By Akil Brathwaite
Co-A&E Editor
The Papa Louie installments, known as the, “Gameria,” is one known by many. If you were there during the times of running to the computer lab to open up coolmathgames.com before its unfortunate end, you would know the Papa’s games. They’re infamous for… rigorous… gameplay that can give a challenge for those who are unable to get good timings and a good order flow going as the customers swarm in. Throw in a pretty goofy and even somewhat questionable storyline filled with throwing restaurants to random undertrained people and one man potentially ruining the economy with his monopoly, if you’re willing to get invested into the games, they can be a lot of fun.
The star of this series in my eyes, however, is the Papa’s Freezeria installment. Some may say that the first (technically second) game, Papa’s Pizzeria is the best. We all know how some people’s opinions ride entirely on nostalgia and nothing else. Some will say Papa’s Pancakeria was the best for… whatever reasons. They’re all wrong, however. Papa’s Freezeria is “objectively” the best installment of the series, and if there’s any one of these games you want to revisit, Papa’s Freezeria should be your first choice every time.
Set in an ice cream shop in the fictional island of Calypso, you play as either Alberto or Penny (your choice). Your character gets a new job at an ice cream shop named Papa’s Freezeria, advertised as “Stress-Free Work,” which allows workers to decorate the store as they wish (except they have to pay for it, which should’ve raised some red flags at that). Your character meets up with Papa Louie and gets a tour of the place before he leaves for his next adventure. All seems fun and dandy, right?
The scene changes to a cruise ship called the S.S. Louie heading towards a dock. When it finally arrives, a flood of customers, some from the previous games in the series, come onto the island, ready to order some ice cream and disrupt the “Stress-Free Work” environment as advertised. Get ready player, the journey into somewhat stressful gameplay and decorating lobbies starts here.
As said before, this game is set in an ice cream store, where you’ll be serving sundaes mixed with syrups, candies, and finished off with toppings to, hopefully, create the most delectable treat that’ll satisfy your customers and hit them with some good old brand loyalty that keeps them coming back and tipping. This game is innovative in particular, as it’s the first game that allowed players to place items to decorate their lobbies. Decorations can only be changed before you start a new day and after the day ends, so choose wisely (though they have no real effect on gameplay, unless one wonky looking poster upsets you).
Featuring the normal game flow of the Gameria series where you take orders, prepare them, and get scored based on your timeliness as well as how well you performed each category of the order preparation, Papa’s Freezeria is a good time if you’re looking for something relatively low key that does require some skill. The Gameria franchise is a relatively known one, and so if you’re looking to get into it for some fake nostalgia points whenever it comes up in conversation, this game is the way to go. It truly is a game for the ages.
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