What Makes Overcooked 2 So Playable?
About the game
Overcooked 2, which is stylized as Overcooked! 2, is an arcade-style cooperative cooking simulation video game. Developed by Team17 and Ghost Town Games, it is a sequel to the highly successful game, Overcooked, which came out in 2016.
The game, which came out in 2018, is available on Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
Plot and setting
What makes Overcooked 2 such a fun, addictive, and playable game is that it is so delightfully chaotic and frantic, not to mention humorous. Whether it’s the way the game brings out an extremely competitive side of you and your friends, or the interaction between the chef and his dog, you are bound to laugh out loud several times.
As anyone who has played the predecessor would expect, Overcooked 2 follows an equally light-hearted and charmingly silly story. In Overcooked, the main villain is the Great Spaghetti Monster, but in Overcooked 2, the Onion King and his team of loyal chefs have a new threat to face – the carb-inducing Unbread Horde.
Overcooked 2 is so much more than just a game where you have to scramble to prepare dishes and serve food orders as efficiently as you can, and you will see why once you play the game. It’s a goofy and frantic game that is deeply immersive, playable for all kinds of gamers.
Gameplay
Gameplay for Overcooked 2 is almost the same as the first game but with small but significant additions and upgrades. You have to control a team of cooks working in the kitchen, with the goal of getting as many orders out the door in a race against time. You have to take your food orders from the top left corner of the screen where they continuously pop up, and the dishes change with levels.
You have to prepare the dishes, and this includes getting raw ingredients from crates and storage, washing them, cutting or chopping them, cooking them, and serving them. You even have to wash dishes. If you fail to get an order out the door before time runs out, you lose some money, which means you may receive fewer stars at the end of the level.
While the single-player mode is also available, teams of up to four players can cooperatively play the game and ensure orders are done in time. The game can get pretty chaotic and overwhelming, and bumping into each other’s characters can only add to the chaos, but this is what makes the game fun.
Game-changing additions
Overcooked 2 introduced several new elements that really impact the gameplay. Some of these include food throwing, where players can toss food from one place to another in the kitchen, and online multiplayer, where teams can connect remotely either through online matchmaking or across a local wireless network. Let’s take a closer look at these below.
- Throw button
One of the game’s most significant additions is undoubtedly the throw button. Food, raw ingredients to be specific, can be thrown directly onto cutting boards, burners, or into the hands of other chefs. This means that you no longer have to move back and forth just to pass the food around in the kitchen- a move welcomed by fans of the game. The ability to throw adds an exciting new layer of strategy, which can help players to act faster and get more dishes out the kitchen door.
If you are playing solo, then the throw button can change your gaming experience. This is because throwing gives you the feeling of playing co-op as it cuts down the idle time that you would have had if it weren’t available. Like its predecessor, you would have had to keep switching back and forth between two chefs and assign tasks to them.
- Perils and obstacles
The new kitchens in Overcooked 2 are so much more daunting. The first game had perils that were already tricky enough, but this time, it’s even more challenging. For instance, there are some levels where what you are doing or making changes halfway through, and the frequency of the perils have also increased. You might just find yourself unexpectedly falling down chasms more times than you’d like.
Most kitchens in the game are broken up or difficult to navigate around, which makes preparing the dishes hilariously more difficult than you would anticipate. As you progress, you will even find yourself running a kitchen from a hot air balloon, while strong winds keep blowing your tables and ingredients away randomly.
On another level, you have to run a kitchen whose different parts are separated by disappearing stair and magic portals, all of which are controlled by a mischievous wizard. Moving walkways may push you in the opposite direction or pull you forward rapidly, and some of these walkways even connect huge gaps or chasms in the kitchen, making navigating around the kitchen simply nerve-wracking. Sometimes, magic portals will move, meaning that you can fall off the map if you don’t time your journey accurately.
The point is, at every level, you will find a kitchen that is fighting you in ridiculous ways from completing your orders, and that’s what makes Overcooked 2 so fun.
- Online play
Overcooked 2 features online multiplayer, which allows players to connect with each other via online matchmaking or through a local wireless network. Some players may find that online play is less satisfying or engaging since you miss out on shouting and yelling at/with your friends – usually what happens when you play co-op in the same room.
Also, online play has no voice communication, but you can emote by saying what you are doing, such as preparing a dish, cooking, or serving.
Overcooked 1 vs. Overcooked 2
If you haven’t played Overcooked 1, you may take some time to get the hang of Overcooked 2, because the game assumes that players are already familiar with the first game, and much of its gameplay is based on that assumption.
As is the case in the first game, you can play all the levels of Overcooked 2 with a maximum of four chefs. The objectives of the levels and the kitchen designs alone require good teamwork and cooperation, and some of the levels in the game are designed specifically for teams of three or four to thrive.
Like its predecessor, the game has several recipes that you have to master. Out of the nine recipes, you will find that some of them are new to the sequel. A number of recipes, such as cake, pancakes, and steamed meat or vegetables, must first be mashed together in a mixer, along with other ingredients such as egg and flour. After this, you have to put the ingredients of the dish on the correct burner, which could be an oven, a frying pan, or the new wooden steamer. All the steps that you have to follow, plus using the correct tools and equipment, add to the tension and challenge of the game, and more often than not, you will find yourself making comical mistakes you’ll end up laughing at with your friends.
Out of the nine recipes, new recipes include pasta, sushi, and steamed dumplings. Even the returning favorite recipes like pizza and burger now have additional ingredients to spice things up.
How playable is the single-player mode?
The good news is that Overcooked 2 is very playable in single-player mode. The difficulty is scaled back, but you still get to enjoy the game and all its hilarious elements. However, you cannot deny that the game truly shines when played in co-op multiplayer mode. That’s what it was designed for, and that’s how you will get the true experience of Overcooked 2 to its fullest potential.
With a maximum of four players for your team, you are sure to have a party when played in co-op multiplayer mode. The best (or worst) part of the game is that if you and the other players don’t work well as a team and you don’t know how to cooperate, it’s only a matter of time before the kitchen is plunged into complete and utter chaos. You may have failed the level, but you and your friends will surely learn to laugh at yourselves once you realize how ridiculous you all sound shouting and yelling at each other about lettuces and unwashed dishes.
Overcooked 2 is a game that is full of constant and unpredictable madness, but this is what gives the game its essence. Apart from the fun-filled frantic experience, the game is also so good at coming up with something new, refreshing, and original. So, no matter how many levels you have played, you are never bored.
Conclusion
Overcooked 2 is definitely a more challenging game that demands more from its players right from the get-go. Whether it is dealing with nefarious kitchen designs with sudden divides and moving parts, or non-stop incoming of orders, the tension is on in the game. But fortunately, the chefs are also much better prepared with new tools, equipment, and controls at their disposal.
