Primarily a time management game with a healthy dose of gesture-driven gameplay thrown in, Monster Eat Sushi is cute, satisfying, and surprisingly tough at times. Its visuals might easily appeal to the casual gamer or child, but that doesn't mean it's going to offer its players an easy ride.
Throughout the game, players must keep waves of hungry monsters happy by flinging their favorite sushi treats at them. Part of the challenge here is that the sushi has to be made first. The game does a fine job of teaching players how to make each different type of sushi. Early on, it's mostly just a matter of placing some rice followed by fish, then flinging the item at the monster. Soon enough though, one has to roll sushi - combining numerous items together before cutting it with a slice of the finger.
It's still simple enough to learn, but the challenge is in doing it fast enough to keep the monsters happy. Occasionally the game doesn't react to a gesture quite as quickly as one would like it to, causing unavoidable errors to occur. That's a bit frustrating, especially when pressed for time and with a horde of overeager monsters waiting for their meal.
There are no energy bars or timers to be concerned about, but there are multiple ways to entice one to spend some money. These are mostly related to having extra chances after failing a level, or purchasing power-ups that help but aren't vital to success.
Monster Eat Sushi remains fun, but in a flawed way thanks to its temperamental controls. With certain movements not being spotted quickly enough, it leaves the player feeling a little cheated. That's unfortunate as it's quite the fun, if challenging, game. With multiple kinds of sushi to keep track of, plus the need to fry gyoza and serve up green tea, there's plenty to keep players on their metaphorical toes.