If you are into cozy games, this one is for you :)
One thing I'd love to see is the option to end the day manually after closing the shop. That way, you could take your time cleaning up and getting everything ready before the next day starts. Right now, the transition feels a little rushed. There are a few bugs but they barely affect my gameplay. It would also be nice to have a save icon or some kind of confirmation that your progress has been saved.. i lost my first save file after the game crashed, eventhough i started a new day
Hoping for more content, especially new decorations to customize ;D

I like the game. It is cute. I do have a few critiques though. When first starting I had really bad stutters or lag. The only fix for me was putting DLSS on ultra performance. So that's a tip for anyone to see if it helps them as well.

Also the trash. Let me throw away bottles or empty boxes into the trash can. I understand the trash bags can fill over time and that's what happens. But its frustrating. It takes the cozy right out of the game when I have trash lying every where and bottles left over from the customers. If anything I feel stressed out because I don't have time to leave my shop during the day if I have a lot of customers.

Other than those few critiques, as of this first review I do enjoy the game and can't wait to see how it improves.

Ramen Shop Simulator has been on my wishlist for awhile. It is in Early Access, so my review reflects the unfinished product.

Ambiance: narrow, cluttered yokocho (alleyways) wind around. It feels like a cozy, lived in neighborhood. I discovered a shop just by wandering.

Graphics & Performance: I felt like I was lagging hard when I first got into game. I capped my FPS to 60 and turned the blur feature off. It made a world of difference for me, so if you have trouble, try out some setting changes and see what works for you. The people look like paper. They are flat and one dimensional, but cute. It's an interesting art style compared to the rest of the world, but it works. There's a lot of tight spaces, and it would be a massive routing mess with 3D characters trying to navigate, so I understand the art decision.

Tutorial: I think this requires a little more work. It doesn't feel fully explained, and my first run I wasted cash I didn't need to. So here's a few tips:

1.) DON'T feel rushed. It might tell you to make 5 ramen, sell them, and then close your shop. Don't be like me and do this right before the night ends. The ramen you prepared will be spoiled the next day and all your money and ingredients wasted. Honestly, if you do nothing else the first day, clean up your shop. There's a ton of trash. Go explore. Find your bearings. If it's past midnight, it's probably best to wait until the new day. I think the night goes until around 5 am-ish, but you will receive a pop up when the new day begins and you'll be at the subway stairs again.

2.) I thought my pot only held one ramen. Wrong. You can put all the ingredients in the pot to make 5 servings (maybe more, I haven't tried). This saves a lot of time. Just be careful if you have multiple recipes on the menu. You don't want to be stuck with a pot of one type and unable to make a different variety. Also watch out that you don't fill all your bowls with one type and leave none free. The conbini sells more bowls, but they are too expensive to buy straight away.

3.) Look UP. If you don't have enough bowls, there are more in a cupboard above your head. Slightly different style, but they work just as well.

4.) Buy at least double what the early tutorial says. You'll want to have more on hand, trust me.

5.) The timer is janky and you waste time trying to turn it on. Pay attention to the musical sound that plays. Since you waste a couple of minutes turning on the timer, you need to pay attention to the sound and take it off early before the timer goes off so it isn't overcooked. This made a big difference with how well my ramen came out. I was able to achieve 3 stars at least.

Overall, it's a solid start to an EA title. Yes, there is one quest in the beginning that has a string of code pointing to Google sheets instead of the title. Yes, there is some optimization probably needed for lower end computers. So, if you are leery of EA titles, you might wanna wait for a bit and see how it develops, but early adopters will enjoy this one if they like a casual, cozy game with great potential. I'm excited to see what other shops, upgrades, and features they will add. For a three-man team, this is a great start. Congrats to the devs for a successful launch! As they say in Japan, 頑張ってください!!! (Please do your best!)