A Story of Sushi and Community, a Sushi Ben Review

I just rolled credits on one of the most interesting narrative-driven games I have played all year. Ghosts swept through a town, boars were on the loose, and table tennis champions were in the making. Every chapter gave a new twist that made the characters more lovable and the story more stomach-pain-inducingly hilarious. 

Inspired by those funky slice-of-life animes with the wackiest story points, Sushi Ben puts you in the place of a wandering main character who strolls into a new town and must save it from devastation! Kotobuki Town is getting overrun by evil land sharks who want to turn the town into a tourist attraction. Now, enter you, the brave main character, here to save the day.

Jump into a chaotic narrative with a cast of actually lively characters and a town that could only be inspired by Slice-of-Life anime and manga.

A Manga Come To Life

The first thing to catch your eye will be the art style. The bold colors and unique designs of characters and the environment are beautiful to look at. 3D manga panels enhance the moment. Every single resident stands out. Their personality is fine-tuned, and with full voice acting, they come to life. My playthrough was in the English dub, and it was dramatic and energetic in the same way as Japanese anime dubbing. 

The dialogue and narrative are filled with pop culture references. From a Squidward mention to the main villain embracing Jessie from Team Rocket, keep an eye out for some hilarious moments. 

When looking at the main story, you stroll into a new town with hopes of starting a new life. You have lodging sorted, but not food. The only problem is that the sushi bar is in shambles. Young Ben, the sole worker, has been abandoned by his mentor and is being hounded by land sharks. Armed with a tuna and a dream, you take Ben under your wing of protection and become the God of Sushi. Now your job is finding suppliers and bringing in new customers. 

Luckily, you don’t have to go on this journey alone. Partnered with a frog Tsukumogami-in-training, he will be your comedic buddy, guiding you through the town and helping you with missions.

Jump Into Your New Life As a Sushi God

In order to have a thriving sushi bar, you need fish, rice, and all the other goodies. So, it’s now on the God of Sushi to fulfill those needs. This is where a lot of the minigames come in. The local angler has her hands full with out-of-town orders, so you need to learn how to fish. Rice patches are overrun by bugs, so clear them out to get rice deliveries. Even just walking around the town can be dangerous due to ghosts lurking. Take your Tsukumogami-in-training and suck those ghosts up. This will both rid the town of haunted spirits and feed your frog.

The gameplay is divided into two parts. The main story is a visual novel; you see the story unravel in front of you and just go with the flow. The minigames are where you can interact with the world. Pick up a bow and learn archery, catch some beetles, and even become a talented table tennis player. These are incredibly fun parts of the game where you can take a step back from the story and take a look around the town. There are a few tasks that are spread out throughout the whole game. Search for Daruma dolls in trash cans or challenge yourself to find ten targets to shoot with an arrow. There is a lot to offer, and you don’t want to miss a single thing. 

Achieving Sushi Greatness

One thing that can easily get overlooked is that this game is available in VR. If you have a VR headset, you can literally pick up and play Sushi Ben and feel more involved in every fish or ghost you catch. Even though I couldn’t play in VR due to my lack of gear, this is another game added to my list of “Reasons I should get a VR headset.”

Now, if you’re an achievement hunter, you might be happy to hear that this is the easiest 100% run I’ve ever done. There are only 26 achievements, and they are all earned by playing the main story. There are no wacky side quests or crazy items that you need to Google to get everything; you just play through the game, roll credits, and then finish off the last five minutes of the game to pop all 26 achievements. 

Now, one thing that keeps this from being a perfect experience is the glitches and bugs that are still in the game. Sushi Ben initially released in September 2025, and I played half of the game on release night. I ran into multiple moments where I was stuck. I was either literally stuck and couldn’t move my character, or something just wasn’t triggering, so I needed to reset to my last checkpoint. This wasn’t horrible. I still really love this game, but it was annoying. I came back to finish the game in late November and was sad to see that I once again became friends with the checkpoint button. 

Once again, I don’t think this is a major negative. Yes, it’s annoying when you are further into a chapter, but I never lost more than a few minutes of progress. I do think it is important to point out since a lot of the negative reviews on Steam are because people were running into these bugs. Many said it felt like an early access game and ruined their gaming session with game-breaking bugs. At the end of the day, lifelong reviews sit at 82% positive with 178 reviews. 

The Verdict

A lot of people might overlook Sushi Ben due to it being a short, indie visual novel, but those people are overlooking the comedy, the heart, and the wholesomeness that this game brings to the table. This game is not just about helping a sushi bar not be taken over by land sharks; it’s about helping a community that has been taken advantage of find its spark again. Sushi is the common factor that can bring people together and grow a sense of belonging. Sushi Ben has earned a 4 out of 5 stars; sadly, the bugs do bring down the score.