Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
The verdict on

Cooking City

60
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

Cooking City is a highly addictive time-management game that many users initially love, but recent updates have introduced severe crashing issues and an increased reliance on in-app purchases to progress, leading to significant frustration.

4.8★ lifetime (168,074) Free + in-app purchases since 2018 by MagicSeven Co., Ltd updated 0.1 mo ago recent negative 26% 100 reviews across 2 regions
Crashing/Bugs Pay-to-Win/Difficulty Addictive Gameplay Progress Loss Customer Support
5★52
4★9
3★13
2★7
1★19
recent reviews across 2 regions, vs the 4.8★ lifetime average

Cooking City is a popular and addictive time-management game where players cook various dishes in different restaurants. While many users praise its engaging gameplay and variety, recent updates have caused widespread crashing and made progression difficult without spending money on boosts.

What users like

  • Highly addictive and fun gameplayR1R4R9R10
  • Good variety of restaurants and challenging levelsR17R40R95
  • Possible to progress without paying, especially early onR7R92
  • New updates can make it easier to earn gems and provide new contentR40R54

What users complain about

  • Frequent app crashes, especially after recent updates, making the game unplayable for manyR55R56R58R59
  • Levels become extremely difficult or impossible without purchasing boosts or gemsR2R12R14R29
  • Loss of game progress or levels after updates or reinstallationR16R78R79
  • Poor or unresponsive customer serviceR6R50R86R89
  • Excessive or failing advertisementsR6R8R22

Latest update · v3.90.0

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

New Events • The Film Festival event is in full swing! Come pick out your favorite movie snacks and drinks! • Aquarium Theme Restaurant is about to open! Cook up delicious seafood feasts and enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner beneath the waves! New Restaurant • The Moroccan Seafood Restaurant is now open! Enjoy mussels with crusty bread, sweet-and-sour spider crab, and a North African-style seafood feast!

Recurring themes

Crashing/Bugs negative
Many recent reviews report that the game frequently crashes upon opening or during gameplay, especially after recent updates, making it unplayable for a significant number of users. This contradicts the developer's notes which do not mention bug fixes but introduce new content. Users have tried reinstalling and updating without success.R55R56R58R59
Pay-to-Win/Difficulty negative
As players progress, many levels become extremely difficult or impossible to complete without purchasing in-game boosts or gems, leading to frustration and the perception that the game is 'pay to win'. This is a common complaint among long-term players.R2R12R14R29
Addictive Gameplay positive
Many users find the game highly addictive, fun, and engaging, praising its time-management mechanics and variety of restaurants. This is a consistent positive theme, especially among newer players or those not experiencing technical issues.R1R4R9R10
Progress Loss negative
Some users report losing all their game progress, including unlocked levels and purchased items, after updates or when reinstalling the app, even when attempting to sign in with Facebook.R16R78R79
Customer Support negative
Several reviews mention poor or unresponsive customer service when trying to resolve issues like lost gems or game crashes.R6R50R86R89

Who it's for

This game is for players who enjoy fast-paced, addictive time-management cooking games and are willing to either grind through difficult levels or make in-app purchases to progress R2R49. It is not for players who get easily frustrated by frequent app crashes, pay-to-win mechanics, or unresponsive customer support R55R81R50.

Evidence note: The recent reviews show a strong negative sentiment due to widespread crashing issues, which contrasts with the high lifetime rating. The developer's notes for the latest update introduce new content but do not address any bug fixes, which directly conflicts with the user experience of persistent crashes.

Frequently asked

Is Cooking City a free game?
Yes, Cooking City is a free game to download and play, but it includes in-app purchases for gems and boosts that many users find necessary to progress through later levels R2R49.
Does Cooking City have a lot of ads?
Some users report that Cooking City has a lot of ads, while others state there are barely any, and some ads fail to load, causing issues R6R8R22R27.
Does Cooking City crash frequently?
Many recent reviews indicate that Cooking City frequently crashes, especially after recent updates, making the game unplayable for numerous users R55R59R62R81.
Can you play Cooking City without spending money?
While some users claim it is possible to get through the game without paying, especially in early levels, many others find that later levels become impossible to pass without purchasing boosts or gems R2R7R49R92.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 100 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] 5/5 · GB Funn: This game is so fun I just started today and it is amazing so fun
  2. [R4] 5/5 · GB Rate this game!: Love this game!! So addictive!!!!!
  3. [R9] 5/5 · GB LOVE: So this cooking game is AMAZING!!!! So guys keep making cooking games it is sooooo cool well done great game So download now.
  4. [R10] 5/5 · GB Very addictive: Lots of fun and challenging!
  5. [R17] 5/5 · GB Great game: Love this cooking game. Colourful, challenging, good variety of restaurants. The best I have played, and I have played plenty of cooking games
  6. [R40] 5/5 · GB In love with this game: This game is awesome I play it every day- so many different restaurants and cafes to do and it just gets better and better with cool limited edition competitions like they are running one for Easter now with tons of cool Easter things you can cook and win prizes ! 100% recommend
  7. [R95] 5/5 · AU Good theres upgrades: The levels get harder and harder but luckily there’s upgrades But the people are ordering to many foods!!,
  8. [R7] 5/5 · GB MOST APPETISING GAME EVER!: This game is really good and it makes me HUNGRY.You can get through the game without even having to pay,which I love,and you never get bored of it.So far I’ve unlocked the following: Breakfast Bar,Burger Shop,Sweet Shop,Pizzeria,Ice Cream Shop,The Bakery,Seafood Restaurant(that one wasn’t the most appetising one but anyway),Pasta House,Snack Shop,Sashimi King,and Sushi
  9. [R92] 5/5 · AU Really addictive!!: I have completed all levels to 3 stars and am now dying for the release of the seafood restaurant in the 2nd city. You do not need to spend real money in this game which is excellent as all levels can be completed. Some levels just need a bit of patience and you may need to give it a few goes. However with the videos to watch you are able to obtain boosts for free, free gems an
  10. [R54] 5/5 · AU Great game: I really love the new update making it more possible to earn gems throughout the game. Thank you
  11. [R55] 2/5 · AU Crash problem - Updated and STILL not working: I’ve been playing this game for the past month and have loved it!! But now it keeps crashing whenever I try to open the app. Somebody fix this issue please, I’ve updated the app 3 times this week and I still can’t play it
  12. [R56] 1/5 · AU Can not playing the game.: A few days, I already mentioned cannot open the game. Today. I did update again However Open the game is ok But trying to play, automatically off..... Can not playing at all.
  13. [R58] 1/5 · AU Still crashing: 3 updates over the last few weeks and it still keeps crashing!
  14. [R59] 1/5 · AU New update crashing: Still not fixed. Love this game the last two updates have just continued to make it crash. Got new update today and got excited and it still keeps crashing. Update: this is the 3rd update now and still hasn’t fixed the issues. I don’t understand how this is so difficult for game creators to fix your issues
  15. [R2] 3/5 · GB Love the game but…: Had this game for a few months. Initially I loved it so much I was completely addicted to playing. When you first start playing, you will not need any boosts to get through the levels but as you progress in the game, you will find that you may not be able to pass any levels without purchasing boosts. I was initially buying gems to buy boost but then realised to carry on and
  16. [R12] 5/5 · GB Love the game to bits I’m just stuck: I’m stuck on a sweet level and it’s the only key left to open more levels I’ve played it over and over and over and it’s literally impossible and I love the game but can’t continue it :(
  17. [R14] 3/5 · GB The difficulty of the levels needs updating.: The game is great and I love it but some of the levels are ridiculously hard to complete (if not impossible) especially without any additional boosts which is putting me off playing.
  18. [R29] 5/5 · GB Used to love!!!: This used to be the BEST game ever!!!! So much fun, highly addictive but lately they’ve made it that u can only complete levels if u buy gems! Which I was doing but it’s getting ridiculous so I’m going to have to stop playing!!! Hence the 3 star rating would have been 5 otherwise
  19. [R16] 4/5 · GB Love it BUT: Love this game but every time I have to update it I loose all of my levels and have to go back to the beginning 😒 Would also be helpful if you could use coins for current diamonds only purchases.
  20. [R78] 1/5 · AU Game crashed and progress lost: Was a fun game and enjoyed playing it. Was reaching the Western restaurant then game starts crashing everytime entering the game. Re-downloaded and all progress are lost. Even sign in Facebook doesn't save your progress. Have to start over the whole game and easter challenge again and now up to the donuts shop it started crash again! Would be a fun game but sad to s
  21. [R79] 5/5 · AU Help: After I update the game all the levels I won disappeared and I’m back in the start 😒. This made me soo disappoint. I was in the last restaurant in the first city everything I won vanished and I’m back in the first restaurant first game.. there’s no help and support.. I was soo addicted to this game.
  22. [R6] 5/5 · GB Great game: Really great game and it’s soo addictive! Only reason I can’t give it 5 stars is because some of the adverts fail to load meaning you have to open and close the game and redo the level again, I’ve lost a lot of gems because of this! Emailed a few times about the fault but I’ve never had anything back about it unfortunately.
  23. [R50] 1/5 · GB Customer service appalling: Had a program with this game since 4th January this prevented me collecting daily bonuses, playing bonus games and levels etc. I missed out loads and loads and all they offered was 100 gems, I have now been trying to get these gems for weeks and somehow they have so far not issued them... the latest excuse is that apparently and I quote “ the development team is on publ
  24. [R86] 1/5 · AU Network error: Downloaded and played until I got to the donut joint then kept experiencing crashes.. deleted and Re downloaded had to start over.. then I got the same error again when I got to the burger joint. I tried to find an answer for my issue and instead found other people all complaining about the lack of response from the developer.. don’t spend money on this app..
  25. [R89] 1/5 · AU Great game.... but: Love this game, but now it keeps coming up with network error (there isn’t one) and crashes. Please fix!!! I ended up deleting this game because there was no response from the developer despite others also advising of the co start crashing. Disappointing.
  26. [R8] 5/5 · GB Kursti: Love it, adverts are toooo much though
  27. [R22] 5/5 · GB Amazing: Loved the game 😍😍 Lots of ads But it helps so we can tolerate it
  28. [R49] 1/5 · GB Another pay to win game: The game starts very well and it’s quite addictive. Until you reach the second restaurant and you can’t pass a level because you have no money left. So then you need to play the same old level you played previously 12 times to get money for one upgrade to pass the difficult level. Didn’t even play 2 hours before it happened.
  29. [R27] 5/5 · GB SUPERB: This game is amazing I can’t get off it but eventually I do . There is barely any ads and can get stuff whenever
  30. [R62] 1/5 · AU App is not working: I used to be entirely addicted to this game but the first week I haven't been able to play it as it keeps crashing. Please fix this!!! This is a joke! I’ve tried playing this with WiFi, without WiFi, aeroplane mode, reinstall the app.... everything and it does NOT work!!! VERY DISAPPOINTING
  31. [R81] 2/5 · AU Used to be awesome: Last update killed this game. Now it doesn’t even open up. Maybe it’s time to find new game developers as your current ones just ruined this game for everyone. I even deleted it and reinstalled it to no avail

Synthesized from 100 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store