Review for Overcooked! 2. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 07/08/2018
The Onion Kingdom has been stormed by the Shaky Bread! This is the basis on which Overcooked 2 rests, released two years ago and only today bowed in its personal Gourmet Edition, the definitive version for connoisseurs. Ghost Town Games and Team17 bring back a game that appeared (rightly) in several lists of anti-quarantine titles, now with all DLC included in one package.
In the role of culinary critics like Anton Ego we have dropped with paper, pen and joypad in this re-edition for all consoles and PCs, complete with a glass of wine to recover from that culinary tornado that is the Overcooked series.
Anyone can cook?
The Necrognammicon not only hides the secrets of pizza, but a dark power capable of awakening zombie slices of bread. The King of Onions once again needs the help of the royal cooks, but the threat is too great and the cooks are not very close to each other: the only solution is to contain the invasion while the cooks refine their raison d'être around the various kitchens of the kingdom.
Behind this nice introduction hides the true meaning of Overcooked 2: preparing as many dishes as possible to accumulate stars in increasingly absurd kitchens and with time at your heels. There is little to say about the operation itself: Overcooked 2: Gourmet Edition includes the base game along with various additional content, and it's easier than that. It is good to specify that those who already own the second chapter of Overcooked will not find any extras or reason that justifies the purchase of this Gourmet Edition. Team17 is aimed at a new audience of gamers who have only seen and never tried the title with a total cost of 40 euros - which few are certainly not for an indie.
Overcooked 2 is the classic one-trick pony: monothematic, works very well in one thing, 2-4 player co-op, and very badly on their own, where the music changes drastically. Ghost Town Fatigue is simply not a solitaire game or misanthropes at Dr. House: the experience loses all its charm and the funny streak that distinguishes it, making it change into another title with a more passive rhythm. There must be at least two cooks in the kitchen, and this is demonstrated by the developers who make the single player control two identical characters between which to take turns: thus a hyperactive game like Overcooked 2 is deprived of its dynamism, having to control one cook at a time. , waiting for the technical times and above all extended times to the cutting boards.
The single mode would have benefited from the same system as Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, where the controller is split in half between the controls of the older and younger brother, which creates paradoxical situations in two players and would be well suited to the nature of the cooking game.
Having clarified an aspect that can be considered secondary to such a pompously cooperative title as the one developed by Ghost Town, it must be said that at the time the major innovation of this second chapter was represented by the multiplayer online: in the first Overcooked, in fact, it was possible to play only in local co-op with your friends. In this sequel, you just need to connect to the network (with a subscription) to get help from cooks of all nationalities, although the possibility of drawing up a battle plan on the same sofa with a family member or your sweetheart remains unbeatable.
Hells Kitchen
Between sliding belts, magical teleporters and many recipes, the various cuisines that the game offers become more and more bizarre. The only key to triumph is the coordination between cooks and the compelling multi-tasking makes the title very fast, never dull and between the fun and the frustrating. From here Overcooked 2 has embroidered the fame of a game capable of cementing or breaking up a : the main adventure takes us into themed levels through a technological bus with the aim of giving birth to the necessary chemistry to face the so-called Unbreads and test our level of endurance with great satisfaction. The story mode is very linear and a pretext to mix the cards on the table by offering recipes such as sushi, pizza, cakes and burgers in different kitchens without any real reward or skills to help in the kitchen.
The arrangement of the objects is not always the happiest and the commands are very precise (too much, at times), but the title is as permissive as it is potentially challenging. If making one star and progressing to the next level is a breeze, making three requires mastery from numerous field trials. In addition, the infamous will be added at some point in the game fourth star (the platinum one), almost impossible to obtain: if you can, off the (chef's) hat.
Apart from personal satisfaction, however, the score is irrelevant. You don't need to be a cooking expert, and it pays off Overcooked 2 a title for all players, of the first hour and not - perfectly suitable, therefore, for quick play sessions between parents and children, friends and so on - as long as you do not lose the compass because there are no pots or no dishes (strictly to be washed one one).
The story mode is flanked by other options, such as practicing or "surviving" as much as possible: the practice consists in taking time out of the equation and repeating a level without pressure to impress the procedure of a certain recipe in the mind, in survival mode the hands run normally, but you have the option of extending the time available by delivering ready-made dishes to demanding customers, putting even more spice on everything. A party game like this could not be said to be complete without a arcade from the widest freedoms, both online and offline: from the main game menu, greeted by the warm harmonic of Oli Wood, it will be possible to depart from the main campaign with arcade and counter modes.
In the first you can face a random level of the game by choosing the macro-category (kitchens on the river, in flight, etc.) and proceed to complete it with the best possible score; the mode against, however self-evident, allows you to make fire and glory for the glory and the curiosity to prove who is the best cook on the team.
Cooking minutes
The DLCs included in Overcooked 2: Gourmet Edition are all those released over the years, that is Surf 'n' Turf, Campfire cook off, Carnival of Chaos and Night of the Hangry Horde in addition to others already made available for free.
These add levels with more cooks to choose from and new dishes to prepare, all themed and with a perfect soundtrack. In Surf 'n' Turf it will be necessary to prepare thirst-quenching smoothies on golden beaches (without plexiglass); Campfire cook off it is for all lovers of camping and horror stories around the fire; in Carnival of chaos you juggle between trapezes and cannons to deliver the dishes e Night of the hangry horde it is a content that provides an alternative method to cutting boards to blow the heads off vegetables… the guillotine! All while keeping hungry monsters at bay in what is the most gruesome content of Overcooked 2 (in a good way).
Two other innovations on the gameplay side, also present in the DLC, are the possibility of toss raw ingredients to the partner or directly into the pot and to make a shot forward. Both prove to be of vital importance when time is running out: for example, in some levels it will be essential to throw ingredients, because the cooks will be divided by force of circumstances.
Speaking of waiting times, you don't just have to wait for the chicken to reach perfect browning or for the cake to be cooked to perfection, but also Overcooked 2 uploads, which we found inexplicably too long for an indie developed with the Unity engine. It takes about 1 minute to get to the main menu, 20 seconds to load, and 15 seconds per level - too much, in our opinion, especially when they stack up. The game on the Nintendo Switch reaches 30 fps which remains solid, but all the evidence of the case leaves the time they find given that no technical improvements have been made: as mentioned at the beginning, Overcooked 2 Gourmet Edition is reduced only to the full version with DLC and nothing more.
In a period that forced us to become failed dough masters and with Cooking Mama: Cookstar with its problems, Overcooked! 2: Gourmet Edition arrives as a culinary savior and teaches us everything that goes on behind the scenes in the kitchen of any restaurant, or utter chaos. With a fire extinguisher always at hand and a thousand thoughts whirling in their heads, the chefs return to the cutting boards of schools of magic and unhealthy swamps to slow down the advance of the panigoldi in the Kingdom of Onions. The title remains the same as always, a fun experience in two or more players and deprived of its sense alone, all seasoned with playful graphics, many human and animal chefs and a humming soundtrack composed of harmonics, banjos and pianos toy. "The new needs supporters", said Anton Ego in Ratatouille: Ghost Town and Team 17 re-propose their lucky cooking game in the simplest way possible, without extras but with all the DLC included, and the flaw is just this: we would have expected some new content to cut the red ribbon of this new milestone and above all more generous uploads. The game is bread for the teeth only for those who have always wanted to try Overcooked 2 without the shadow of additional content that stands out on the windowsill.
► Overcooked! 2 is an indie type game developed by Ghost Town and published by Team 17 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 07/08/2018
Our latest news on the game: How to unlock the secret "Kevin" levels in Overcooked! 2
