B.E. Test Drive: Gordon Ramsay Dash

Perhaps overshadowed by mega-hit Pokémon Go, another major mobile game recently debuted, Gordon Ramsay Dash (iOS and Android). This visually beautiful, frenetic game features the world’s most famous potty-mouthed chef guiding you to a career as a TV chef star.

Restaurant/time-management game fans will recognize that Gordon Ramsay Dash is almost the same game as Glu’s Cooking Dash, except with Ramsay’s branding all over. In some ways, Ramsay Dash is even better, with more detailed graphics, great music, and interesting recipes.

Image: Google Play

Although I immensely enjoy Gordon Ramsay Dash as a time management game lover, a foodie, and a Chef Ramsay fan, some ‘bugginess’ in the game means that a software update is likely in the near future.

Dashing Ramsay
The game’s Chef Ramsay character (who looks like the real world version–even with the wrinkly forehead) barks out orders, encourages, and scolds during the game.

You level up by learning recipes and serving as many patrons the proper orders as possible before time runs out. There are power-ups and extras such as VIPs who tip big time and a power Gordon mode, where the chef swoops in to help.

The music is fun and intense. Hearing Ramsay’s actual voice proclaim, “spot on,” “shut it down!” and even drop the F-bomb (kind of) is cool. The canned responses do get a bit repetitive. You can turn the music off, and it looks as though there is a button to turn off the sounds effects (like Ramsay’s voice) but when I tap it nothing happens.

Money goes fast. As you level up, you are forced to upgrade kitchen items and food–the only way you can really advance. Gold bars are needed to buy items, and they are no more expensive than typical in-app purchases (actually, they may even be a little less).

A Few Issues
Playing on an HTC One for about an hour made my phone get hot enough to cause concern. This game demands a hearty processor. Older devices may get hot; suffer frozen or black screens, or experience some game stutter.

Also, there are a few issues within the game. On smaller screens, it’s hard to tell which customer

has been served or not. Also, there is an area of the restaurant with an ice cream machine. Customers sit next to the machine, and very often when I tried to serve the customer the plate of food my character was holding, I instead picked up ice cream. It’s too cramped a section in the interface.

Ramsay’s mobile games fans have been eagerly awaiting this game for quite some time thanks to heavy promotion from Glu and Ramsay himself. Despite a few bugs, they will not be disappointed.