Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients review

I played the first Chocolatier game because I’m a chocoholic, and I played this one because I liked the first one, simple as. The basic premise of Chocolatier is that you are a chocolatier and you make chocolates (no surprises there then) and sell them. You start off with one factory and a limited amount of ports to visit, and you must source your ingredients, sell your confectionary and source new recipes to succeed.

In this second instalment, there haven’t been many changes, except the addition of the ‘secret ingredients’ part. Basically, as you progress, you will unlock secret locations, and there you will find ingredients which are exclusive to that area. They’re generally much more expensive than your basic sugar, milk solids and cacao, so you have to watch the bank balance to start with.

The plot of this game is that you’re covertly working with a young member of the Baumeister family to build up a brand new empire and to eventually take over Baumeister Confections and oust the mole that has been trying to bring down the whole operation.

You’ll undertake various tasks, for example making certain chocolate recipes for characters that appear. In return they’ll give you information, passage to a new location, or a new recipe. You must progress through the game; buying factories and shops, and gathering all the recipes and ingredients you can. The more different ingredients you have, the better. Because in this sequel, you don’t have all your recipes handed to you on a plate (pardon the pun). You must discover your own.

This is done using your laboratory. Give the gaffer a set of ingredients and he’ll try them out to try and make a yummy new chocolate. He’ll give you hints as to what elements he wants to make the perfect recipe. And when you have one – voila, it is added to your recipe book, and you are one step closer to taking over Baumeister Confections!

The developers haven’t strayed too much from the original gameplay, and I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not. The first title was OK, but not fascinating in the same way some casual games are, but it wasn’t rubbish either. I was hooked enough to want to complete it, but not hooked enough to be frantically rushing to switch the computer on when arriving home from work, and staying up until ridiculous hours of the morning (damn you, Diner Dash!). Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients is much the same. The graphics are basic, the sounds are nothing to write home about, and the gameplay is simple.

All in all, a very middle of the road game. It’s not going to make it into my ‘Most Addictive Games Ever’ category, but it’s pleasant and fun enough to while away a few hours whilst you should really be getting on with something else.