Developer: Ghost Town Games
Publisher: Team17
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4
Code Received.
Overcooked! 2 is the follow up to Ghost Town Game’s chaotic cooking simulator, Overcooked. Overcooked! 2 may seem like a safe sequel on the surface, but there are enough tweaks to the recipe to make it worth another taste. I’ll be structuring this review differently to accommodate the nature of Overcooked! 2. It will be broken up into the two major pillars the game offers: Single player story, and multiplayer. I believe these two modes offer a distinct enough experience that they should be analyzed independently. So let’s begin with the single player!
Cooking for One
Playing Overcooked! 2 alone may seem like a departure from the purpose of the game, however, it is a major component and is surprisingly well done. In single-player, you control two cooks and you can swap back and forth between them with the push of a button. You can command one cook to do something, like chop potatoes, and they will continue to perform that action even after switching to the other cook. This leads to a game more about maximizing time and efficiency, rather than making sure everyone is on task.
As a result, the single-player is a much more methodical, goal-oriented experience than the chaos of the multiplayer. It also distills down the game’s mechanics and level design, showing you exactly how and why everything works. In short, it turns Overcooked! 2 into more of a puzzle game as you try to figure out the best way to earn three stars on each level. It also makes you exceptionally good at the multiplayer, allowing you to delegate tasks more effectively.
The single player also gives you an immense appreciation of the time and effort that went into making all the various levels. The level design in Overcooked! 2 is intricate and varied. Their difficulty ramps up over time and things like moving platforms, environmental hazards, and recipe complexity get added over time. There are even dynamic levels that change dramatically at certain points. These dynamic levels can completely change the flow of a level and can even add access to ingredients that you didn’t have before.
The other thing that comes into play in a major way in the single player is the added ability to throw raw food. This is required on levels in which the chefs are separated and ingredients must be thrown over gaps or rivers. Like with everything else in Overcooked! 2, the throwing is a little imprecise, but if you manage to throw it directly at another chef they will catch the food. You can also throw raw food directly into a frying pan or pot which can save a lot of time.
Unfortunately, the single player does make the small bugs that pop up here and there more evident. I had a few times where critical objects like frying pans or plates would get stuck in the geometry because I put them down in a way the game didn’t like. Other things like ingredients getting forever lost on a stovetop because they were placed before they were chopped are unfortunate. In the madcap pace of the multiplayer, these things would get chalked up to user error, but when you’re the only one making the moves, it’s clear the game was at fault
Dinner Party
The local multiplayer experience is most definitely the meat of Overcooked! 2. As well balanced as the single-player is, the levels are really tuned for multiplayer. When everyone is scrambling to get the boiling rice off the stove, while also chopping and doing the dishes, the fact that anything at all gets accomplished is a miracle.
You can play with two, three, or four chefs on the couch, or do a mix of local and online players. You can try to delegate tasks to each chef, but there will inevitably be more jobs than there are hands. It can be quite difficult for a new player to jump into a match with experienced players, but the concepts are simple enough that, with a little guidance, anyone should be able to start making burritos in no time.
There are few balancing issues I came across while playing, however. Sometimes there just aren’t enough jobs all the time for a four person team. This may lead to one chef sitting around waiting for something to do. Also, with three chefs, one chef will typically have a large majority of the responsibilities do to on maps that split up teams.
I’m happy to report that the online and local multiplayer appear to blend seamlessly. When playing with a mix of players, there doesn’t seem to be any discernible lag and it feels as though online players are right there on the couch. Combine that with voice chat, and the best part of Overcooked! 2 can be enjoyed by anyone.
While playing mixed multiplayer matches I did find that, on PlayStation 4 at least, everyone needs to have a registered PSN account in order to play with online players, a guest account will not work. This can be an unfortunate limitation especially for parents looking to allow their children to play with friends and family online or for people who may not have a PSN account. In local-only matches, only one PSN account is needed and everyone else can use a guest account. I am not sure if this limitation exists on the other platforms.
At first glance, Overcooked! 2 may seem like a minor upgrade to the previous game. However, the addition of online multiplayer is significant in that it allows people from anywhere to partake in the crazy antics of the multiplayer. Also, the addition of throwing items and the way it is incorporated into the amazing level design opens up all sorts of gameplay opportunities. Finally, the fact that the single player experience is satisfying really solidifies this package. Odd online account limitations and small glitches aside, Overcooked! 2 is an easy recommendation for new players as well as fans of the original.
