Dosa Divas Review – Fight, Cook, Dosa, Repeat

I had to double-check the name of the game when it was announced the first time around. And then did a triple check when I found out that the game is being developed to become a JRPG. But it is as real as it gets, and here we are – playing Dosa Divas. A charming, vibrant, well-designed story of sisters trying to solve a major family issue gone wrong, fueled by literal mechs. And the mech you are assigned is like the classic Tata trucks you see on Indian highways with the most unique horns.

Developed and published by Outerloop Games, this indie studio has released another one of its best works, called Dosa Divas, now available on Steam and PS5. Xbox Series X | S, Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. Ready to start up a campfire and cook up some Dosa? Here’s our official Gameffine review for Dosa Divas.

Incoming Truckload of Dosa

You’re playing as the recently united squad of sisters, with the eldest sister coming back home after a tour around the world. The reason for her leaving home in the first place remains yet to be resolved, but there’s a bigger problem at hand. The third sister, who always had a knack for business and being realistic, has abandoned the family and their heritage of running a restaurant. She now runs a mega corporation that makes food in a tube, so that eating does not take time.

To solve an in-house crisis like this, the remaining two sisters go on an adventure to reunite their family while defeating the corporation’s corruption as they travel around the world feeding everyone Dosas.

But there’s another blessing on this journey. In their childhood, one of the sisters awoke a giant mech that looked mostly like a truck that now helps them to beat up bad guys and make a large variety of dosas and cuisines.

Optimus Dosa

I would have never imagined that Optimus Prime would join a family of sisters, who are in the middle of a fallout, all the while helping and flipping dosas that even I haven’t heard about. Trust me, I love a good Dosa, but how are you making a Dosa with Mango as a base? But why am I even asking this question when a mech is making my Dosa? You do you, Goddess (the name of the mech).

But when the going gets tough, and the corporation tries to put you down, the mech can indeed become a Titanfall-level mech. Since this is a very PG game, there are obviously no weapons involved, but you are 100% using splatulas, nunchucks, a blunt wok and the mech using his bare hands. All of this, crafted in a well-built turn-based combat format.

It takes inspiration from all modern-day and old Mario RPG-esque style of gameplay, and brings a very fun moment-to-moment combat. Much like Clair Obscur, you can perfect block attacks, with some ultimate attacks being an exception.

One thing that I loved about Monster Hunter Stories 3 is that it gives you the experience of not having to heal after every single fight. And the same linearity can be found inside Dosa Divas. In the game, you can obviously use every single Dosa and other food that you cook as a consumable, but you don’t have to worry about your health or SP post-battle. This allows you to focus on the story and exploration, instead of having to manage your resources everywhere you go.

For the combat, you play as up to three characters at the start, each with their own unique abilities and types – Tank, Combat, Mage. The game also offers unique elements instead of general fire, water, grass, etc. You are now categorising your attacks and enemy weakness as sour, spicy, sweet, and other forms of taste. As you progress in the story, you get the opportunity to liberate the places you visit. The higher rank you reach, the more moves you end up unlocking.

Dosa Divas is part fighting and part cooking game. For the cooking part, it’s pretty straightforward with not a lot going on. For the cooking part, the main focus is to collect ingredients, which is only possible by exploring and picking up items as you go. This often became tedious when I had to cook a variety. Gathering resources or purchasing their byproducts also felt like an additional chore instead of enjoyment. The cooking mechanics itself gets reptitive after the first five to six times. The developers did try adding difficulties like reducing visibility, which makes it frustrating rather than challenging.

But what Dosa Divas tries to do is actually pretty fun. It’s almost like Dave the Diver, where Dave spent his first half hunting, but in Mysterious Island, he spent the rest serving. Similarly, the game could have done slightly better if we had a more cafe-sim styled serving food. The whole honk at someone to get their order and then go run to fetch resources to finally cook seems to far fetched for an enjoyable experience.

Colour me funky

The game has a lot of heart in terms of the game design, level, and the art style itself. All the colours pop, the concept design of each character has a lot of individuality, and the world level itself has so much distinction that it feels like a very premium game for the segment it has priced itself in. For almost a 10-hour experience, you get unique and distinctive levels along with well-written characters that have a lot of depth and fairly enjoyable voice acting. The only thing that can hold you back is the visual bugs, or when your mech gets stuck in the most awkward places, forcing you to reload.

Final Word

Dosa Divas is a mixture of not just two genres, but a heartfelt attempt at bringing together an adorable yet fun experience of combat and food at the same time. The more I play, the more addictive the game gets. The heartfelt writing with just the right amount of mystery makes the game thoroughly enjoyable, while the combat mechanics themselves are very well executed. Though you may face some bugs and often the grind isn’t all that enjoyable, if you stick to the story, you will have an excellent time.