No. Just no. Eating an entire cheese wheel or rack of ribs as a bonus action is so broken. The game is too freaking easy as it is. Food as healing agents that work better than potions makes potions unnecessary, and it 100% makes no sense from an immersion standpoint.
Let's not go backwards. Please.
Every item in the game that you can pick up should have unique purposes, or why bother with those items. Even spoons,knives and plates could be given a crafting purpose so it is no longer pointless to pick them up.
Food = Survival. It is the ability to renew your strength, but it takes time to process and work.
Potions = Magical healing alchemy formulas that mend broken bones and cuts and scrapes and gaping holes in moments. They work for combat because they are magical.
Eating an entire cheese wheel or rack of ribs is in option, especially in Skyrim and ESO. Difference there is you don't need that as your health and stamina regenerates. Unlike in DnD type games where it doesn't. You need short rest or long rest. My reason for having food you can eat is as an option. You don't have to use that option, it's just there for those that like it. I feel like having to constantly go to camp is being forced here. I want to add, there was a discussion recently in the gaming industry about players acting as if a game has to be played a certain way. This had to do with difficulty. The game developers were all discussing how it's unfair to criticize players that may want an easier experience in gaming. Not everyone games the same and that does not make you more or less of a gamer. I see this with DnD sometimes and I think that's unfair to new players. I have watched some DM's explain that they will make the game easier for new players because they want them to have a good experience but go harder on the veteran players because they are used to it. I don't see a problem with making certain things easier for new players and once those players get the hang of things then they can challenge themselves.
I was trying to make the point earlier that making combat less punishing is really what is being asked here, not that it specifically has to be through bringing back magic food (that many players find immersion breaking).
It can be less enemies, weaker enemies, more HP for players, free short rest after every encounter.. things that can be easily included and modified in difficulty settings. If they make food items act like magic potions that would be there in every difficulty setting.
That's why difficulty settings need to be brought in now rather than later.
