the full game, though.
Final Thoughts
As I continued with the demo, I had one quest which was a quick time event, and was too fast-paced for me, no way around it! Perhaps you’ll love it, it’s really a ME thing. It was unclear to me whether I could proceed without completing this quest. I hope so, because I really enjoy the look and feel of Pao Pao, and want to play it. It has so many wonderful little surprises hidden within it and it’s visually beautiful. But on the other hand, I do understand that the Steam page clearly states that there are fast-paced elements to Pao Pao. Perhaps I should not have even tried it, but the graphics and the super cozy world just sucked me in!!
I’ll keep an eye on the game when it’s released and see if the fast-paced quests can be avoided. If so, I’ll buy it!! If you love fast-paced games, you’ll be in your glory here! You’ll get all the benefits of the world of Pao Pao. The full game is set to release in mid 2026 and was developed by ArtDock.
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