Overcooked 2 is a stellar sequel to Team17’s first co-op kitchen experience that builds on an already delightful formula and imbues it with even more flavors and features to keep the experience fresh.
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People will often say that they never knew they needed something until that something was announced, an observation that’s about at the point of triteness, but Overcooked 2 firmly fits that bill. Perfectly content with the first Overcooked after three-starring every level, the announcement for Overcooked 2 that came in June was welcome and exciting news. Knowing that a sequel for a much-loved game is in the works does conjure up some concerns about whether what made the original so successful would be built upon or pivoted to a worrying direction, but Team17 and Ghost Town Games knew exactly what made Overcooked click and brought more of that in the return to the Onion King’s domain.
Bringing new recipes to the kitchen while old favorites return, Overcooked 2 presents players with more challenges than the first to diversify the food prep mayhem. From the new sushi dish to everything else players will encounter, the recipes are broken down at each initial encounter to keep new and old players on as level a playing field as possible. While you’re presented with different recipes at the start and throughout the rest of the game, you’ll find that the core mechanics and co-op antics that made the first so successful thankfully still permeate the game.
Having played through the entire first Overcooked game while repeating levels to obtain better scores, it does seem that this one holds players’ hands less than the series’ debut. The difficulty quickly ramps up quickly, not to an unmanageable level, but certainly to one that seems to be at a steeper angle than Overcooked. It’s clear that the game expects players to be familiar with the first, and though it’s hard to speak from a new player’s perspective having experience the first, co-op gameplay with an Overcooked newbie suggested that the difficulty incline wasn’t just anecdotal. After retrying the beginning levels a few times to get the hang of it, everyone was on the same page, a necessity that hopefully won’t deter new players from enjoying Overcooked 2 without prior experience.
The sequel has challenges in store for new players as well though with more dynamic levels that do their best to get in your way. One of the biggest examples of the level improvements that you’ll see early on is a sequence that throws you from one setting into another mid-level. A hot air balloon ride seemed like it’d ended when the balloon and the kitchen basket came crashing down to make it seem like we’d done something wrong, but it was actually a dramatic transition to a new kitchen below. There are even portals in some levels that players can either walk through or fling ingredients into to make them pop out somewhere else. If you thought the first Overcooked’s levels were creative with players eventually cooking in space (expect more intergalactic challenges here), you’ll find that Overcooked 2 provides a fresh set of memorable levels ranging from swamps to mine shafts, all with fireballs, moving structures, and other obstacles looking to delay your progress.
The throwing mechanic is one of Overcooked 2’s most notable changes, the other contender being the online play that now connects chefs across the world, and it’s far from a gimmick. It’s a helpful tool when every second counts, but it’s also not option. Players will find that many levels force them to throw items to one another, if not to obtain a higher score than simply to get a passing one. Overcooked isn’t a game where you’d do something and think “that was a great play!” but Overcooked 2 allows for that feeling of success by tossing and catching ingredients in time to complete an order.
Co-op is still core in the new Overcooked game, and that’s something that both helps and hinders it. While games shouldn’t necessitate that you play with friends for them to be enjoyable, Overcooked 2 is simply more enjoyable when played with others. Going solo is still a viable option, but the premise of having at least two controllable chefs in the kitchen will always mean that having more than one player is the intended way to play. It’s simply not as much to play solo when you feel like you’re sharing a controller with yourself while still somehow operating on two different wavelengths, but the online multiplayer at least gives everyone with Internet access the chance to experience Overcooked 2 alongside someone else. There’s a new emote system in place to assist with this, and while it’s enjoyable enough to do some goofy gestures at one another or inform teammates of basic actions, it’s hardly a replacement for the teamwork, frustration, and excitement that comes with voice comms or couch co-op.
Overcooked 2 will at times make returning players wish that it could’ve done just a bit more with the sequel, but playing it safer is perhaps the preferred option to avoid a disappointing sophomore release. Like the first, it’s better with friends, but that also means that it’s got exceptional replayability with the experience being different depending on who you play with. Overcooked 2 – and the first Overcooked, for that matter – is a game that belongs in every co-op campaigner’s collection, and if Team17 ever decides to make a third, I’ll happily return to the kitchen once again.
WWG’s Score: 4/5
