Name: Overcooked
Publisher: Team 17 (Worms games)
Developer: Ghost Town Games
Platforms: PS4/Xbox One/PC
Features: Co-op/Competitive/Single Player (Drop in and Out) | LOCAL ONLY
Release: August 2nd. (Aug 3rd on Steam)
Price: $17.00, with a 20% discount on Steam if you pre-order
About: Overcooked! A 1-4 player game where you prepare, cook, and serve a bunch of meals across a variety of uniquely themed (and dynamically challenging) kitchens.
The Gameplay:
1) Customers request orders.
2) Players pull out ingredients from a pantry with a button press
3) Players prepare food at a designated spot (e.g. chopping onions)
4) Players cook food (e.g. putting chopped onions into a pot)
5) Players put together food, then serve it for a tip (e.g. onion soup)
The Challenges:
1) Dynamically changing kitchens, like a slippery iceberg, or a busy street corner where pedestrians walk right down your kitchen. Players can become trapped off, or slowed down. This is where teamwork and anticipation comes in.
2) Leaving food on pots too long can cause fires that need to be taken out
3) You can miss out on orders if you don't finish them on time
4) You need to wash dishes, or you wont have clean plates to serve customers
5) Chaos! 4 players running around in a kitchen, preparing ingredients, cooking, cleaning, and getting in each other's way is all part of the fun.
Expectedly, the lack of online bums a lot of people out, but the co-op experience is considered fantastic.
OpenCritic: ~76
PC Gamer: 86/100
One of the most fun and challenging local co-op games ever made, but the single-player experience is less thrilling, making the lack of online play disappointing.
PlayStation Universe: 8.5/10
All told, Overcooked is a thoughtfully crafted love letter to the sort of titles that many of us forged our gaming mettle with; a body of games that have needlessly fallen by the wayside with the advent of online multiplayer. If you're looking for a quirky, fun indie title that'll have you hurling instructions and insults towards your friends with equal frequency, then look no further. But for those who can't handle the heat, it's best to stay out of the kitchen.
PushSquare: 8/10
Aside from a few minor presentation and performance niggles, Overcooked is a wonderfully executed game, and is one of the best co-operative experiences in recent years. The simplicity of the controls and gameplay make it extremely accessible, while there is still plenty of challenge in the later, crazier kitchens. Working together effectively with a few buddies feels fantastic, and even when things get a bit heated, it's all part of the fun. If you're looking for a light-hearted couch co-op game, Overcooked should definitely be on your menu.
God Is A Geek: 8/10
Overcooked is great fun and I think anyone would have a top time playing it, the only real problem is that the fun is much greater and more sustained when played with friends, which might prove to be a problem to some. But with a simple mechanic that has been built upon to keep things fresh and interesting, Overcooked is worth playing regardless.
The Sixth Axis: 8/10
Crafting a game that feels like a true co-operative experience is something studios continue to struggle with even today. For a dev duo like Ghost Town Games to come along and nail it at their first attempt is a remarkable feat to say the least. As a result, Overcooked is easily the best co-op game of 2016 so far and will hopefully set living rooms afire with its accessible, often hilarious culinary hijinks. Its certainly a game Ill continue to revisit, roping in anyone willing to sit down and pick up a controller.
NZGamer: 7.3/10
Theres an interesting mix of characters and environments to keep the gameplay fresh, and the soundtrack is a delight. It doesnt hold up so well as a single-player experience because of the repetitive nature if you have to do everything yourself, but its a great party game with some friends.
Hardcore Gamer: 3/5
What it boils down to is that if you have two or more controllers and the appropriate amount of friends to play with, then you should check out Overcooked, but if youre looking to dine alone, then you had best move on.
Xbox Achievements: 7/10
A fun but frustrating cooking experience, Overcooked is a fantastic couch co-op party game that will put your friendships to the test. Expect to be shouting and swearing at one another a lot; it gets pretty damn hot in Overcooked's kitchen. If you can't stand the heat, get out! Otherwise, bon appetit.
Video Gamer: 7/10
With simple controls and an easy to understand premise, anyone can turn their hand to it with ease, then partake in some truly stressful yet fun multiplayer cooking action.
Pure PlayStation: 4.9/10
Overcooked could have been such a fun online game but that wasn't implemented. It could have been a party game for any occasion but tediousness and self-hampering prevent the title from being fun for more than a few hours if that. The cooking adventure lacks the fun of cooking when it constantly puts roadblocks in front of itself. Solving the singleplayer problem is as simple as reducing point thresholds and allowing the use of just one chef and the tediousness element can be fixed by removing mandatory star requirements to move the plot along. Experiencing what this game has to offer the first time is enjoyable but thanks to the way it's designed, everything will slowly turn to irritation.
