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The concept sounds weird on paper and plays out like a bizarre, terrifying, and fun thrill ride. Happy’s Humble Burger Farm is a lot more open than other games in its genre and exploration of the environment is necessary for making advances in certain areas of the game. As such, it can feel a bit overwhelming, but there are a few basic tips for new players looking to survive their time in New Elysian City.
7 Explore The City Thoroughly
Like many games with semi-open world sandboxes, Happy’s Humble Burger Farm is filled with neat collectibles and upgrades to find in the setting of New Elysian City. Players should take the time to sprint around the city in the areas unlocked to them as exploration can often lead to unlocking more of the story or even finding important upgrades for the restaurant.
Keep in mind that New Elysian City isn’t exactly the safest place though! As players progress through the story, there’s a chance that they may run into basic enemies roaming the streets. These monsters are all unique and spooky in their own ways, but most won’t outright kill the player, and they are generally easy to dodge around. The game’s storytelling is somewhat reliant on exploration, so players looking to get the most of the narrative will have to brave the streets and look for notes and cassette tapes to fill in the blank spaces of the story.
6 Keep An Eye Out For Upgrade Tokens
Players who might not care about the story in video games that much should still make an effort to explore the city. Small spinning golden tokens can be found in the darkest corners of the city (or sometimes the most out-of-reach roofs). These coins don’t add anything to the player’s money but are instead used to upgrade parts of the restaurant, which directly makes the player’s in-game job easier!
Keep in mind that one-half of this game is running the restaurant and keeping customers happy. Instead of getting a disappointing “Game Over” or “You’re Fired” screen like most food-management sims though, failing your chef duties in Happy’s Humble Burger Farm results in a much more sinister fate. It’s important to upgrade the restaurant, especially if the player struggles with this aspect of the gameplay loop.
5 Remember To Actually Spend The Upgrade Tokens
It may sound obvious at first to remember to actually use the special currency for upgrading the restaurant, but it can be incredibly easy to overlook. Players looking to upgrade the restaurant should do so before or after a shift. This is when they’ll have the most time to ponder the options and make a good selection. Players upgrade the restaurant by interacting with a book laid out on the right side of the front counter in the kitchen.
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The front counter is the counter facing the lobby of the restaurant. The book can be found on the far right side of this counter. Inside there are multiple options players familiar with restaurant games will be used to seeing. Grill upgrades, extra time on orders, and drink upgrades are the primary upgrades inside the book. These can all be very useful, especially as more and more monsters begin to make their way into the kitchens and impede the player’s work!
4 Prepare Food In Advance
This is simply put restaurant-management 101. Making food items for future customers is a must in most restaurant games and that tip still applies even in the twisted kitchens of Happy’s Humble Burger Farm. As players work more days in the kitchen, more responsibilities will be placed upon them. In the beginning, players just have to worry about manning the grill and the burger building station.
As time goes on though, they will be expected to stay in control of fryers, drink machines, the grill, and an oven for making hot pies and cookies. This can feel a bit overwhelming, but have no fear! The only food items that go bad by being made in advance are the meat patties. Hot pies, cookies, drinks, shakes, and all the fried goods can be made en masse in between orders. Someone is going to order them eventually, so why not already have it all standing by?
3 All Burger Orders Have All Toppings (Usually)
Players paying attention to the loading tips in between screens or to their in-game burger manual will see that all burger variations (beef, pork, and chicken) require all the available toppings to be considered “complete.” New players should definitely be aware of this, otherwise, they’ll be handing out incomplete orders and may find themselves in an unfavorable situation early on.
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As a rule, all three burger orders need every topping, unless a customer specifically orders one without certain toppings. This is the only scenario where toppings should be left off. Otherwise, prepare to add all the toppings in most cases!
2 Use The Time Before & After Shifts (It’s Unlimited)
Despite what the in-game boss may say or how he comes across in relation to “being late” new players should note that they can basically never actually be late. Each day (save for certain days with big story events) has the same gameplay loop. After the player wakes up, their objective is to go to work and clock in. This might imply that there is a late penalty or something along those lines, but those fears should be put to rest.
There’s no late-to-work penalty and the player won’t get fired for exploring the city extensively before or after their shift. Similarly, after the player has clocked out, they will be told to go home and sleep. This is the way to start the next day but until then, players have unlimited time to do whatever they desire.
1 Live Up To Steal And Sell’s Shop Name
Normally, players are looked down upon in video games for playing thief characters. Stealing rightfully is against the law, even in the digital landscapes of most video games. Happy’s Humble Burger Farm shakes up the identity of the average video game thief looking to rob the in-game store though. The store in New Elysian City–called “Steal and Sell”–is a rather odd shop. Players can spend their hard-earned restaurant money here on items critical to advancing the plot, and they can also sell items.
Nearly any item can be sold though. Random items found in the streets or in other buildings? They can be sold for meager funds at Steal and Sell. That’s not the best part of the establishment though. As their name is Steal and Sell, the player can quite literally steal items from the shelves in the shop and sell them… To the shop. This is a good way to make some quick money and the shopkeeper won’t get mad at all!
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