The Hust Banhmi | Bánh Mì Bách Khoa PC (Final)

You’re a HUST student selling Banh Mi at the legendary Parabol Gate. Manage your cart and keep the sales booming! The Story Continues… The dust has settled in Dan Phuong after the infamous “Paradise” den was raided and dismantled. However, the story is far from over in The Hust Banhmi | Bánh Mì Bách Khoa. The ringleaders have vanished into thin air, now appearing on the nation’s most-wanted list. As a specialized police task force launches a high-stakes operation to hunt down these fugitives… The environment is beautifully modelled and has improved significantly from the original. The developers’ love for this setting is evident.

It authentically captures Vietnamese street and academic life, giving a good impression of how the average Vietnamese person lives. The effort to highlight Vietnamese cuisine through the eating mechanics is also appreciated. Some of the inside jokes are still funny; while most no longer hit the same, the effort to feature contemporary Vietnamese internet humor for a global audience is appreciated. The Hust Banhmi | Bánh Mì Bách Khoa is a good game for a laugh here and there, especially for those living in Vietnam. The side quest design involving Training Points is a bit difficult to figure out when trying to get the secret ending while worrying about Gold constantly decreasing every few seconds.

It’s not as good as the first game because the surprise element is gone for players who have already played the original. It’s also very poorly optimized, barely reaching 60 FPS. The gameplay has barely improved from the original. While the original also featured simple gameplay, it feels like a major missed opportunity not to make the cooking and preparation mechanics more complex so players could engage more actively while progressing through the story. Instead, it remains the same “Prepare orders that almost can never go wrong – Catch Cậu Vàng (the dog) if he gets out” loop, which becomes very predictable very quickly.

It’s even possible to anticipate exactly when the dog will escape. A lot of pointless mechanics were introduced. The drawing, chess, and gold-digging minigames are fun, but there’s little reason to engage with them beyond earning “Điểm rèn luyện” (Training Points) for the eating mechanic (which is arguably another unnecessary system). While minigames in The Hust Banhmi | Bánh Mì Bách Khoa are a welcome addition, these mechanics serve little purpose in the story and raise the question of whether the development effort could have been better spent improving the core gameplay and narrative.