Overcooked | Xbox One

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Couch co-op games have become somewhat antiquated in these modern times, so how refreshing it is to see Overcooked, a local multiplayer focussed fracas from the good fellows at Ghost Town Games. We loved playing the game at Rezzed back in the spring, but has it lived up to it’s huge potential?

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by Rob
​Holt

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@acousticmagic

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Developer: Ghost Town Games
Publisher: Team 17
Platforms: Xbox One,
PS4, PC
Players: 1 - 4

The story is wonderfully silly and fun: things have taken a turn for the worse in the Onion Kingdom, and it’s up to you and your Michelin-starred chums to fill the mighty Ever Peckish’s belly and restore peace. To do this, you’ll be cooking a variety of food; be it soup, pizza, fish and chips, burritos, or burgers, every item on the menu is Slimming World approved! Starting your journey in the early 90s, you’ll be cooking through time in order to obtain the mastery needed to satisfy the terrifying spaghetti beast.

So it’s here we get into the meat and potatoes of the game. At the beginning of each stage you and some in-the-room-chums (shock horror, who the hell has friends in real life these days) are tasked with cooking certain foods, in uniquely designed kitchens. Getting orders to the pass in the quickest time possible is the name of the game, as you race against a ticking clock and manage the often shape-shifting kitchen layout. Getting orders out quickly will result in bigger tips, which in turn gives you more points, and a higher star rating - a challenge that’ll keep you going back to this perfectly seasoned pot.

Mad, frantic gameplay collides with a serene sense of calm - when you get it right - to offer the best local multiplayer experience we’ve seen in a good while. Rotating kitchen counters and ice covered floors offer serious challenge, but those chefs who stick together will find themselves clicking into gear with each other, like machinery at the Luncheon Meat canning factory.

Some kitchens work better with one chef on cooking and one on plating up/cleaning, whereas others work better with chefs focusing on a particular dish - one does the chips, another cooks the fish, etc. Oftentimes we ended up ranting and raving like Gordon Ramsay at each other, to no avail - a considered approach and a willingness to fail and learn will eventually lead to a Nigella-esque sense of smutty self-satisfaction. ​

If Keith Floyd were still with us, he’d be raising his bottle to Overcooked - this is essential gaming.

As fun as the game is in multiplayer, it doesn’t send the saliva glands a quivering solo. The joy of assessing a situation and strategizing with a friend (whilst being very vocal with one another) is completely lost here, unless you’re a fantastic self-conversationalist, of course... In solo mode you’ll be chopping and changing which chef you control, whilst you set the other one up with a task, be it frying, washing dishes, etc. It’s noble of Ghost Town to offer a singleplayer experience, but we couldn’t help but find it redundant compared to the wonderful multiplayer.

The overall presentation of the game would make Michel Roux proud, with an aesthetic taken straight from classic games of the 90s. From the Micro Machines inspired vehicle navigation between levels on the world map, to the fabulous music throughout (soft acoustic guitars mix with pianos, accordions, violins and drums), Ghost Town Games have slaved over a hot stove and come up with a masterpiece.

We loved Overcooked, and will continue to break it out whenever friends visit the majestic, diamond encrusted PTC headquarters. Thoroughly recommended for anyone with chums, you’re guaranteed to get your money’s worth and then some, especially with the added versus mode (exactly what it says on the tin). Online multiplayer would’ve been nice, but we can’t help but love the game that little bit more for failing to conform to modern standards. If Keith Floyd were still with us, he’d be raising his bottle to Overcooked - this is essential gaming.

Pros

• Some of the best local multiplayer around
• Fantastic sense of fun in every aspect of the game
• Wonderful audio
• Hilarious story
• Campaign is well paced
• A good challenge to three star every level
• Versus mode adds depth and longevity

Cons

• Singleplayer lacks the joy and chaos of multiplayer
• No online multiplayer

9/10

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Want to know more about Overcooked developer Ghost Town Games? Check out our interview.