Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friendsis a cozy life sim game about running a restaurant as an adorable Sushi Bot who dreams of becoming a world-renowned chef. Players join the namesake town of Rolling Hills to run its local sushi restaurant to earn coins, to land stellar reviews, and to raise its popularity. However, it’s more than just serving sushi and managing a restaurant. Those who enjoy the relationship-building side of life sim games may also appreciateRolling’s Hills' focus on community and friendship. In addition to improving Sushi Bot’s culinary skills and restaurant, players can build relationships with the locals and help them with their daily needs in various ways, whether chatting over coffee or helping to improve their lives.
Notably,Rolling Hillsis coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one, meaningAnimal Crossingand life sim fans should mark their calendar for June 4. Even if it turns out not to be a game for them, it’s hard to ignore such a novel concept coming to the service. Fans alike may also be curious to know Hills’ relationships, its characters, and how these elements tie in with running a restaurant. Game Rant recently spoke with co-creator Matthew Taylor about the charming town ofRolling Hillsand its residents. Taylor spoke about the role of relationship-building in the game, which is intrinsic to player progression and beyond.
Rolling Hills' Town And Characters
In the cozy gaming space, there aren’t that manygames where players are robots, soRolling Hills' adorable state-of-the-art Sushi-Bot is just one way it stands out as players wheel around. In addition to running a sushi restaurant, players also get to spend quality time with the locals. Taylor described Rolling Hills as “a small town that needs Sushi Bot just as much as he needs them,” and talked about some of its varied-sounding characters:
As your restaurant’s popularity increases, you’ll encounter wacky customers - everything from a professional streamer to a struggling Shakespearean actor. They each have an introductory quest that involves getting out of the restaurant and learning more about their needs, after which they’ll take up residence in Rolling Hills, visit the restaurant, and be available at the café to learn more about them.
Indeed, after completing each character’s introductory quest, Taylor added players can “invite characters to the café for coffee, dessert, or a full-on feast.” Taylor went on to explain the benefits of theseslice-of-life-style interactions, including unlocking new recipes and more:
These interactions take time and money, but they’ll yield more information about the character and unique bonuses ranging from furniture and recipes you can’t get elsewhere to new abilities around town and in the restaurant.
Rolling Hills' Relationships
While some life sims explore romance options,Rolling Hillsis more agame about making friendsand helping the community. Taylor added it’s also about “found family,” which sounds like something that could give the game a lot of warmth and heart. Taylor also talked further about the role of relationship-building inRolling Hillsas one of three strands that also enable players to acquire more abilities for Sushi Bot:
You’re really improving in three ways: your recipes (unlocking new ones, improving them with ingredients, and learning how to best utilize their effects), your restaurant (adding tables to increase capacity, decorating to add positive effects, and upgrading the total size to allow for more of everything), and your relationships (which, including both the game’s main narrative and side content, unlock all of Sushi Bot’s new abilities).
Overall,Rolling Hills' cast of characters and relationship-building elements look set to make it a wonderfully heartwarmingcooking sim. It could also be especially rewarding for players to see Sushi Bot, the restaurant, the town, and the lives of its townsfolk evolve, something which Taylor added could have some endearing results:
Although Sushi Bot is a unique character, we tried to surround him with a cast that is just as silly. By the end of the game,Rolling Hillsis almost this island of misfit toys that I find really endearing.
