Rolling Hills: Everything We Know

If Cooking Mama and Animal Crossing were to merge into a single product, chances are, the final recipe would look a little something like Rolling Hills—a sushi-centric restaurant simulation game that’s currently due to arrive on consoles and PC. Like that of the two, developer Catch & Release’s upcoming IP will center its world around the culinary arts, as well as the culture of fine dining and innovative cuisine. With that said, it won’t be following in the same footsteps as Animal Crossing quite as much, as it won’t be looking to incorporate any traditional fishing mini-games or social activities. And yet, it dabbles on a similar wavelength — if only just.

The good news is that fledgling sushi-loving robots won’t have to wait all that long to take a giant hunk out of what’s to come; Rolling Hills is due to arrive no later than the beginning of Q3 2024, as it turns out. If you’re interested in hearing more about it ahead of its global debut on consoles and PC, then be sure to read on. Here’s everything we can tell you about it.

What Is Rolling Hills?

At its core, Rolling Hills is a restaurant management sim in which players take on the role of a robotic chef, whose sole purpose is to establish the foundations for a bustling restaurant in the sushi industry. According to the devs, you will need to “make new friends, purchase ingredients, enhance your shop, and improve the lives of your neighbors as you perfect your craft!”

“Build your recipe repertoire, purchase the perfect ingredients, and help turn a cozy town into a can’t-miss culinary destination in Rolling Hills, a wholesome blend of life sim and restaurant management game about serving up life’s simple pleasures.” Right on.

Story

From what we’ve gathered so far, players will be given the opportunity to enroll in their own culinary enterprise as a Sushi Bot—a “state-of-the-art” chef who specializes in, well, sushi. The goal of the game, in a simple rags-to-riches structure, will be to build your restaurant from the ground up, and essentially utilize all the tricks of the trade to form a profitable business model that can take the industry by storm.

“As a state-of-the-art Sushi Bot, you’ve always dreamed of becoming a world-renowned chef and making your creators proud,” the game’s blurb reads in part. “As luck would have it, the friendly residents of Rolling Hills are looking for a rising star to take over the local sushi shop—presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a one-of-a-kind robot to show the world what you’re made of.” Sounds straightforward enough.

Gameplay

Rolling Hills will play out in a similar fashion as a lot of its competitors in the life and business simulation genre. Aside from being able to collect ingredients and create mouth-watering dishes for your guests, you will also be able to socialize with other patrons, too—a task that will involve making their favorite courses and fulfilling their basic needs.

“Collect new recipes to suit the townfolks’ tastes, source fresh ingredients from the local market to improve your creations’ flavor and quality, and become a master sushi chef,” the game’s description reads in part. “Build relationships with the residents of Rolling Hills over a cup of coffee, and help them with their own day-to-day needs.”

In addition to all of the above, Rolling Hills will also grant you the ability to “dive into the hustle and bustle as you serve customers to earn coins and stellar reviews.” What’s more, if will also allow you to “customize your restaurant with decorations that grant bonuses and express your style.” So, a bit of everything, from the sounds of it.

Development

Serving up some tasty news…

We're excited to be publishing @TweetAndRelease's latest title, Rolling Hills! 🍣

Wishlist on Steam now and stay tuned for more information next week 👉 https://t.co/2g3p4qjJ6O pic.twitter.com/TJ633TMxPo

— Humble Games (@PlayHumbleGames) April 12, 2024

Developer Catch & Release, a firm based in North Carolina, first announced its plans to bring Rolling Hills to a selection of platforms earlier this week, at which point the studio revealed several of the game’s core features and gameplay elements. It was said at the time of its announcement, too, that it would also be shaping up for a release on Xbox Game Pass. So, that’s an added bonus.

In addition to Catch & Release being involved in the development process, Rolling Hills will also have Humble Games as its publisher, too. If, however, you’ve yet to brush up on your history of the acclaimed publishing house, then you could always check in with their social feed for more information here. Alternatively, you can visit Catch & Release’s active portfolio here.

Trailer

Thanks to both Catch & Release and Humble Games, we do have a bit of footage to comb over whilst we wait for its eventual launch on consoles and PC. You can check it out for yourself in the trailer embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Rolling Hills will be gearing up to launch on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on June 4, 2024. It will also be heading to Xbox Game Pass, too, which means, if you do have a monthly subscription for the service, then you’ll be able to get first dibs without having to fork over any additional fees. Can’t complain there, then.

At the time of writing, Rolling Hills only has the one edition: the standard version for both Xbox and PC. If anything on that side of things happens to change ahead of its release, then the news is likely to hit Catch & Release’s social channels. Failing that, then it’ll likely arrive on either Steam or the Microsoft Store.

Planning on sticking around as developer Catch & Release continues to iron over the last-remaining creases? If so, then be sure to check in with the team over on their official social handle here. If, for whatever reason, something does impede its progress, then we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Rolling Hills when it arrives on its chosen platforms? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.