A mysterious story has been going around regarding the newest Cooking Mama game, of all things. Cooking Mama: Cookstar, initially announced as Cooking Mama: Coming Home to Mama, was supposed to be a reboot of the franchise. Cooking Mama: Cookstar supposedly launched on March 26, yet it's now completely disappeared from the Nintendo Switch eShop.
Cooking Mama: Cookstar does exist, as odd as that statement may seem. It did launch briefly on the Nintendo Switch eShop, reportedly, but only for a few hours before being removed. And there are retail copies being sold, with at least one person saying they picked up a copy at Target. Another report claims that the eShop version of the game has been delayed, but whether that's true, and how things have gotten so out of control isn't clear.
The game's Twitter account, as well as correspondence from the associated publisher Planet Digital, have gone quiet. There's no word regarding when the game will eventually be available again in the eShop. There's no word regarding whether the game officially launched in the first place. It's a complete mystery.
At the heart of the entire mystery remains questions about Cooking Mama: Cookstar's supposed core feature, its blockchain features. The blockchain's use was claimed to have been for security and gameplay reasons. It would provide a unique key for each individual game which would serve as DRM and would create a unique experience, with each copy being "subtly different and personal to a user." It also would allow players to "be rewarded with in-game currency" that could even be shared with other players.
That sounds a lot like a cryptocurrency inside of a Cooking Mama game, but for now, there's no way to verify it. It only adds to the mystery of Cooking Mama: Cookstar.
With Cooking Mama: Cookstar being sold at retail, there must be some people playing the game. Between those hands-on experiences and publisher Planet Digital being an actual company, answers about the mysterious blockchain Cooking Mama game should be forthcoming eventually. The bigger question, how this ever happened and why, may forever remain unknown.
Cooking Mama: Cookstar released March 26 exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
Source: IGN