Alright, so Cooking Mama 3 on the DS is basically the digital version of pretending you know how to cook—except Mama’s there to gently (or not so gently) correct you when you mess up. You’ll chop, stir, flip, and occasionally burn things in little touch-screen minigames that somehow make cracking an egg feel intense. There’s a ton of recipes this time, from basic stuff like omelets to weirdly specific dishes I’d never attempt in real life.

The graphics are cleaner than the older games, so your virtual food actually looks kinda tasty instead of pixelated mystery goop. And yeah, it’s casual, but good luck not getting competitive when Mama side-eyes your poorly sliced carrots. I still can’t perfectly julienne anything, but that’s half the charm—failing spectacularly is weirdly satisfying.

If you’ve ever wanted to grill a virtual steak without the fire hazard, this is your game.