What is GastroNomicon?
Imagine a rogue lite book of cursed factory food where you fight deranged vegetables. It's an absolutely unhinged mix of third-person shooting, tower defense, and factory building that's as weird as it sounds.
Gameplay
You aren't just sitting back and watching towers do the work here. GastroNomicon is a weird third-person shooter mashup where you fight waves of deranged vegetables on procedurally generated maps. You'll spend your time shooting veg, collecting seeds, and using light tower defense and factory-building mechanics to keep the chaos under control. It's a frantic loop of upgrading bizarre weapons and unlocking 'cursed pages' to power up your run.
Since it's in Early Access, the experience is a bit of a fever dream. You'll find that some systems clash, and it's not always clear if you're playing a shooter or a strategy game. It's not a polished, tight experience like Kingdom Rush; it's more of a chaotic experiment. At $9.99, it's a fair price for the amount of personality it has, but you're definitely paying for a work-in-progress.
The progression keeps you coming back because the 'cursed food' vibe is just that strong. However, the disjointed nature of the mechanics means you'll hit some rough edges. If you love the idea of a rogue lite where you build factories to stop angry broccoli, you'll dig this. Just don't expect a seamless transition between the action and the strategy parts. I'd give it a 7/10 because it has a ton of heart, but it needs a few more patches to really nail the loop.
Key Features
- Fight waves of mad vegetables
- Procedurally generated maps and levels
- Cursed page weapon upgrades
- Basic factory-building mechanics
Screenshots
Verdict
Grab this if you're bored of standard lanes and want a chaotic, personality-filled experiment. If you want a polished strategic experience, skip it for now and wait for more patches to fix the Early Access rough edges.
View on Steam →* Price at time of publication (checked 30.08.2026). Prices may vary by region and are subject to change. This is an editorial review, not a commercial offer.