Overcooked 2 – Short Review: PC / PS4 Version
Overcooking something is generally bad. Unless it’s delicious toast.
Anyone that has ever played Overcooked with 4 friends has probably said the following:
Blimey. I love Overcooked.
For those that don’t know, you take control of a couple of chefs, scream at your friends, prepare and cook ingredients, scream at your friends, put the dishes together whilst screaming like a lunatic, before finally washing dishes to scream at your friends a lil’ more; all within a tight time limit!
In the first game you’ll chop some onions to chuck in a pot, before your mate slops the soup in a bowl for service. Before long you’re frying burgers to pass to another chef to chuck in a bun who should have been washing that dirty plate, as another chef dices lettuce, or wait… it was supposed to be tomato! Mishaps happen, levels mess with you and you’ll likely have to change tactics on the fly. Someone always forgets something! Communication is key.
Even without the benefit of friends, solo play worked well as a brilliant puzzle game.
Overcooked is one of the best local co-op games of all time.
This level was a fantastic series of mistakes and shouting. 3 outta 3 stars.
Considering I still play Overcooked to this day we ask the only question worth screaming 2 inches from your friends face…
is this a worthy sequel?
That’s a very silly question. It would take a massive effort to screw up something as great as the first Overcooked. So what does the sequel do better?
Well… erm… it looks a bit nicer, the music has better production and the levels are well designed, maybe better then before. It certainly makes for a tougher challenge. The story is one long pun and that’s cool. Overcooked 2 is still one of the best local co-op games of all time. So, review over, I guess. On to the score… 10 out of 10, just like the previous game. Hazzah!
No wait, is more of the same good enough?
It’s a tad windy in the kitchen. I’m sure there’s a pun to be made here.
Yes, the game looks much nicer, and I love the the brilliant overworld map, but I’ll be honest with ya. I don’t care about realistic looking worktops; I care about clarity. Overcooked 2 has a more intricate busy style and I miss the bold simple clear vision of the past. I don’t want to be squinting at the screen screaming “where’s the meat” (Ed – Liar) and plates should never ever be the same colour as the kitchen surface.
Minor Gripe – In the previous game solo play had a close zoomed perspective that’s missing in the sequel. Why?
if i’m bothered by a busy screen it’s about to get a whole lot messier with the introduction of a nifty new mechanic.
You can now throw ingredients around. Great! You can lob flour from one chef to another and is an integral part of puzzle solving and improving your times. It is brilliant and this one bright idea improves everything… but it is not perfect. Why is “throw” on the same button as “chop”? Sure, I get that you want to keep the control system simple, and yes, it’s nice for those that are sharing a pad (yep, 2 players take each end of a single pad for 4 player play, it is a nice touch), but if you’ve got 4 pads I don’t see why you couldn’t use another button. New and old players could be rightly aggrieved as you’ve thrown some carrots into a ravine, again. You don’t need another reason to have someone shout at ya! More annoying is when you throw ingredients that get stuck in places you can’t retrieve! It happens more then you’d think and I’m genuinely surprised to see such a bug. Adding something as messy as a throwing mechanic demands perfect implementation otherwise frustration will creep in.
I just threw some meat. Be impressed I SAY!
You make allowances for minor annoyances when something is as fresh as the first Overcooked. The second time around you expect more. Especially as the levels are even more treacherous.
Minor Gripe – Throw should be on Triangle, with emotes on the touchpad, a bumper or something.
So where were all those man hours directed? Must have been for the much requested introduction of online play.
It works fine… well… up until you and a friend try to log on the same machine. Then it doesn’t connect. I’m sure that bug will get patched out any day now. Altogether now – sigh. There’s an arcade mode which encourages teamwork between 4 people and a Vs mode that does not. Yes, you can steal plates and meals. I’ll admit playing online is a good way to practice… if it works, or you’re not kicked from the group on the menu screen or a player doesn’t load. I’ve seen the controls refuse to work and the game so laggy people spend more time off the stage then on it. Weirdly technical issues are not the biggest problem. For a game about co-operation I’ve noticed a callous cruel nature to the online community, quick to show frustration to those that haven’t grasped a level quick enough.
Alone. Alone in the big wide web. Lonesome.
The beauty of Overcooked is delegating tasks through shouting and laughter, especially with fuck ups and this spirit does not translate well to the faceless masses. Maybe with actual friends with mics or those that have played the game to death, it would work. Argh… I dread to think how insufferable the online will look in 6 months when the only people playing it are complete lunatics that obsess over times every single day and pushed everyone else away.
Obviously, if online play was the one thing missing from your Overcooked experience you may rejoice and dance until I can’t help but join in with an oversized sombrero hat.
Awesome thing – I love the new Chefs!
For all the bitching and whining this is still Overcooked dammit.
Like the previous game there are 6 juicy worlds filled with fun-time complication. Some of the later levels… and I use this word at gunpoint… are fiendish. No. I refuse to use that word, ignore it. Some of the later levels are a total and utter bastard. Oh man, I fucking hate mixers. Bloody mixing devices where you can put 4 bloody things in! Fuck cakes! You can tell I just failed a later level, right?… and I loved every second of it.
Oh no… raft levels. Note how hard it is to see delicious floor food.
None of the moans matter when you’ve gathered 3 other people…
… then you realise none of your trophies share between local profiles and you say “fuck”. Then you can’t drop in and out of the campaign with other players. You have to quit to the main menu, and again you say “fuck”.
Oh well, at least there are no slippy-slidey ice worlds this time round.
In the not too distant past this would have been a hefty expansion pack to the original game, and you could rightly charge £20 for the privilege and that is fine. Oh, they’re charging £20-ish… Overcooked 1.5 sounds about right.
If you have never played Overcooked before may I suggest you pick up the original with all the add-ons, and when you’re ready for more…
Overcooked 2 is not the sequel it could have been but there is still nothing quite like it. For each stride there is a stumble so minor only those that have played it to death would notice.
It is still one of the very best co-op experiences around and for those pining for online play your wish has been grated.
Notes for the Nintendo Switch version.
In handheld mode it’s bloody hard to see were things are. Oh and the frame-rates rubbish!
Otherwise it’s business as usual.