I love how involved cooking has become.

I have started playing again and found myself unexpedtedly enjoying the cooking process today. Changes like animals dropping specific meats and having to bake bread dough and pies before being able to eat them made a massive difference in how my kitchen works and I have a legit kitchen in my house now with the addition of more cooking implements.

I found myself just watching my character cook today and I was genuinely getting a feeling of actual relaxation in the game as I sat my viking warrior on a seat infront of the oven, which lovingly had its doors opening showing my uncooked lox meat pies baking away, behind me on an iron rack was serpent meat cooking away over my hearth, and in the basement I had mead and healing potions fermenting. As this was happening I had difficulties not just taking it all in. No phone. No Youtube videos in the background, just enjoying the ambience of how I have an intricate and cozy kitchen going.

So, excellent work, Iron Gate Studio. In my opinion, you have really made something otherwise innocuous as waiting for items to cook in a video game into a legitimately relaxing and enjoyable task.